Illusory Grains in an Ethereal Desert

Some say that we're nothing more than our bodies. Many profess that we are eternal souls, temporarily inhabiting a physical realm. I suspect that we, as individuals, are more like unique ripples, echoes or reflections of an undetectable and unfathomable impetus. A momentum that's not of this realm, yet interacts with it, and has been doing so since long before our species arose.

Our being is evidence of its being, much the way that excessively bending light waves from distant galaxies are evidence of the existence of dark matter. Or the way we know that electrons are there, because of their affects, even though we can't see or pinpoint them.

It's comforting to imagine that there's something enduring, that is specifically and uniquely us, as individual beings. There are many stories and promises of continuing life after our physical death. Some claim recollection of past lives, and express it as though they were entirely personal experiences.

In the world around us, we can clearly see that events happen, and things come and go, as a natural matter of course. Everything being inter-dependent with everything else, and the cosmos represents a grander example of this same causal process. In theory, the greater world is as much a reflection of a non-physical unfolding as we are. So it makes sense that, from a larger perspective, the individual players are only fleeting wisps of smoke, dwarfed by the scale of space and time. And that our notions of remaining whole and consistent for all of eternity are unrealistic and childishly fanciful.

I, of course, know no more or less than anyone else about such things. From our vantage point, we simply can't see. And since it's so easy for us to be misled or to misinterpret things, we shouldn't assume certainty, even if we could.

Speculation can be a fun and inspiring endeavor. But in the end, if we're truthful, we have no choice but to let the mystery be.

Assignment d'jour:

Rekindle a lost or fading relationship.

Passing the Baton

BANG! And the race begins. Not a race to a finish line somewhere, but to one sometime. It's not a race that anyone wants to finish in a hurry. No running is required - just persevering. There are no victors - only survivors. But the scenery is unbelievably glorious, the companionship is deeply nourishing and the potential for growth is immeasurable.

Whether we realize it or not, we carry a baton with us from end to end in this odyssey. One that, by natural law, we'll pass on at the end of our race - just as it was handed to us in our pre-infancy. Of course, we don't actually own our batons any more than water molecules own the waves that pass through them.

As we roll along, our batons absorb the essence of both, the lessons we learn, and those we ignore. They record all of our relations, aspirations and interpretations. Our moods and thoughts are etched into their flesh. Through this process, the quality that they had when we received them changes continuously throughout the race. And our cumulative affects on them determine how they will resonate when we hand them off, as we break the tape.

The batons we carry greatly influence who and how we are. As they will the next, in this eternal relay. We may not be able to change how our batons are, immediately, but we are responsible for how we influence them. And we can choose how they mature and how weighty they are when we pass them along.

Of course, this takes more than proclaiming a desire to do so. Continually refining one's intention is the means of directing its development. And the results are commensurate with the diligence, attention and effort applied, over the course of a lifetime.

There's no obligation. Evolution happens on its own. But we are uniquely capable of deliberately re-forming our own batons. And for some, it's uplifting to respectfully consider the future recipients of this life's actions and attitudes.

On Asana

Proper alignment means little without appropriate engagement.

Question(s) d'jour:

What will it take to make our societies and politicians wake up to the reality that we are stubbornly and steadily barreling down a road toward undesirable and irrevocable ends?

What can we do to wake our leaders up, make them understand the urgency and get them to act for our future welfare?

On Asana

Don't ask what your body can do for you.

Ask what you can do for your body.

Assignment d'jour:

Envision a more practical and sustainable lifestyle for yourself and our communities.

Envision yourself taking steps in that direction.

Put one foot in front of the other.