“The first peace, which is the most important, is that which comes within the souls of people when they realize their relationship, their oneness, with the universe and all its powers, and when they realize that at the center of the universe dwells Wakan-Taka (the Great Spirit) and that this center is really everywhere, it is within each of us.”
Black Elk – Oglala Sioux
I hope that you all had a wonderful holiday of gratitude; warm hearts, full bellies and nourished souls. May it continue to inspire you deeply in a manner that invites a daily practice of giving thanks. My day was a perfect combination of play, nature and food and contemplation; simple and sweet, yet so fulfilling. We filled it with hikes and soccer games, snacking on pie and marshmallows between. I took the time to clean house, build a new alter, set new intentions and pray to my guides and teachers and life experiences (good and bad) that have brought me to this mark in a long and beautifully unpredictable journey. I also seemed to embody a grieving, a mourning for the Earth and gave particular attention to the grace of Gaia. I felt a mourning of many people in the world; old and new, and I believe it is a result of change on the brink, a change that will unite us all a little closer, with an awakening that reminds us of our fundamental human connections. A deeper gratitude was revealed. I sat with sadness, yours, mine, the worlds; I took it in and I breathed out light!
It is easily assumed to be thankful for our family, friends, food, employment, and material possessions. These are elements within our lives we often take for granted and it is necessary to bring awareness and respect back to the aspects of our life that sustain us. But ask yourself; what was before all of ‘that’, what is the root to those experiences? YOU! Your essence, a perfect peace not yet touched by the presence of the material world; our intrinsic wholeness resting in a womb of possibility. If we want to practice gratitude for the things in our life, we must first recognize the channel that connects us to these things; the channel of our self and our own unique expression of divinity. To love and honor yourself is not a practice of vanity, and should not be avoided out of shame or guilt or attachment to ego. It has taken me most of my lifetime to love myself, and there are still many days when my ‘self talk’ is anything but kind. This, too, is a practice and a difficult one at that but I choose to remember, and I choose to help you remember. I respect the power of nature, creation, the divine; the source that gives me both the human and soul experience. If I deny the gift of myself gratitude and honor, then I deny my greatest gift. I may not always be well liked by everyone, I may not always see my beauty and worthiness, but Creator does, and has given me breath, body, mind, and heart to feel my place among this world, and if Creator believes in me, then that is enough… to celebrate…every single day, every single moment! The Buddha says, “If you touch one thing with great awareness then you touch all things.” If we love and honor ourselves, then we can truly love and honor the beauty we are grateful for in our lives.
Find pleasure and gratitude for not only the people and things in your life, but the quiet contemplation that fills the space between and the stillness that is the root of all things. May you celebrate your own creation and your connection to source (what ever that is for you). May you see yourself as nature and divine. Meditate and contemplate: Sit with gratitude, as if it were a teacher taking you on a journey deep within. Rather than saying, “I am grateful for..….” Ask, what does gratitude feel like? Then embody it, feel it, let it move through you, not attached to anything….as the essence of gratitude moves though you, then notice and feel, your essence, your Self as one…your self as Oneness.
Namaste,
Robin
