There is always purpose in being,
but not always being in purpose!
How easily we get caught up in defining who we are in relation to those around us.... this is how our ambitions often evolve. We first find ourselves alone in the joy of what we're doing. But somehow, there are suddenly others along the way, and we lapse into the breathless race of comparison, and then we are hopelessly running to avoid being termed a failure. From here, we often latch onto the nearest goal as a purpose; if we can't find one nearby, we are thought to be adrift. But our lasting sense of purpose is in our breathing, in our being!
Underneath all our worries about careers and jobs and retirements, "
our purpose really comes down to living fully
, to being alight with who we are beneath all the names and titles we are given or aspire to."
Imagine Buddha in his moment of enlightenment, of being lighted from within. I doubt he knew he was aglow. In fact, when Buddha rose from under the Bodhi tree, it is said a monk approached him in utter amazement at his luminosity and asked, "O Holy One, what are you? You must be a God."
Buddha, not thinking of himself as anything but present, answered, "No... not a God," and kept walking.
But the dazzled monk persisted, "Then you must be a Deva," and Buddha stopped and said, "No... not a Deva," and kept walking.
Still, the monk pursued him, "Then you must be Brahma himself!"
At this, Buddha simply uttered, "No."
The man, confused, implored, "Then what are you---Tell me, please---what are you?!"
Buddha could not repress his joy and replied,
"I am awake."
Can it be that our purpose, no matter whom we run into, no matter what we are told, is simply to be AWAKE?
- Sit quietly and meditate on what keeps you from knowing yourself.
- Breathe deeply, and lower your walls with an offering of gratitude that is not attached to any one thing.
- Now inhale with gratitude and exhale what remains in the way.
- Repeat this several times throughout your day.
From "The Book of Awakening" by Mark Nepo
Awake is to be aware... aware is to be mindful! When the mind is quiet and comes into stillness, there is room for awareness to move in. The breath slows, the body relaxes, thoughts calm down, and we stop being and just Be. It's this state of Being that we find ourselves completely present in what is real for us at that very moment. The past and the future are forgotten and our focus rests solely on the now. We welcome thoughts, emotions and feelings without resisting them or reacting to them. In this Being state, the doors to self awareness open and we become a conscious witness to magic unfolding in our lives!
We are the infinite Light of
OneLOVE
Rev. Barbara
