Relax and Enjoy?
As I sit on the porch of our house watching the trees gently sway in the wind, I sometimes drift back in time to remember other June days when we had fewer cares and preoccupations. There are remembrances of playing with friends, participating in sports events and spending significant time in, on and around the inland water lakes of Michigan. These are times of remembering roots that grew into the deep cultural soil of my being. These are limbs I hang onto when going into the difficulties of the first quarter of the twenty first century. They help me see the view!
Many years ago I thought the twenty first century would become a new age of wisdom and understanding, of peace and prosperity, but I missed the mark. For me and many others, it has been a steady regression into more craving, disappointment and loss. We the people have watched and participated in global wars, cultural upheavals, refugee camps and pandemics. We have tried to ignore the darkness, but it keeps breaking through the light. We’ve tried to support ‘Business as Usual,’ but we’ve begun to realize that it’s not a healthy and sustainable choice.
What does it mean to stand tall and proud when you’re constantly being beaten down and humiliated? What does it mean to be content and enjoy the view when the view is filled with addiction, destruction, poverty and abuse? What does it mean to drink plenty of water when the water is polluted and unfit to drink? What does it mean to stand tall when you’re being cut down and crucified? There are lots of ways to interpret life, all of which depend on where you live, move and have your being. These directives can lead to death; they can also lead to new life!
What does it mean for you to relax and enjoy June, the beginning of summer? Does it call you to a life you’ve already lived and want to live again, or does it call you to a life you have yet to live? Does it invite you into a calm centered space or into a frenetic scattered place? How can you be content when so much around you is in chaos and confusion? How do you deal with these ever present dualities, conflicts, contradictions? Why would anyone take the advice of a tree, to stand tall and proud, when so many people who try to do so get reviled, condemned and cut down?
Many have said summer comes to love us away from our computers and help us live the life we dream of. Others have said summer invites us to dance on the grass, dig our toes into the sand and find new ways to come together as family. Others have said summer comes to remind us of how difficult it is to live in poverty and squalor without enough food, fresh water and amenities we need to cross the divide. It’s all relative and depends on how many trees we have in our midst; how many flowers reside in our souls and how many opportunities are available to us. Hmm.
As I sit in the comfort of a house with lots of trees, deep roots, clean water, air conditioning and great views, I wonder about those who don’t. I wonder what I can be and do to help others experience the gifts of life I enjoy. I wonder at relaxing and enjoying while others in the global community are struggling to survive and dying to live. I wonder at my empathy and apathy, my acceptance of the status quo and my call to co-create a world of abundance for all. Sitting with all this, I struggle to relax and enjoy, to be content and appreciate the view. How about you?
- Recognizing there are no easy answers to the questions I’m posing, allow yourself to briefly feel the dissonance in the world and in you………….. Now shift and relax into the resonance, a deep inner peace that’s also here. Drop your shoulders and rest as you breathe slowly and deeply………………..Experience this ever present peace that surpasses all human understanding. Soak in it for as long as you can and allow it to guide you. Do this at least three times today every day for a week and see what happens. Relax and Enjoy. . . .
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