“That we find freedom, aliveness, and power not from what contains, locates, or protects us but from what dissolves, reveals, and expands us.”― Eve Ensler, Insecure at Last
I’ve started to dream about the posts I will write. Words come to me as I sleep, and I have to quickly scribble the thoughts so they don’t escape my memory. It’s like the Universe knows my Wednesday writing day is coming, and there is an open door to push an idea through. Recently, two words emerged like partners into my lexicon–Resolute and Embodiment. Going into the deeper meaning of the words as I do, I discovered a whole world of words–constant, faithful, loyal, staunch, steadfast, embody, incarnation, manifestation…all these words connected by the strands of how we come into contact with our being-ness and how we show up to the world. Our resolution is our commitment to being better each year, each day, each moment. How are we doing?
As I write this, the world is hurting on so many levels but feels buoyed by the hope that maybe we still have a chance to get it right. We have a growing resolve that we might just be heading in the right direction. Holding us back are our fears and willingness to go deeper and let go of the ideologies that no longer serve us. The shoulds, the oughts, the prejudices we all carry. People are dying inside and out from all the social ills we haven’t addressed in decades and even centuries. We are missing each other and yet don’t exactly know how or when to engage again. We are in a body but do we actually embody what it is to be a human being…connected to other beings who are human?
The conversations that dominate so much of the air space are about holding onto control, whether it be a vote, global responsibility, a gun, sex, lies, getting a vaccine, wearing a mask, or most sadly people of color suffering from those actions of white people. What does that dialogue reveal?
Maybe it reveals that we cannot move forward with our talking heads. We have to have the courage and resolve to come back into our bodies and hearts and be willing to re-member the heartbeat of life that connects and maintains us. In meditation, one begins with centering on our breath—the flow of air in and out is something that has taken on a whole new meaning. The very act of sustaining our life has the key to making all of life work. Inhale. Exhale. Like the rhythm of ocean waves, we are called to be fully present to the life within us to experience what is visible and invisible underneath it all. When you concentrate on your breath, it stills the mind and relaxes the body. With practice, all separation dissipates, and you can become one with everything. Letting go leads us to atonement (at-one-ment) with each other.
Why do we hold onto those things that divide us? What is the point of being first if you shoved or hurt everyone else to get there? What is it about our culture that we value things of money only to realize in the end that it is all about love? We all post those great thoughtful memes about making a difference and being kind on our social media, but are we resolute to embody them every day?
The work of finding wholeness can get exhausting if we feel we are alone in the efforts. I write this weekly post to remind you that you are in good company with those of us who care. The word becoming flesh is dwelling in each of us. Our endeavors to become fully human through the resolutions we make in our hearts and the steps we take can lead us to a better future. It is time for us to let go and expand into our fullness.
Photo credit: Vince Moro capturing the light and shadows on the big pond at Chadds Peak Farm