Gratitude
It has been said that gratitude is the parent of all virtues, and I believe it to be true. If you think about it, how can you be kind or loving or any of the other important virtues unless you are grateful? I am thankful for everybody and everything in my life, and this includes the struggles, for within every adverse situation lies an opportunity for personal growth or insight. I am also thankful for the "no thing" in my life, or life itself, for the gift of the breath and the beat of the heart, these are simple yet amazingly powerful things to acknowledge.
A year ago I made a conscious decision to voluntarily live a more simple life. I bought a small yurt and moved into it on my brother's farm this last June. Living simply in a yurt has brought a much deeper sense of gratitude to my life. I do not have running water yet at the yurt and bring it in from an outside source. This does not seem like a big deal when I think that ore than 1 billion people on this planet do not have clean water at all. Often when I am filling the water jug that I use, I am amazed at the miracle of running clean water from a faucet. Sometimes it is easy to forget that without water, none of us would even be here.
In this culture that is full of conveniences and luxuries it is easy to loose track of how blessed we all are. We live in a culture full of material abundance that is still looking for "more of something." I believe the current state of the economic world is a symptom of a lack of gratitude among other moral shortcomings that are a product of widespread psychological illness. I think it is safe to say that greed has gotten the best of us and greed is the opposite of gratitude.
When I think of the economic collapse that appears to be taking place, my thoughts go to nature, which always seeks out equilibrium. I pray that humankind will stop the unsustainable practices that have led to this inevitable outcome and learn from nature instead of trying to conquer it. The idea of unlimited economic growth within a system that has limited resourses is insane. The next time you are feeling overwhelmed by the details of life, stop, go outside and go for a walk in a park or even your yard if you have one. Just observe the peace and balance that nature has to offer and take some deep breaths; things may just seem di fferent in an instant. I believe that there is a direct connection between feeling grateful and being at peace with oneself.
There seems to be a lot of confusion in regards to wants and needs in this culture. We tend to want what we don't need and don't want what we truly need. I think this confusion is directly connected to a lack of gratitude because if you don't really know what you want and need, how can you be sincerely grateful for what you have? Do you know what the problem with wanting more is? As soon as you get more, you want more again. I think that this is a vicious cycle that a lot of people are caught up in, in this land of consumerism. If you want less, you will instantly have more. This is true because abundance is a state of mind and not a place that you arrive through acquiring material things.
The following is a piece that I wrote back on October 31 of 2009. Its theme revolves around Halloween, but the message is beyond any one day of the year.
Life/Death
I was pondering what Halloween means to me and to our culture at large and thought I would share with you. I have been disenchanted by the commercialization of "The Holidays" here in America and have been making an effort to rethink what their deeper more traditional meanings are. If you look into the history of Halloween there are multiple versions on its meaning and origins. Here are some things that I found while digging a little - All Hallows' Eve (All Saints Eve) in honor of all saints known and unknown, Samhain "Summer's End" marking the end of the harvest in ancient Celtic times, and the Day of the Dead.
The Day of the Dead hit a cord within me that is an area that I often ponder. Death, the great unknown which is much feared by most and even viewed as taboo by some. In this very linear culture of material things that have a finite "shelf life" the concept of Death is the end of life. I have made an observation within myself and of those around me - the more one is into the "things" the less one is into one's true self, which has no end and defies the illusion of Death. How am I dying? This is a very interesting question to ask ourselves compared to How am I living? I truly believe that the quality of our life experience is rooted to our relationship with the unavoidable biological failure that we will all experience (some call this Death). It is this relationship with Death that all other relationships are built on. Are you truly living or are you just trying not to die?
The harvest season is a time of plenty, a time to reap what we have sewn. I have found great spiritual lessons within my experiences of growing things. There is much symbolism in the garden and plenty of lessons to learn. I think it is interesting to look at the "harvest" aspect of this cycle and how it is a death of the plant that provides the harvest of the fruit. It is this continual transference of energy from the earth and sky to us and then back again. There is no end just transitions, summer to fall, light to dark, flower to fruit and manifested to unmanifested and then back again.
How about the Saint thing? Those are some big shoes to fill, are they not? We all know of saints and many of us probably look up to them quite regularly. But I ask you, how many of you feel like a saint? If the answer is no, why is this so? Are there not enough opportunities for us to be saintly? I believe that many of those that we consider to be saints would deny the accusation, but their actions say otherwise. I have been looking at our culture more than ever through my studies at the university and we definitely need a lot more saints here in the good old USA! You are probably laughing right now thinking that I did not need to attend the university to see this one! Well your right, but I have been studying the American Culture lately through one of my Anthropology classes and have seen a few things about our cultural beliefs that make the economic insanity and the social decay of our country seem very logical and predictable. In short - Individualism, the very life blood of America, is destroying the social fabric of our democracy's existence. One thing that I have learned from studying cultural anthropology is that it is very difficult to clearly observe and examine our cultural beliefs because I am doing so through the "lens" of my cultural perspective. Even with that said, I do believe that we as Americans, as a whole, need to question a lot more than we are! Stepping down from the soap box I will just say that I hope and pray that we all find the courage to be more saintly. Not in image, but in action. I know in my heart that we all can act like saints. It is in these saintly actions that salvation lies within the true expression of fearless love for the stranger that is you.
Something very profound happened to me this last Friday that I am compelled to share with you. I think you know that I am a believer in what Gandhi taught and that I am practicing Ahimsa (nonharming or nonviolence). I emphasize the "practicing" aspect because recently I have been giving this subject a lot of my attention and have realized how very difficult it is to be a part of this culture and do no harm. If you haven't read the opinion that I wrote in January, I suggest that you read it before you continue with this story, there is a link at the bottom that will take you there.
The following is a story that tries to describe something very profound that I experienced back in April of 2009. It refers to the op-ed that was published by the Ashland Daily Tidings on January 21, 2009 and that I just posted today on the home page of this blog. I suggest reading this story along with the op-ed piece. They go together and speak directly to our times and the struggles that faced Dr. King and Gandhi, and that we all still face.
The Coyote's Lesson on Ahimsa
Something very profound happened to me this last Friday that I am compelled to share with you. I think you know that I am a believer in what Gandhi taught and that I am practicing Ahimsa (nonharming or nonviolence). I emphasize the "practicing" aspect because recently I have been giving this subject a lot of my attention and have realized how very difficult it is to be a part of this culture and do no harm. If you haven't read the opinion that I wrote in January, I suggest that you read it before you continue with this story, there is a link at the bottom that will take you there.
When I made my vow to Ahimsa I decided that I should also experiment with a vegetarian diet to accommodate this vow. I didn't eat any meat for about two months and I was feeling very week and tired from this change in diet. I didn't want my study's to suffer from this choice so I returned to eating a little meat once in awhile. I haven't given up on eating a vegetarian diet and believe that with a little more education it will work for me. A week ago I noticed the bugs that were smashing against the windshield as I drove and what that meant to my vow of Ahimsa. Just this last Wednesday evening after leaving a practice at Rasa Yoga Center, I ran over a squirrel as I was getting on the freeway in Medford and thought about Ahimsa. The question that arose in my mind was "Is Ahimsa in direct contradiction with this culture?"
I am currently a full time student at SOU in Ashland and commute three days a week from the Central Point area. My Friday class is a Philosophy class titled Raja Yoga which basically is an overview of the study of Yoga, not just in Hatha Yoga but the bigger picture of Yoga. This last Friday in class, we had a short discussion on Ahimsa. The opinions varied on what it exactly meant to each of us and the level that one is willing to practice it at. I shared a story of how I have been stung by two scorpions in my life. Once when I was 19 and I killed the scorpion after it stung me. The second time was just two years ago while on vacation in Mexico and I with the help of a friend, carefully put the scorpion outside of the rental house that we were in. When this second scorpion stung me I realized that it was just being a scorpion and I was just being a careless human. I told this story with conviction and in full support of the nonharming all of creation. We talked about several other topics and did some Pranayama (breathing practice) at the end of class. I left class feeling great! I got in the truck that I drive and started out for the freeway. I got on I 5 at the south Ashland exit heading North. I didn't even get a mile and out of the corner of my eye, I saw a beautiful coyote running across the meridian of the interstate and before I could realize what was about to happen, I ran it over and killed it. I was initially surprised to even see the coyote there in the day light and then horrifically shocked at the fate of our paths crossing. I knew instantly that this was a lesson for me in the reality of practicing Ahimsa. I felt a deep sense of grief when I hit the coyote and could see his/her lifeless body laying in the road behind me, but I respected the sacrifice that life had offered up with this painful lesson. After a short time of absorbing what had happened I drove back towards the South Ashland exit to buy some sage, remove the body from the road and burn the sage in respect. While I was driving south bound between the Ashland exits I could see the coyote laying in the road and then noticed a highway department vehicle heading towards it, which I assumed was on its way to pick it up. I went into Ashland bought the sage and a lighter and headed back north for the coyote. It was gone as I thought it would be but I stopped and burnt the sage in respect for it and myself. If you know me well, you that I have a very deep connection with nature. One that is along the lines of the Native American's love and honor for all of creation. Through this connection and belief I felt like I had just run over a very good friend, not a good feeling at all.
The very next day I participated in Max Strom's workshop on "Burning Karma" and "Forgiveness", good timing huh? Several years ago I was awakened to the reality that there are no coincidences in life. When we are awake to the cause and effect in our life and open to the idea that the effects that we are experiencing may have been caused unconsciously or even long, long ago, we can see the deeper meaning that is there. For me this was a slap up side the head and I heard "So you think you are practicing Ahimsa, do you?"
Even as I write this I am becoming aware of more layers of meaning from this intense experience. I am reminded of the therapeutic nature of writing and how important it is to share life's experiences with each other. Life is so amazing when we can see all the lessons that are being offered up. I know that Ahimsa is a practice and with all practices we must be patient. How much patients do you think the natural world has left for us? I see now more than ever, that it is about the thoughts that are behind our deeds that really are important for inner peace. Is there something in your life that you can take a closer or even different look at and try to see the deeper meaning that is being offered to you? Thank you for taking the time to allow me to share with you, wishing you well.
