Sidewalk Bends

The spirit and soul cannot be enslaved. They cannot be contained in a box or a container. They belong to no one and yet they belong to everyone and to everything. In this life or the next, they are witnesses to our every being. They are teachers. They are blank slates. They are memories made and memories to be made. They are conscious reminders of who we are and who we are to be. They are the spark of life, and yet they are not all of life. They are connected to all that is, and yet they have never been disconnected. They are not limited by distance. They are not limited by time or by the confines of the body. They are freedom personified.

When will your soul be satisfied?
Will it be satisfied when it has found eternal bliss?
Will it be satisfied when it has found its master?
Will your soul be satisfied after you’ve lived a saint’s life?

When will your mind be satisfied?
Will it be satisfied when it can be convinced of the truth?
Will it be satisfied when it can hide its lies?
Will your mind be satisfied when your heart takes a backseat?

When will your heart be satisfied?
Will it be satisfied when it remembers unconditional love?
Will it be satisfied when it no longer aches?
Will your heart be satisfied when it’s seated at the thrown?

When will you be satisfied?

Scraped knees.
Monkey bars.
Everyone’s got a story.

Ice cream.
Waffle cone.
Everyone’s got a story.

Daydream.
Nightmares.
Everyone’s got a story.

Sleepless nights.
Early mornings.
Everyone’s got a story.

Happy smiles.
Worn frowns.
Everyone’s got a story.

Heartache.
Warm embrace.
Everyone’s got a story.

When are you going to tell yours?

With each step and each floor you move up, can you see your reflection?
Can you see the consequences in each direction?

When your foot hits the ground and meets your shadow,
can you remove all the pain and harrow?

When you walk forward and meet your reflection, can you stand in place and accept what you see?
Can you accept all the reflections you set free?

Before you utter a sound, can you hear the thoughts fall asunder?
When walking pass yourself, do you see yourself a stranger?

Can you see their eyes pierce your soul?
Can you walk a naked truth, and pay no toll?

Remember love instead of deep anguish. Remember what made you whole rather than the things that tear you apart. Do not try to capture the past, or dwell on the things you wish could be, but live now. Do not try to change those around you, but instead allow them to be who they are. Share yourself freely, without want for how another should be. Allow others to make their choice even if that choice should lead one to a dark place. For in making their own choice, they are able to accept the outcomes. And in accepting the outcomes they can forge their own path, a new path. But until you can allow another to walk on their own, they will never know freedom.

No matter how long you travel a path with another person, you are no more defined by them as they are of you. Your choice is your choice. Your path is your path. At each moment it can be remade. At each moment it can be extended. At each moment another road can be explored. And at each moment you can decide that there is no path, and that there is only you. In accepting you, you may see how each choice, each action, each thought, affects all of existence; one heart, one soul.

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photo: LIFE Magazine; Hindus Gather At Sacred Rivers For Kumbh Mela Festival

Would you give a piece of your soul to someone or something if you knew it could bring them back? Would you give a piece of your soul to someone if you knew that it would help them see the truth? Would you give a piece of your soul if you knew you could not get it back? What if our souls did not belong to us? What if they belonged to everyone? What if what we thought were individual souls, were in fact the pieces of our self that we remembered? What if our souls were like drops of water in an ocean of souls? What if we were constantly giving of ourselves and receiving of others? Would we still exist as individuals? Would we remember who we are?

We are like the ocean. From many drops We are One. Thrust your fist into the ocean and grab a fist full of knowledge. Through your hands it escapes, but become the ocean, and understand there is nothing to grab. There is nothing even to give. There is acceptance and realization. United in a single dance, We are One.

Silence by itself does not bring wisdom. Silence by itself does not bring enlightenment. Silence by itself does not bring understanding. All too often, silence is sought as a refuge in times of turmoil and turbulence in one’s life. In seeking solitude, one must ask if they are in fact running from their problems, and in the end, running from themselves. Although silence is a useful tool, without contemplative meditation, or looking into one’s own heart for what causes them pain, it simply serves as another back drop for what is really occurring.

Pain in and of itself is not necessarily a bad thing. It can serve to correct us. Pain can often serve as an indicator that we must look into ourselves, and into the things that bring us anguish so that we can avoid those situations if there is a next time. And although we may stumble and continue to make mistakes or make waves in this existence we call life, we’ll have at least stopped long enough to see ourselves as we truly are, a naked soul for all to see. So if silence is something you seek, seek it not for the sake of silence itself, but for what can come of it.

May the silent mind bring peace to the forefront. May it envelop you in an everlasting joy. May it bring clarity and understanding for all you seek. And when that silence has become deafening, do not be afraid to share the songs of your heart.

There are some for whom death brings to an end to all of life as they know it, whether they viewed it as a glorious adventure, or an inconsequential endeavor. Some view it as the ushering in of a new phase of existence. The physical body is shed, and the spirit and soul are allowed to roam free without boundaries and shackles to tie them down. Others still, view death as one great reset button. With this life at an end, a new one is ready to be lived and the past a distant memory.

So which is it? Does it matter? Would you treat this life that you live now any differently? Would you live for the consequences of what may be to come, or would you live your life for what is now? Hedging bets against this life can only take one so far. For in assuming knowledge or anticipating what is to come, whether it is in death, or just a new day, we rob ourselves of a life we could enjoy right now. There is no guarantee that death, tomorrow, or even the next moment will bring something different than what can be achieved in this moment. Freedom for the soul and the spirit is in this moment. The reset button is in this moment. The new life is in this moment. What are you waiting for? Push it.

There will be many who claim things to be impossible. They will claim prior knowledge from past experiences or shared conversations. They may even mock and ridicule you for the things you say or do. Mind them not for what is in your heart is in your heart. What is in your soul is in your soul. Offer yourself as you are, without fear of recrimination. Offer that which is available for all to know, without prejudice. Offer the truth without judgment. Offer it without want for outcome. We are all reservoirs of knowledge. Created from the same breath, we are a divine expression. Take solace in being you for it should not be any other way. Although some may speak unkindly, and some may try to impede, they do nothing but hinder themselves. Walk the path of your heart for it should not be any other way.