I was in the midst of reading when my son called me from downstairs, yesterday morning. “Mommy, Mommy, come down quick.” I turned the page and jumped up not knowing what had happened.
It was the snow. He was so exited and amazed…as was I. The flakes were large and soft. Dropping in heavy clusters, they filled us both with excitement as they paused to kiss the leaves, and earth before melting or deciding to stick around for a little while.
I went back upstairs to complete the chapter I had been reading. I was at the start of a new page and began again. The second paragraph down spoke of snow and how the Eskimos have many names for it because it is what surrounds them often and in many different ways. They have different names for falling snow, hardened snow, dirty snow, and slushy snow. They view it as a sacred part of their lives. In other parts of the country, snow can be viewed as a job to clear, and inconvenience, and something to deal with. For us it was a novelty, something pretty to behold and experience for a short time without any inconvenience.
I sat back to reflect on the synchronicity of this writing and what had just occurred. How many times in my life had things happened that way? Whenever there was a question…the answer always came …synchronistically. It sometimes showed up in a song on the radio, a saying on a billboard, a conversation that I experienced, a formation of clouds in the sky, or the fixation on a particular word in passing. How sacred.
I also began to realize that there is nothing that is not sacred. We may not like particular events that are happening in the world or in our own lives but whether it is attending a Sunday service, spending time with a baby, saying good bye to a loved one as they pass on… or things like… our sons, brothers,and fathers fighting in another country, graffiti painted on the side of a bridge,… physical, sexual, verbal abuse, or trash along the roadside…is there not the sacred laying within it?
We live at a time, not that different than our ancestors lived…where struggle, heartache, and pain show up in so many ways for so many people. It is part of the human experience to see destruction, chaos, and mutilation so that the sacredness of compassion, love, empathy, generosity, and unity come to light. To simply gawk and gossip about passing events does nothing but perpetuate the negative. It is within our ‘SACRED’ power to do something…to rise up within ourselves to take a stand for what we belive we can do to make the world a better place…no matter how large or small the gesture.
Is there sacredness in war? Yes…it is an opportunity to grow and open our hearts to see other people as part of us, to have compassion for their struggle, and begin to open to the knowledge that in war there is separation and death but through peace we can recreate unification and new life.
Is the sacred in sexual, physical, and verbal abuse? Yes…it is there so that we may recognize pain, rise up and say no to it and begin to see the agony of not only the abused but also the abuser. Resting our assistance in the principles of forgiveness and empathy, we can change what the forces of time have come to create within the hearts and minds of people caught in the cycle of recreating pain and abuse. Is the heart not a sacred device to be used to open others up to their possibilities, instead of reinforcing the harshness that they too had to experience when they were too young to deserve it? We should not turn our backs on the abused…nor should they be turned on the abuser.
Is graffiti sacred? Yes…it is an emotional outburst within art. It is our youth, our anger, our greater consciousness crying out to say “Look at me…see me…help me!” How much longer can we look beyond how youth are being ignored, spoiled, and corrupted by the “ME…ME….ME” point of view. When do we bring back discipline, core values, and morality to the dinner tables of our homes rather than letting the internet, music television, print media and brand generated marketing parent our children?
It is time to recognize that there is sacredness in everything from the smallest ant to a paperclip…from the tallest mountain to a man on the moon…from the computer to the simple reading of a book…from a drop of rain to each breath that is breathed in. As quickly as we desire to move forward, now is the most crucial time to look back. It is imperative that we learn from the sacred lives of history. We must learn and teach our children about the indigenous peoples and their simple ways, the many cultures around the globe and how we are all one world…one people…one family, and the great gifts of nature and time that have brought us to where we are. We must expose ourselves to sacred texts from around the globe…seeing in them the similarities and the wisdom that people of the planet so need at this time. It is time to dive into positive thought, through allowing the contemplation of philosophy, art, and music… knowing that these are all gifts we each carry within if allowed to unfold.
Take the time to see the sacredness in every single moment today. Notice every leaf, individual, and brick. Send a positive thought to every person you see in pain, anger, or sadness. Share of yourself by recognizing something beautiful about someone else that you know is true about yourself…and pay them a compliment. Give three hugs today…and then give three more to people you don’t know.
Expand your heart…Open your mind…Broaden your vision!
The world can only change…if you do!
Until the next…Fashion Emergency!!!
Warmest Regards,
Simran Singh