“Your nature is truth, and when you oppose it, you don’t feel like
yourself. Stress never feels as natural as peace does.”
Byron Katie (Loving What Is, 2002).
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| Tsum Valley, Nepal by Julia Day 2012 |
Our recent discussions at
The Light Tree have revolved around what happens when we attempt to live an
authentic life while living in the ‘real’ world. It can be a challenge to
stay in the peace of our true nature and live from there with complete trust. Demands
from the world quickly emerge to distract us in one form or another.
The conflict between our
desire for inner peace and the need to jump up and fix something are often at
odds with each other. How do we stay authentic in our relationships while
staying true to ourselves?
Sometimes the belief that
our spiritual life is separate from our daily life can cause us to lose our
center. We find ourselves trying to attend to both aspects of our seeming needs
and desires. We feel we need to choose one over the other. Maybe we give up the
yoga, the book club, or the painting class in order to take care of our worldly
demands when the discomfort of our inner conflict is too great.
But what if we could just
use our internal barometer to notice our reactions to thoughts and choose from
that place? What if we stood firm and stopped betraying our inner wisdom in
order to keep the ‘external’ peace. The anxiety calms down temporarily when we
give in to the worlds demands, but the gnawing sensations continue…
Maybe we can just stay
present until we get a clear yes, a
sense of opening to life. Perhaps the only choice we need to make is the one
that gives us a deeper sense of happiness and fulfillment. Ego will always find
way to keep us running and second guessing ourselves. Something or someone will
appear to keep the guilt running.
In the end, there is only
Truth, only Presence. The other stuff is temporary and passes away as swiftly
as the clouds move through the sky. We can commit to be one with the sky, the
eternal, unchanging ever-present moment. If it doesn’t work out every time,
that’s ok. There are no mistakes and we can’t get it wrong. There are just more
opportunities to practice.
If there is anything to ‘do’
it is simply this: commit to authenticity in all our daily activities. Learn to
say no gracefully. Be determined to practice kindness and compassion with
everyone we meet. If we stray, find ways to restore peace by staying with what gives us joy. After all, we are all in this together,
walking each other home one small step at a time.