There is a desert
I long to be walking.
A wide emptiness.
Peace beyond any understanding of it. -Rumi
When we enter the desert of solitude, we recognize that as much as we want our saving to come from outside of us, this is not the reality.
There is no one person or experience that will "save" us, because we are the ones who must do that for ourselves.
We are only in a continued state of peril when we reach stasis, or the resistance that comes when we fight against change.
There is so much to be discovered in our humanness. We have been gifted with a myriad of emotions, highs and lows. We are master creators and dreamers of our existence. Yet, we long to escape this humanity because of the suffering and pain. On some level we believe that once we "transcend" our humanity, and reach our perceived state of nirvana, we will be free from all that binds us.
But what if we are the ones applying the shackles to ourselves because of our beliefs, thoughts and patterns?
What if we have been both the prisoner and the jailer?
There are, of course, outside circumstances that contribute to our beliefs. And, the more we practice those beliefs, the more adept will be at confirming them. We can look for all of the reasons, collect all of the evidence, chart the course of our pain...and find a way to make it true.
So what if we lit the lamp of hope within us? What if we went into the desert trusting that there would be a path for us to follow?
How would that change the story? How would it change our interactions with others and with the reflection we see in the mirror?
Can we even celebrate the fact that we are on a swiftly tilting planet and we are in the eye of the storm of great change? This change is happening all around us and within us.
Rather than resisting the forces of nature, can we stand with our backs against the wind and, in a moment of total surrender, allow ourselves to jump off the cliff so that the same wind lifts us up-
And we fly?
May you find courage within. May you light the lamp for yourself and use it to shed light for others.
Love,
Maura
Photo: Jeremy Bishop on Unsplash