Message To A Harlequin
All eyes that meet our own have the richness and depth of the entire cosmos within them. Whether belonging to us or to some other form of life, the life that lives behind those eyes is animated by the same presence. In a look, words unspoken penetrate the veneer of mind-made confusion that clouds our waking life. If we could rest our gaze in stillness, and peer into the openness of what lives within us, we might hear a voice speaking back to us that sounds like this:
Dear One,
As I look back into you I see only myself.
In the glimmer of your eyes I see
the waves of hopes, dreams, fears, and sorrows.
I see the tenderness of infancy,
and violence and cruelty of wrath that
sleeps while threats abate.
There are stories of ephemeral joys,
lingering doubts, and unacknowledged hurt.
There are the thousands of lives that led up to now.
The whole lineage of your ancestors lives in your eyes;
so much sacrifice, and grief that
one whole lifetime of mourning would not relieve.
There, also,
the delight of learning, of excitement,
and of confidence.
The flowing fiery flutter of
magic in anticipation and
possibilities realized lives there too.
Curiosity, sincerity, and firm resolve
as well as heartache, terror, and confusion
are swimming there.
Lifetimes of loneliness and sorrow,
also pride, accomplishment, and triumph in your eyes.
Together are the revelry of adulation and adoration,
as well as disillusionment and regret for grave misdeeds done.
Devotion, faith, and adoration
side by side
with irreverence, rejection, and abandonment.
A person with a past, present, and future,
juxtaposed with a cosmic being emerging from
timeless endless openness and possibility.
Matter, energy, space, light, and emptiness
surrounding the nucleus of a self-aware being
looking back at itself.
I see you now,
fearful and eager to find a path forward
through the uncertainty and heartache
to experience the richness of life in the world;
this vulnerable human body that must abide
through sickness, old age, and eventually depart in death.
I beg you to remember the numberless lifetimes
you have graced this planet and others
enriching and adding to your experience,
but the unchanging awareness is the firmament of your being.
It can never be gained or lost,
but you must take heed to remember it.
All other events, circumstances, or mental or physical conditions
come into and out of being,
but cling to your own steady nature
and you will see the way forward is already here and now.
Meet your life, as it is, and its unfolding will guide you.
The times we are living through are unprecedented. This world has seen plagues, disasters, and many other calamities, yes. But we are more aware of the consequences of our personal and collective actions, and capable of connecting to each other in ways that have never been available. We are in a prime position, through our commitment to compassion and uplifting the dignity of each other, to create a more equitable and harmonious world for each other. Our compassion ripples out from within us; meaning we must apply it to ourselves and those closest to us if we hope to be of service during this challenging time. Small things add up, like the beauty of Tim Hollier's track, "Message To A Harlequin."
#writing #poetry #yoga #compassion #dignity #respect #ahimsa #love #psychrock #funk
