Poem of One World

This morning 

the beautiful white heron

was floating along above the water

and then into the sky of this

the one world

we all belong to

where everything 

sooner or later

is a part of everything else

which thoughts made me feel

for a little while

quite beautiful myself.

                Mary Oliver

On this holiday weekend for most, my wish for us all is to dedicate these two days to living like my niece, Carly.  She’s 8 months old, and doesn’t feel compelled to improve herself, change, set goals, process her emotional “stuff”, hide her weaknesses, emphasize her strengths or put on her game face when she wakes up.  She is alive.  That is enough.

Sometimes I think of Carly when I meditate, reflecting on her “beginner’s mind”, hoping to duplicate her experience with my own.

You would think that “coming to quiet” would be enough preparation for a “good” meditation .... but of course it isn’t.  Up pops a frequent internal message that I should be doing my meditation better, longer, shorter, quieter, more focused, legs crossed, legs uncrossed, etc. 

Only when I remember that a meditation practice is just that, a practice, am I able to connect with the harmonious vibrations of life.

Probably I’m the only one who is confronted with daily reminders how to everything better.  But if by chance one of you, whether you meditate or not, find yourself the object of an internal or external media blitz reminding you how you should be different, I invite you to join me in an experiment for the next two days. 

The experiment is to just be yourself.

I know, that sounds like new-age psychobabble, but actually it’s the state that Carly lives in every day, and one that is available to you with a simple decision to turn your attention, just for a little while, to how truly beautiful you are. 


We can do it...turn our attention away from the responsibility to grow, do, accomplish, and unconditionally accept ourselves.

Just for a little while.

If you need some assistance, you might find it in nature.  If there doesn’t happen to be a white heron available, perhaps you can just listen to the song of an ordinary bird outside our window. 

Or listen to some music.  Or take a nap.  Or hang out with a baby (who’s not screaming, of course).

Naturally, you’ll go in and out.  That is the nature of the mind.

But just for these two days, I invite us to step into the beauty of the world, reflected in ourselves.

Just for a little while.

Rock On!

Marsha

UPCOMING EVENTS:

LA AUTHENTIC WOMAN GATHERING: April 27, 2015

BAY AREA AUTHENTIC WOMAN GATHERING: May 17, 2015; July 26, 2015

BAY AREA AUTHENTIC WOMAN RETREAT: October 30 - November 1, 2015