Have you ever been to the Grand Canyon? I have, some time ago. Nothing could have prepared me for the
absolute breath-taking view. You don’t realize
how very tiny you are until you stand beside it, feel the ancient energy of it
and imagine its creation. I don’t know
exactly why, but I was remembering the Grand Canyon in a dream I had a few
nights ago. I didn’t recall it for its
aesthetic beauty and grandeur. I
recalled it because of what my mind has been wrestling with forever, it seems.
The steadfast rock and Earth surrounds us, water flows
within and around us. Great rivers erode
the rock slowly over time and yet in some place and at some times, the work of
the water flowing etches gently and cuts deeply into the Earth. If you think about it or truly realize it, as
stunningly beautiful as the Grand Canyon is – remember, it was created by water
flowing over rock and wind whipping through it over time. I think of us, mere
mortals, our daily trials and tribulations and even the minor things we tend to
get so upset about. To me, it’s all like
water flowing over rocks and wind whipping through. We may be etched and cut into by the various
elements of existence that flow around and through us in our experience but we
are no less beautiful in the end than before our lives began.
We do so many things, we strive to achieve this or that, to
acquire, to gather and hold things to us and that is a funny thing to me. Nothing remains forever just as it is. Life here is forever changing, merging,
falling away - blowing away even. We fly, we crash, and we tumble and
flow. Just like the wind, the water,
just like the rocks we live upon. We can
stand firm in the fullness of our being and let life flow within and around
us. It doesn’t matter what we do, what
we achieve, what we learn or acquire, the part of us that witnesses all of our
life-experience, remains the same – unharmed and ever transformed. We live, we breathe and we die but there is
that part of us that remains untouched like the day we were born, pure and
pristine. It doesn’t matter what we go
through and grow through because in the end, that pure and pristine part of us
lives on.
The point of this is not that you should not acquire, grow
or learn as you live and breathe in this life but rather that you should
understand what remains and what changes.
In a way, what remains and changes is the same. That is confusing in a way. Perhaps it is all about aspects and
perspectives of what we choose, how we take in an experience or how it is we
might use it? We ARE. No matter what we have or don’t, who supports
us or won’t, how we live or die – no matter what, we still ARE. We are made neither greater nor lesser by
what we do really. We still ARE. If we dress Class Act, or bare cozy and
comfy, we still just ARE. I think that
the more I live, the more I understand what nature is trying so hard to teach
us.
These observations and thoughts didn’t come to me all at
once. These thoughts didn’t occur to or
comfort me as I acquired and gathered, or while I surrendered and lost. Whether I was climbing ladders, or admitting
defeat, I still AM. There is a part of
me that remains pure and pristine no matter what it is I mire myself in. It seems that what I do, is for my
entertainment, because I feel moved to do this or that. It feels good sometimes to do this and
that. It feels bad sometimes to do this
or that. But when the feelings of
whatever it is I am or was engaged in fade, I remain just as whole as I was. I still AM.
I go back to my memories of the Grand Canyon and take a slow
and easy breath in and out. The water is not evil because it cut the walls of
the canyon. The colorful rocks that have
withstood the years and seasons are not weak because they stood still. No matter what the experience, they still ARE
and yet they are beautifully transformed in a way by the experience but their
essence and their power is not lost or made lesser by interaction with the
elements. When I see the rocks now, I
feel gratitude and deep appreciation for their existence. When I see the rain, water flowing – I feel
grateful and a deep affinity for it’s existence. When the wind blows it carries aspects of
rock and water and I’m grateful as the air I breathe carries the pure power of
transformation. When I feel the heat of
the sun, I am reminded of the gifts of transformation it too brings. These things can harm and support me but I am
made neither greater nor lesser for my experience of them.
You, in your lives, living day in and day out, working and
achieving or learning and growing – you are made no greater or lesser as a
result of your experience. Even though
you may be transformed willingly or unwillingly remember that there is an
aspect of you that will remain pure and pristine as the day you were born. Live, laugh, play and love. Enjoy fully the richness of your experience
here. Appreciate your surroundings,
check in now and then to see if you find value in what you are learning. Strive
if you feel moved to – to understand all of your amazing and magical teachers
in this life. Everything matters. You
too matter. Never mind how life has
shaped you, cut through you or changed you.
Your soul is still beautiful and filled with magic. You still ARE. Blessings of great love to you.
Copyright 2020, Jaie Hart (Photo NPS.org)
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