Your Voice Beneath the Plaster

This will be a somewhat unusual post. First, I want to share a story with you.

Wat Traimit, a temple in Thailand that dates back to the 13th century, today houses a Buddha statue whose ancient image is about 900 years old. When the Burmese were about to sack the city, it was covered in plaster to hide its value. Two centuries later, still in plaster, it was thought to be worth very little. But in 1957, when the image was being moved to a new temple in Bangkok, it slipped from a crane and was left in the mud by workmen. In the morning, a temple monk, who had dreamed that the statue was divinely inspired, went to see the Buddha image. Through a crack in the plaster he saw a glint of yellow, and discovered that the statue was pure gold. http://www.sacred-destinations.com/thailand/bangkok-wat-traimit-golden-buddha

This story inspired me to consider the correlation of our own spirit that lies innate in all of us. Like the monks who protected the statue, we too cover ourselves in our own form of plaster, designed to protect that very spirit. To me, the plaster is composed of many things, with perhaps many layers. Childhood trauma, social conditioning, judgment, hardships. The beauty of this analogy, is that despite the many layers of "plasters" we have applied to protect ourselves, beneath it all is pure gold. The purity of our Spirit, the light that seeks the crack, longing for expression and freedom. Had the presumed worthless statue never been dropped and cracked, perhaps the glistening gold would never have been discovered.

Today I was reminded that we are all born with innate gifts that are ours to give to the world. If your life feels as if you have been dropped from a crane, if you are indeed "cracking," then perhaps it is meant to unveil the deeply resonating gold of your soul. Hardships are never easy. Life can seem unfair. But in the end, it is up to us to allow that resident Divinity a voice, to allow the plaster to fall away, and trust that we are here for a reason. Given space, time, and patience, that reason will let itself be known. But like the monk who was inspired to look more closely, it is up to us to do the same...to take time to listen to the whisper from within.

The Voice of Inconsistency

I know that no one out there reading this ever does this...but do you have anyone in your life, friend, partner, or foe, who is inconsistent from one moment to the next in their communication? Of course, I never do it either...but I do have people in my life who are, well, THAT WAY! Of course, with a little closer self examination...well ...????? When Jimmy Buffet sang Margaritaville he spent the entire song coming to the conclusion "that hell, it's my own damn fault!!" Personally, I think it is a dance we all jitterbug to.

I realized, while playing golf yesterday, that inconsistency is a side product...and can be a very serious side product...of an inability to be present with the moment in front of us. Think of car accidents. Ekhart Tolle has been the master teacher at helping people consider what that means in life. If you have not enjoyed his work or are unfamiliar with him, then please consider this simple example. You are in a hurry and you run into the house, keys in hand, to get something you forgot. You set your keys down and then spend an extra five minutes looking for them before you can leave. I've done it a thousand times...and it is a painful case of lack of presence and a soulful waste of time.

Without showing up, in every moment, we shortchange ourselves out of life. Simple as that. If we are thinking or dwelling in the past, if we are worried or concerned about the future, it is because we are not taking care of the present. Remember when we were little and our parents taught us to cross the street? They would hold our hand, make us stop and wait at the edge of the sidewalk,have us look both ways, and not allow us to cross until we were sure the way was clear. What if we just took today, this moment, and practiced that? Think how different our lives might be. We might see an opportunity before us that we may have otherwise missed. We might get a chance to love the child in front of us, proudly showing us her artwork. We might see that sunset, or hear that inspiring whisper. They say the present is a gift...isn't time we all learned to unwrap it?

I'm My Own Hero

A few years ago I received a sweatshirt from my oldest son with the quote "I'm My Own Hero" printed on it. Above the quote sat a picture of him and I, sitting on Santa's lap, when he was a baby. I love that sweatshirt. Mostly because it's message is a reminder to be kind to myself. I love writing messages here and if there is an underlying theme to my messages, it is "Be Your Own Hero." It is not a matter of self-aggrandizement, but rather a sense of cherished value for your life and the influence your life has on others.

If you have a "hero" it could be beneficial to stop and think how you see that hero in your life. Have they done something extraordinary? Are they successful in life? Do they have extraordinary virtues? Are they teachers? Authors? Scientists? Philosophers? Mystical masters? Are they close to you? Are they stars or celebrities, or notable public figures? I did an exercise once where I was asked to pick five of my heroes and list five attributes for each. At the end of the exercise, we were asked to circle three of the most common attributes found among the five we had chosen. The theory was that the attributes we commonly listed were our own attributes, whether consciously lived or lurking beneath the surface in our subconscious. It would be a good exercise to do again.

Today, be your own hero. Write down all the amazing things you have done for yourself or others in your life. Make a list of the differences you have made simply being alive. Count your friends and your family, your life's work or your hobbies. This is a list that can always be edited, added to, or deleted from. Dig down and find the hero that exists within you, so you can draw on that hero when things become difficult or worrisome, or simply overwhelming. Take that hero into your moment, right now, and breath in the courage of that hero. That hero will not let you down, nor will it ever leave you. It is simply waiting there, in the shadows, for a hug.

Letting the Mud Settle

There is a beautiful Buddhist thought that goes something like..."Can you let the mud settle before you take action?" It came to me at a particular point in my life when I was hurrying to do something, anything, and reminded me to wait. Sometimes we forget to remember such wisdom. In our hurry-up world, a world where microwaving no longer means quick meals but expecting immediate results, this wisdom is easily pushed aside, less palatable.

It takes courage when life is throwing curve balls to stand still and simply dodge them. Our fight or flight instincts are strong; they kept us alive as we struggled to escape wild animals and the ravages of living in a cave. They have morphed, unfortunately, into mental fears that if given space and grace, would show themselves to be what they truly are...makings of our own tired imagination. I don't know about you, but so many of my reactions over the years (the results of NOT letting the mud settle) were simply re-runs (re-enactments) of the situation I was trying to avoid in the first place. Had I had the presence of mind to "let the mud settle" I might have ended up with some very different (and far more desired) results.

As a culture, we are not comfortable with silence or inaction. Inaction, by the way, is not the same as inertia...a theme for another blog. While the old west is long gone, most of us are still wearing our six-shooters at our hips, whipping them out and aiming when confronted with the inevitable challenges that life brings. Most times doing nothing, until the right response or direction is understood or clear, can bring us that longed for state of mind and body called "peace." It gives way for breath, and life and real solutions. It offers each other respect for the struggles all of us face from time to time. Letting the mud settle creates clear waters. We can then see the bottom of the pond, the path before us, the boulders or canyons that can harm us. Such wisdom, such insight, is priceless.