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.

There are things in life that have to take its course. Although we would like to have control over every single aspect of every event that happens to us in life, we have to understand that what happens is not always understood right away, or ever for that matter. Grabbing on to every bit of life for the sake of feeling in control only leads us to doubt ourselves when the things we think are going to happen don’t quite match up with what we’ve told ourselves.

The road starts to disappear, a clear path seems to be overgrown with obstacles, and what we are left with is the trust that we’ll get through it all. We can grab the wheel of control tighter or we can let things take its course. However at some point we have to understand that no amount of maneuvering or trying to drive from the backseat will change the outcome. It only adds to the stress and to the feeling that everything has slipped from our grips. So in the end we can sit and enjoy the ride or we can try to avoid facing ourselves.

This does not mean taking a back seat to life, but quite the opposite. It means enjoying every aspect of it. It means not counting the time. It means not worrying about what’s in back of you or necessarily what’s two steps in front of you. It means living for the moment, regardless of what comes. It means accepting the lessons of life, whether they come as happy moments or heartaches. It means learning to take joy even in those difficult moments when we find it difficult to stare ourselves in the mirror.

We’ve got to face this road, but not alone, never alone. That is a choice, like all other choices, made from a place of love and serenity, or from a place of fear and loathing. Though we might sometimes come from a place of fear or hurt, it’s never too late to turn a new leaf, to shine a light on a difficult moment, and enjoy life.

When the water flows let it be. Let it fall through every crack and crevice. Let it flow over every rock and leaf. When the water flows, let it follow the creeks and rivers. Let it nourish the thirsty. When the water flows, let it trickle down from the highest peak to the lowest valley. Let it bathe and cleanse. Let it refresh and bring life. When the water flows, bring it to the table of those who would drink. When the water flows, save not for tomorrow, but bask in the infinite. When the water flows…

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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.

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.

Why are so many afraid to look into their own soul? Why are so many afraid to ask themselves questions that go deeper than the surface? Why are so many afraid to look themselves in the mirror? Could it be that deep down, they know they have squandered an opportunity? Could it be they are ashamed of a decision, or a life that has somehow gotten them off track? Could it be there is a hurt so great that the mind refuses to stare itself in the eye?

Like cracks in a dam, pain slowly leaks. It spreads into our daily life consuming all before it. Left to suffer the cracks get deeper and deeper. Though it seems like nothing can be done to repair it, sometimes all it takes is looking. Sometimes all it takes is looking, and learning to accept who we are and the decisions we’ve made. Nothing can be done to change the choices we’ve made, but life is not lived in the past. It’s lived today. It’s lived one decision at a time.

And so although it may sometimes be painful to look into our soul, or into the soul of others, sometimes we need a reminder of who we are. Sometimes we need reminders of lessons long since passed, and of lessons swept under the covers. We are who we are in the past. We are who we are in the future. We are who we are now. The question is do you know who you are? Do you truly know who you are? There is no shame in being you.

What does it mean to be spiritual? Does it mean following any one religion? Does it mean believing in an all powerful creator? Does it mean being able to communicate with spirits and angels? Does it mean seeing auras? Does it mean seeing and feeling the connectedness of all of creation? What does it mean?

Maybe it doesn’t mean anything except to the person who asks the question. We find so many ways so separate, whether it’s race, gender, sexual-preference, culture, religion, socio-economic status or education. Do we need yet another way to separate? Can we not be satisfied that each person, each creation, has their own personal relationship with that which created all. Can we not accept that what sits in one person’s heart can sit in all others as well? Can we not accept that despite all of our outward difference, and even some inward differences, in truth we are the same?

So what does it mean to be spiritual? I don’t know the answer to that, but I do know what sits in my heart. Do you?

I understand why people use the term vibration. I believe it comes from the idea that all of us are energy. I remember when I took physics they would describe energy as vibration because each particle (which is also energy) oscillates or vibrates. So for instance, when you throw a baseball, it really does not go in a straight line or in an arc depending on how you throw it. It actually moves in a wave pattern as it follows its particular trajectory. In physics, people are taught that depending on the vibration of a particle, something either has more energy or less energy.

I sometimes have objections to those terms because it gives the idea that some have more energy than others and that therefore some are better than others. People also assume that because they can hear more that they are more. I suppose it goes back to my own struggles with ego. To me “energy” is borrowed. It is shared. It doesn’t belong to any of us and is not us. It is not all we are. It is one way of describing not defining.

People also hear these tones, which some describe as vibrations. They assume that depending on the frequency of the tone, it means the spirit is either good or bad or has a certain intent. They never think to themselves if it’s all a distraction to separate. I try to avoid those terms. I understand why they are used, but I try to be careful with how I use them because I don’t like feeding the separation that we often do to ourselves.

To me, the Creator and us are neither just energy nor vibrations. We just are, and to me that is good enough. We exist. We are breathe. We are soul. We are spirit. We are love. We are all that is. We are all that was. We are all the ever will be, and yet we are everything and nothing all at the same time.

Man has been created and destroyed more times than he knows and yet he claims to know God’s will. He would assume God’s intent and would have God’s will be his own. Man knows what he knows, but only by God’s will. It is true we are a part of Him and He has created us, but we should not fool ourselves into believing that we are gods ourselves. We are One. There is no past. There is no future. There is only now and We are One. Each thought is connected. Each action is connected. Each individual is connected and We are One. In a flash We are created and destroyed and We are One. In a flash God expresses Himself and His love for us and We are One. God is not looking for Himself. He’s giving us a chance to know Him, by knowing ourselves.