Sunday, May 31, 2020

Dare We Go Back to Sleep

In times like these...

The human heart can go the lengths of God… [ A Sleep of Prisoners ]
Dark and cold we may be, but this
Is no winter now. The frozen misery
Of centuries breaks, cracks, begins to move;
The thunder is the thunder of the floes,
The thaw, the flood, the upstart Spring.

Thank God our time is now when wrong
Comes up to face us everywhere,
Never to leave us till we take
The longest stride of soul men ever took.

Affairs are now soul size.
The enterprise is exploration into God.
Where are you making for? It takes
So many thousand years to wake…
But will you wake, for pity’s sake?

Christopher Fry

As we say good bye to another month, the merry month of May, things seems so far from ever being merry again.  Struggle after struggle has come to greet us.  While we have tried and tried again to keep putting one foot in front of the other, it has not been easy.

In one way or another, perhaps we are being shaken awake, reminded we are not to go back to sleep, that the time has come for big change and not band-aids.  Perhaps this awakening is meant to help us find our way home, back to our true selves, and not these complacent, tepid versions.

Are we On the Brink?

No more excuses.  No more yearning to go back to the "way things were".  No more sidestepping all our brokenness.  We are poised on the brink...and it is only by a fearless examination of all our deeply cherished beliefs might we find the real truth of the house of cards we have been living in for so long.  Why don't we choose to wake up and stop pretending everything is ok.  It's not and it hasn't been for a long time.  The breaking down can be the start of a building up.  What shall we build?

Leaving behind everything gives us such a clean slate.  So, if you had that option and you were designing our next phase, what would you be sure to add to the mix?  Kindness, honesty, compassion, fairness, prosperity for all...

What?  Why don't we, upon waking to a new month, wake up and stay awake.  Let's take the steps we need to take.  Let's define this new slate, our new society, the one we really do long for when we are not experiencing fear, and hate, and envy and all the other emotions that lead us down a dark path.  

When we are awake, we have knowledge of that deepest, truest part of ourselves, our souls.  From there we can hold steady, resist temptations, and take the steps necessary to ensure that our elected officials to do the same.  It's no longer ok for self interests to call the shots.  Not for any of us.  

We are part of a collective that must stand together, even with different ways of seeing the world.  Basic human rights; yes back to the basics may be the first step. We have been feeling the tug of the heart string that binds us together.  That is not a bad thing.  It is waking us up.  

Here's to eyes wide open...from the soul.


Monday, May 18, 2020

In This Epic Time - The Best Day


Here's something to ponder:

This day is the best day of your life.
It's the only one you've got.
So...
You better do it Right!
VJF

Now that we've got that over with, here comes the big question:  How would you know you got "it" right?  What is it that identifies a day done right?  Do you have any clue?  Is it always the same?  Some interesting questions don't you think?  To make things even less clear, what if what you thought you knew about what a best day consists of became less certain?  What if you suddenly began to question your routines, your day to day practices?  How might that make you feel?  What might you think?


Here's a Meditation Fitting this Quandary:

In this Epic Time

In this epic time, who are you becoming?
In this epic time, with every passing day...

In this epic time,
with every new fear
every new challenge
every new loss
every new emotional hit

In this epic time, who are you becoming:
As you
Release
Let go
Fight to hold on
Discern the difference
Freeze in confusion

Do you believe it's in Your Power to:
Choose the outcome?
Determine the course?

In this epic time,
we may be unique in the lens of history.
In other epic times,
it wasn't seen as epic
Until it was over
And then it was identified as
Epic. 

We, in the age of information
are very aware.
We are 
told cajoled reminded warned 
of our undoing
Every. Single. Day.

Is this the best day?

In this epic time,
We sense the change
We see the waves of unrest
We feel the dis-ease
It is held deep in our bones.

Then, there are the whispers,
the voices to remind us
Maybe the best day is still to come.
Maybe what we see as lost
Is really Opportunity
In this Epic Time.

In this epic time,

might we listen to those who encourage us,
who remind us to seek our best day,
new possibilities for all,
to let go of the frayed edges of our tattered world 
And...

Claim a NEW Best Day.

And, so in this epic time:

Where do you find yourself?
Longing to return to the days of old?
Or...
Energized for the new road ahead?


And so, as we reach the end of this blog post, here's to you and to your best day.  It is my sincere hope that this meditation has given you food for this journey and inspiration as well.

Love,
Your Soul Catalyst, Verna