Greetings and Blessings, Kind Creator!
Mmm! Morning coffee and bright sunshine – a fine way to start the day! Adventure, like the blank page below, lays waiting to materialize and be summoned into creation, into reality, from the ether of dreams and imagination.
I walked last night after my work shift, along the streets in my neighborhood, where there are some streetlights, but also, thankfully, stretches of darkness. Oh, the night sky; the stars I saw! Orion, The Big Dipper, and so many others whose names I’ve forgotten. It always stirs something primal and basic within me, to look up at night, like people have done for thousands of years. The wonder and immensity of The Universe is apparent, I think, when we just stop to notice it.
Yet, there is struggle and suffering in the world; in our lives. Someone I know has a loved one in the final stage of hospice. Another just lost a parent; yet another has experienced the recent death of a relative who was just a child. I have a friend struggling to find a career position, as the family’s financial situation grows critical; another who gave up one position within a company to better position himself for a promotion; now, he has neither the promotion nor the position he enjoyed. I’ve got another friend who lives with Parkinson’s Disease.
How dare I talk about joy to these people? How torturous is it for me to speak of happiness and dreams, in the shadow of their struggles? After all, this is their lives we’re talking about!
My first response to this is – Do you know anyone in your life who has struggles like this? I’m betting we all do. When we look outward from ourselves and our own struggles, and pat attention, we see the struggles of all around us. Maybe it’s making the monthly rent or mortgage payment, or struggling to communicate with a spouse or a child. Many of us battle against our demons of addiction, guilt, fear, or regret. Maybe, it’s a heart-breaking diagnosis for ourselves, or a loved one.
I don’t know about you, but when I become aware of another person’s struggles, especially the ones I can do nothing about, I wish that they can experience some moments of joy to help alleviate the struggle; some respite from the deluge.
“O Nobly born, remember your radiant true nature.”
My friend with Parkinson’s still enjoys bowling and fishing. We can hold the hand and connect with our loved one who’s passing. The stars will shine tonight; the sun will rise tomorrow. Within the life we live, among all our challenges, there is still beauty, wonder, and joy. Sometimes our gift can be helping others reclaim one moment of that; one moment’s reprieve from their struggle.
And, one day it will be me – some struggle, some shadow darkening and weighing heavy my heart. One day, certainly, it will be my last.
My hope, on that day, is to feel loved; and, to share and express my love. To feel my connection to those around me. To have my loved ones show me the joy around me; to look one more time at the night sky, and one more sunrise; and, to share a smile.
My mission is to Shine My Light and Share My Light, until My Light goes out.
Prompt du Jour:
Compassion Meditation – please review the compassion meditation practice I described in an earlier post. Begin with yourself, and then your loved ones, then further outward to people you hardly know and don’t know at all, and then, finally, even those who challenge you. (This meditation practice truly captures the spirit of this post.) Radiate your love and light outward!
I am planning a group program that journeys through The Joy Diet, to start up in a few weeks. Please contact me if you are interested. Details to follow.
Dear Guides, you fill my life with lovely, interesting, diverse people – to love, to learn from, to practice patience with, and to hold with respect and appreciation. Thank you for the precious gift of diverse community. It encourages me to continue to grow.
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