Who Am I? Why Am I Here? And What Am I Doing?

Who Am I?  Why Am I Here?  And What Am I Doing?  These are the perennial questions of our existence.  It doesn't matter if we are fourteen years old or eighty-four years old, these three questions are appropriate for us to ask ourselves at any time in our lives.

While we are young children, we can still resonate with the infinite from whence we have just come.  When we reach our elder years, similarly we can find ourselves at peace with the idea of returning to the mystery of our source.  Reports of near death experiences give us glimpses into what that infinite source is like.  Most tell us of a great calming peace and feelings that 'all is well,' with a sense of total freedom from fear.  But, as we enter fully into this life and before we are ready to depart from it once more, we tend to forget that vast expansive aspect of who we all are.

During all of the many years between early childhood and advanced older age, our focus is largely spent on the day to day aspects of life: acquisition, protection, presentation and more.  We seek to satisfy our wants and needs.  We strive for the end points with little regard for what lies between.  We get our meals and chase after our goals, speeding along the way, too often absentmindedly crushing the delicate flowers beneath our feet.  We hurry on by, bumping into others without stopping to say, 'I'm sorry,' or even wondering why.

If we are lucky, from time to time, an existential crisis catches us and stops us in our tracks.  I feel that this is like an emergency break for the soul.  Something happens that gives us pause: a death, the loss of a job, an illness or the end of a relationship.  Then, in come those three little questions again, helping us to take stock, re-evaluate, see who we are, and who we might want to become.  

The deep soul searching that these pauses can bring us, if we are  open to it, can let us see how we are being in the world.  Are we being kind?  Are we bringing as much love and compassion, forgiveness and understanding as we can muster?  Do we express our gratitudes and appreciation for those around us?  Have we stopped to admire the beauty that is present in every moment.  Are we honoring our bodies, the temples of our soul?  

When we take these little (or sometimes big) pauses in life, to see ourselves, another blessing occurs.  We start to see those around us through these kinds of eyes as well.  As we drop our focus on our day to day pursuits, we can see more of their essence.  We see their earnestness, their sincerity, their big hearts and loving devotion.  

I've come to believe that each and every one of us is doing the very best that we can in every moment.  I feel that we are all making the most appropriate choice, for who we are, in any given time and place.  I also feel that we are here to learn and grow.  

Sometimes we grow faster in certain areas of life, and sometimes we grow slower in other areas.  And, it's all okay.  I may be better in science than I am in math.  Whereas my best friend might be just the opposite.  So I look to her for help in my weaker, or less developed parts of my self.  And she looks to me for tips and guidance in the areas where she is not as strong.  Together we help each other.

When we take the time to see ourselves, and everyone whom we encounter, in this way, we find ourselves in an increased state of openness.  We might even enter into wonder and awe.  This is where the magic lies.  Here is where our transformation takes place.  Our fears drop away.  We find equanimity and a sense of understanding, and we embody some of that infinite source from whence we came and where we will all return.

So, for this New year, I'm going to propose to myself a little challenge.  One that will invite that little pause into my every day.  Can I, once a day, ask, who I am?  Am I hurried or am I noticing?  Maybe once an hour, can I bring a flicker of awareness to, why I am here?  Am I learning and growing?  Am I being grateful and kind?  Maybe, if I am lucky, I can hold a tiny bit of awareness in every moment of, why I am doing what I am doing, whatever that may be.  And maybe, just maybe, if I am lucky, I can remember that I am a part of the Divine expansive, interconnected and unified whole, holding myself, all the while, in gentle hands, as I would my own precious darling child.  

Wish me luck with this, my New Year's Resolution.  And I wish you luck with yours, whatever it might be, knowing that whatever it is, it is perfect, and the very best choice for you.

May we all be blessed with a wondrous and very Happy New Year.
All my love to you. 

© Josephine Laing 2019
 

Rescue!

The other day I saw a short video of a rescue that a man did saving the life of a dog in Russia.  The dog had somehow walked out about ten feet onto the spill way of a dam.  There on the perilous edge, with several inches of water flowing underfoot, the dog froze in fear, unable to move to save it's own life.  A spontaneous rescue team assembled with on-lookers overhead.  One man with an assistant had climbed down onto the spill way and then inched his way along the slippery precipice, slowly and carefully approaching the dog from behind. 

When he reached the animal, he patted it in friendly way, speaking softly to it and gently took hold of it's collar.  Then ever so carefully, dragging the terrified and immobilized dog with him, he backed his way to safety.  At that point, he tied a rope, which was dangling from above, around the dog's chest and neck, creating a sling.  The support team from above then hoisted the animal up the sheer concrete wall to safe ground and the man and his assistant climbed back up the ladder to join them.

It was quite a sight.  And it left a deep impression on me.  Here was this man, brave beyond belief, saving the life of a dog that he didn't even know.  Why would someone do such a thing, at risk to all they hold dear?  Not only was his own precious life held delicately in the balance, but the lives of all who love that man or depend on him for their means of support, their lives were also cast into jeopardy.  Yet, at times like these, we think of none of that.  We simply step up and do what needs to be done.  We run into the burning house to save the cat.  We jump into the deep water, even if we don't know how to swim, to save the child from drowning.  One might ask why is that?

In a lecture that I saw by Joseph Campbell, years ago, he said, this is because, "You and the other are one."

Now, that certainly puts a damper on the whole 'survival of the fittest idea,' doesn't it?  In fact it smacks it right in the face, because the deeper reality is our interconnectedness.  It's all of us or none of us. 

My husband last night was commenting on war.  He said that the 'casualties' from the recent Gulf Wars have now totaled more suicides among returned vets than battle deaths.  He also said that an older friend of his, who was in World War Two, once told him that they all tried not to shoot anyone.  They just impressively blew up the surrounding areas in hopes that the "enemy" would retreat. 

All of the great spiritual traditions inform us that we are all one.  There is after all some version of the Golden Rule in every one of them.  "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."  Yet instead, too often our religions teach us separation.  We are told that their way is the only way to union with the Divine and that all others must conform to their beliefs or be condemned.  And, much more tragically, way too often, our religious doctrines see others who don't conform, as being worthy of slaughter.  These are dangerous ideas and they have plagued humanity for way too long. 

This premise of separation also holds true for our patriotic affiliations.  We value our own familiar ways of being over the ways of others.  However, I also recently saw a video on how extensively our ancestry is shared.  In it, an Englishmen denounced all Germans, and an Irish woman denounced the French until they gave some saliva and allowed it to be tested to see how much of their own genetic material was shared by the genes of the others.  Then they realized the folly of their formerly passionately held opinions and saw how denouncing the others was denouncing their very own selves.

The time has come for us to all rescue each other from these dogmas of separation and realize that we are all one.  Each and every one of us is a part of the great stream of life.  We all contain our one little drop from the ocean of Divinity.  And the time is upon us now to embrace this truth.  Not only for us humans in regards to other humans, but also, in regards to all of life.  What we do to the other, we do to ourselves.  If we were to let another die, we would be letting a part of ourselves die.  And the man with the dog on the cliff of the dam demonstrated that to me that with his courage and his deeper instinct of oneness.

© Josephine Laing, 2016

Being Kind to Allah, Krishna, Buddha and Christ

Being Kind to Allah, Krishna, Buddha and Christ would be easy, right?  It would feel natural to honor and love whichever one was in alignment with our spiritual beliefs or with those of our family of origin.  What about Sophia, Quan Yin, White Buffalo Calf Woman or Innana?  Turning the clock back a few hundred or a few thousand years may challenge us a little, as it opens the door to the feminine expression of the Divine.  What if we go even farther and leave race and gender behind?  What if we were to soar into Rumi's poem about seeing our own selves as Divine? 

Behold the body, born of dust, 

how perfect it has become!  

Why should you fear its end?  

When were you ever made less by dying?  

When you pass beyond this human form, 

no doubt you will become an angel and soar through the heavens!  

But don't stop there.  

Even heavenly bodies grow old.  

Pass again from the heavenly realm and plunge into the ocean of Consciousness.  

Let the drop of water that is you become a hundred mighty seas.  

But do not think that the drop alone becomes the Ocean, 

the Ocean, too, becomes the drop!

Here we are talking about a whole new level of self love.  To see ourselves as a part of Divinity, as being an expression of God, Goddess, all that is, opening up to the idea of moving beyond our sense of separation from Divinity, this is almost too far for us to go just yet.  Can we love ourselves with the same fervor and passion as we have loved our human-like images of the Divine?  We can, and we must.  For when we have finally learned to be kind to ourselves, we will have learned how to love, honor and be kind to each other and to all.  We will have learned to see the God Source in everything. 

I have certainly seen Divine glance winking out from the deep seas of my horse's eyes or from the chrysalis as she splits and unfurls and spreads her wings to dry, even in lightning and thunder as they rage across the sky.  And, when we finally awaken to the truth of this we will have come to the understanding of Namaste, to see the Divinity in each other and in all.  We will have rounded the bend that is becoming known as the great turning of humanity away from war and destruction and into the golden Age of Peace, with Kindness, honoring and love for us all.

© Josephine Laing, 2015