Ease in the Effort

Relax… and suddenly everything seems easier!

“You can’t always get what you want. But, if you try sometimes, you might find - you get what you need.” Jagger/Richards said this back in the 60’s and it never lost resonance for me. As a matter of fact, it holds true even more so today as I learn to give way to the circumstances and events that arise in my life – some good, some not so good.

We pine for so much, we desire so much – more than what we need, no doubt – and this makes me think of us as children wanting to eat candy all day long and stay up late, but our mother knows it’s not in our best interest. How could this be? We want it so badly, it must be the right thing. Sometimes we even act out when we don’t get what we want - when in hindsight - we can see it clearly, and how what we thought we wanted, is far from what we were supposed to have.

So, does this mean we should give up on our goals? I think not, but rather check our intentions behind these goals. What exactly is fueling our desires, our wants? Are they self-serving? Are they for the greater good? We can’t always understand why things turn out the way they do, and so oftentimes we find ourselves discouraged and defeated, concentrating our focus upon what we DIDN’T get verses what underlying jewel has been gifted to us – and sometimes, when the dust settles, maybe a day, a week, or years later, we awaken to the nature of the experience and all it’s riches to discover we have indeed, gotten exactly what we needed.

Why then, are we repeatedly pulled into the vortex of resisting the daily sour challenges that befall us when all we want is the sweet stuff? Perhaps we could rest in complete harmony with our experiences if we just remember that too much sugar and not enough sleep is not necessarily a good balance for us, even if it is our heart’s desire. And, that in the end, the Universe knows best and that with just the right amount of struggles amidst our repose, we will grow stronger and wiser – the Yogis call it: Sthirasukha, ease in the effort –the ability to maintain steadiness and alertness while remaining comfortable. And, it is through this practice we can open to the abundance of experiences that are to come, knowing that we are held and supported and getting exactly what we need.

Blessings and Peace.

River of Knowledge

Awaken… and suddenly you have met your truth. Create your own, brighter dawn!

We tend to think that in order to feel accomplished, whether it be in our career, relationship, health, with our children or inner self, we need to be finished or done with something. This idea tends to make us feel complete… for the moment. Every time we reach another milestone, we delude ourselves in believing we have “arrived”, leaving ourselves open for disillusion and disappointment. Of course we are never finished or done. There’s a reason it’s called a “journey”. Everything in our lives has the potential to wake us up … over and over and over again.

As I walk this path, step by step I have come to understand that every moment is an opportunity for learning or awakening. Every action, every thought, every intention I put forth in the world, brings with it powerful potential for growth. My own Lady Guru continues to remind me over and again that we are never “finished”. The lessons cycle back to us continually until we become masters at the art of learning. Hence the phrase: “River of Knowledge”… continually flowing, and as Alan Watts says: “You cannot understand life and its mysteries as long as you try to grasp it. Indeed, you cannot grasp it just as you cannot walk off with a river in a bucket. If you try to capture running water in a bucket, it is clear that you do not understand it and that you will always be disappointed, for in the bucket the water does not run. To 'have' running water you must let go of it and let it run."

Perhaps the “knowledge” is not about “having”, but about seeing, and being in the flow of the awakening, the learning in every new moment.

Sat Nam.