Sometimes I feel like most of my life has been nothing but
gripping…
groping…
griping…
Gripping what is temporal.
Groping for what is permanent.
Griping about what I don’t have.
Sort of like a dog chasing its tail,
I have lived my life in repeating cycles.
After a heartbreaking experience
I spend myself with tears of loss.
Sometimes for many months,
sometimes for many years.
Then there is a shift and
I spend myself with tears of longing.
Sometimes for many months,
sometimes for many years.
Finally . . .
I begin to realize that
“Loss” is the past.
I cannot bring that back…
“Longing” is the future.
That is out of my hands…
What if life were to be spent on nothing but love
…of each moment
…of each person
…of life
…all of life?
Each experience?
Every encounter?
Fully present, fully aware, fully conscious, fully alive.
What if the only tears were tears of love? What if???
Now, life speaks to me.
And I listen . . . more attentively.
Life speaks . . .
Sometimes of its beauty.
Sometimes of its joy.
Sometimes of its losses.
Sometimes of its longings.
Often of its loves.
But mostly, life speaks to me of its ephemeral nature.
Nothing but a blink and all is gone.
Nothing but dust in the wind.
All of life is but a process of letting go.
Nothing on this earth is permanent.
Not one thing . . .
And yet . . . and yet we hang on,
gripping . . . gripping so tightly . . . to what?
groping . . . groping so intensely . . . for what?
griping . . . griping so vehemently . . . about what?
“If I loose my grip, will I take flight?” (Cockburn)
Related post: Tears of a Man (Nov. 19, 2008)
H
July 27, 2011
Fear of the unknown has always be our greatest fear……..fear of letting go because we do not know what is on the other side. But……..if we see with an open mind what you are telling us; only then will we understand that just like a favourite dress or coat worn old but with memories of how we felt……we finally discard it and replace it with something that will give us new happiness and memories. Thank you so much Ron…..
H
Ron Irvine
July 27, 2011
I’ve been reading The Lost Mode of Prayer by Gregg Braden. One of the points he makes is that we lives life in cycles. We build up security and comfort. Then we realize that we are not satisfied in these things. But as we awaken, become more and more conscious, we become more whole. Often this wholeness leads us to a point in our lives where things fall apart because it also involved in continous letting go; an inevitable side effect of consciousness. Life tends to wait until we are ready, then then everything is overturned and we find our whole lives changing. We realize it is a change that must happen for our spiritual growth and for the good of all around us. But as long as we are trapped in comfort and security, WE WILL NEVER MAKE THE CHANGE. We can’t. Why would we??? Are we crazy? Life is good. Let maintain it for dear life. But it is the blessing of total disruption and upheaval that moves us to a whole new level. So the cycle reflects the ancient wisdome of the Cherokee prayer cycle: Pain, Wisdom, Blessing, and Beauty. This may just be unavoidable for those that wish for spiritual growth.
Geez. There’s a moment of clarity. I think I’ll repost this in the facebook group Spirituality for discussion. As always, your words inspire me.