aliveness

that day I saw beneath dark clouds
the passing light over the water
and I heard the voice of the world speak out,
I knew then, as I have before
life is no passing memory of what has been
nor the remaining pages of a great book
waiting to be read.

it is the opening of eyes long closed
it is the vision of far off things
seen for the silence they hold
it is the heart after years of secret conversing
speaking out loud in the clear air.

it is Moses in the desert fallen to his knees
before the lit bush
it is the man throwing away his shoes
as if to enter heaven and finding himself astonished,
opened at last,
fallen in love
with solid ground

- david whyte

I just read this poem in an email I received and got goose bumps. A clear sign of it's power for me. With the sudden death of a dear student I'm thinking a lot about the spirit of life. Thinking about how short life really is, even if we live to be 100. As I told Teresa today, our time here on earth is like the blink of an eye. We are only blips in this universe.

It's time to truly dig in, celebrate, dance up a storm and enjoy this earth party. The words "urgency" and "aliveness" keep coming to mind. To live life day to day with a sense of urgency. Cause to me it is urgent. Urgent to life fully. To dare. To take risks. To open our eyes. Our hearts too. To do good. To be good. As a sign I recently read says "aspire to inspire before you expire".

And this sense of aliveness comes not from extravegant gifts, or big trips (not even those to my beloved Mexico although they inspire aliveness), nor marriages, or jobs. It comes from a deep rooted place in your soul. It is the fire in your heart. The knowingness in your belly. It is known not only by monks, gurus, or poets, but also those living quiet ordiary lives, day in and day out.

Living with this aliveness doesn't require you to quit your job. Or even change your job. It doesn't require a monthlong silent retreat. Or a trip up the Himalayan Mountains. It requires that you let your defenses down. That you recongnize your fears and vulnerabilities. It demands that you wake up. That you say (or shout or dance) YES to the immensity of life.

And when you do this saying, shouting, or dancing of YES....when you truly believe that you are deserving of the beauty and the power that exists in life...Well, I am willing to bet that your life will unfold in such a way that it will shake you to your core. In the most delicious of ways.

That's all I got for today. Amen. Namaste. Peace.
Love to Lucy. The world weeps without you. And rejoices the days you walked this earth.