what you had to do, and began,
though the voices around you
kept shouting
their bad advice –
though the whole house
began to tremble
and you felt the old tug
at your ankles.
“Mend my life!”
each voice cried.
But you didn’t stop.
You knew what you had to do,
though the wind pried
with its stiff fingers
at the very foundations,
though their melancholy
was terrible.
It was already late
enough, and a wild night,
and the road full of fallen
branches and stones.
But little by little,
as you left their voices behind,
the stars began to burn
through the sheets of clouds,
and there was a new voice
which you slowly
recognized as your own,
that kept you company
as you strode deeper and deeper
into the world,
determined to do
the only thing you could do –
determined to save
the only life you could save.
The intimate connection between ourselves, others and each life form that inhabits this planet, and beyond, has gained more and more recognition. Our collective memories, both individual and from the past, oftentimes keep us stuck in the shame that Richard spoke of in the last post. These embodied emotional and physical traumas leak body memories to our consciousness that have us forgetting the very nature of who we are.
In yoga class this morning we were asked to listen to the poem above by Mary Oliver and move from a place of remembering – remembering who we are – without the voices from the past or the ones of the present directing the particular life moment. Often our eyes were closed as we stepped into the flow of what was unwinding from our core – instead of someone else’s direction.
What is it like to follow that inner knowing, dropping silently inside capturing the whisperings of that inner insistence on the uniqueness of truth, movement, actions, and feelings in any one moment. What are we afraid of? Or is it that we can hardly hear the voice of our own unique being for all the demands and stimulus around us.
Yes, the only life we can save – living as uniquely as possible – is our own. There are more and more moments these days when I feel the solid strength of what this is like. One of those places is hanging out on an ecstatic dance floor where the “rule” is to have no self imposed restrictions, but instead to explore, listen and move from that place of complete connection to the greater energy that moves us all.
Old patterns of being and moving melt away as the intention for everyone on the dance floor becomes a moving art piece of breath, movement, contact, exploration, play and absolute love and respect. For someone that loves dance it is a “home coming” to the deepest parts of who we are.
The film Jane’s Journey, shows us someone who listened to her own unique voice in spite of what others might have wanted for her. For someone like Jane Goodall it was a simple very deeply felt passion that moved her as a young woman to follow her childhood dreams. Now at 78 she is still traveling the world speaking her truth and impacting millions of people to care for each other and our planet in the most compassionate, loving and peaceful of ways.
What price is taken when we step away from the journey that is uniquely our own? We become lost in the thoughts and actions of others and forget that we have come here to create and love as only we can do and be. Today a young man who had never received flowers from a woman was gifted with a single flower of beauty as he sat at his check out stand at the local organic food store. This happened because I heard loud and clear the voice that directed me to take this loving action as I left the store the first time I was there. What impact did this have? Let’s just say I am still smiling….and I am certain so is he.
Choose a journey that reflects the magnificence of who you are and do not listen to anyone or anything that takes you away from that knowing!
Listen….
WEBSITE: ResonanceWithLife
OTHER B LOGS BY GAYE ABBOTT:
www.BreathingSpaces.net
www.WildlyFreeWoman.com
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