You know the moments. Those times in life when you see “it”. Sometimes the "it" is lovely, like a moment where you can see Divinity in something so mundane as dishtowels on the kitchen sink, one yellow, one blue. And you are reminded that all the humans feel pain, and joy and crave peace and stability. And there "it" is...
The "it" can also be your own dysfunction showing up again in a new way that you never saw before...someone engages you like so many others before have and instead of biting the hook, you just allow it to dangle there and do nothing to make it go away or buy into all the storylines you have around this person and their hook...and there "it" is.
The "it" is so many things that "it" seems indefinable. But "it" is there all the time, we just don’t see "it" because of all the distractions and tales our heads spin. But the "its" are there all the while, subtle little reminders that life is bigger than what is happening to us in the moment. Life has more meaning than mindlessly checking out in all the myriad of ways that we do that. Life is here, breaking us down, building us up, cracking us open, and killing us softly. And right there, there "it" is.
The inescapable truth that we are all in this together. That when I feel pain or suffer, that creates a moment where you and I can relate because we all know what it is to suffer. When I tell you how I really am, terrified, afraid, insecure, hurt and hurting, joyful, a mess, happy, sad, indifferent, you can relate because all humans feel these things from time to time. And there "it" is...
And perhaps, maybe, the "it" is that place in time and life where we see the divinity in things that do not feel divine. The times that we are able to see past the mundanity of our lives and reach beyond the great life dividers of tasks, agendas and things to do, work to be completed and we see that life is fleeting and precious and can only be enjoyed, relished in the right here, right now.
In all we do and are, we have a choice. To see that all of us are striving for the same basic things: safety, community, intimacy, love. These are indispensable. Life without these feels hard, punishing and really not worth living. And there "it" is...
Pain comes to remind us that we are here, with choices. That in all we do and say, we have a choice to show up and allow the things that happen to us to happen for us. To find the goodness in even the most desperate times. To notice the rallying cries of humanity that are the same, the world over. And to take a moment to see that the divinity that exists in the holiest of holy people, exists also in you, in those you love, and in those you hate. And there "it" is...
The world is a troubled place and it is easy to feel lost, jaded and confused. All that we thought we knew, all that we relied upon has changed. But this is not new really. "It" has always been this way. We seek comfort and security while living a life that is precarious. We demand safety in a world that has never really ever been safe. And there "it" is...
And for me, now, the "it" is seeing that "it"never really changes. My life an endless loop of trying to wrest satisfaction from careful controlling management of my life and those about me. Life will always be on life’s terms no matter what I think, no matter how I react, no matter what story my head concocts..."it", life unfurling, will always be predictably unpredictable.
So when you get a glimpse in your daily life of some tiny demonstration of divinity, seize "it". Seer "it" into your consciousness. Grab hold of the grace of the ever evolving present moment and allow "it" to change you. Allow a yellow and blue dish towels on your kitchen sink to take you to the Ukraine and feel unconditional positive regard for the the humans there who are struggling...all of them. Not just the ones that we have sympathy for, but all the people who have been manipulated and lied to, in order for one man’s delusion to become reality. For me, I find myself in instant prayer when these things happen...there "it" is, still.
"Because the world is so full of death and horror, I try again and again to console my heart and pick the flowers that grow in the midst of hell."
-Hermann Hesse
And there "it" is...
This piece was inspired by my friend Cristi's post on Facebook, she noticed one day her kitchen towels, one yellow and one blue. And she said, "There it is..." And I knew exactly what she meant. Thank you Cristi, you lead the way to there it is...
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