Tuesday, August 3, 2010

LOVE EVERYONE!

I'm not ashamed to admit that for years Oprah Winfrey was my spiritual guru.  Laugh if you must be it's true.
She said once that God whispers a message to you but if you don't listen he'll tap you on the shoulder, if you still don't listen, he hits you over the head with a brick.   This was quite profound when I first heard it.  The thought of God hitting me over the head with the a brick...... hilarious. 

I have been hearing God's whispers "love everyone" but I've ignored it.   I've felt the tap on the shoulder "LOVE EVERYONE".  I've tried bargaining with God.  "Ok God I hear you but I can't love everyone but I promise in my next life I'll love everyone".  Tonight, during yoga, I felt the brick on my head.

We're in standing forward fold..... aaaahhhh.... I feel the release in my cervical spine and the back of my neck.  It feels great to surrender.  I bring my hands to my lower back and interlace my fingers.  This is always difficult for me.  I tell myself it's because my wrist and arms aren't flexible.  Lifting my arms up towards the ceiling while in standing forward fold is really difficult.  The difference tonight was that I realized it wasn't my wrists and arms preventing me but rather my inability to open my heart and surrender to the message.  "LOVE EVERYONE".

The message isn't love people who are lovable.  It's Love Everyone!  Holy Hell!! That's not an easy task. 
I notice tonight a stabbing pain in the back of my heart whenever we opened are hearts in back-bending poses.   Interesting I thought.  Is that what I'm afraid of?  That if I open my heart to people that I may get stabbed in the back?  It's possible of course but the message is clear.  LOVE EVERYONE.   Even those that my cause you harm. 

Once the brick hits you in the head there's no more ignoring the message, there's no more bargaining with God. There is no choice but to sit up and pay attention.   LOVE EVERYONE. 

Now how do we do that?  How do I do that? Well, I guess for starters I need to recognize God in everyone.
Then maybe it'll help if I recognize that everyone has their own struggles and their own issues and that sometimes those issues don't have anything to do with me.  After all, in the words of my friend, Jon "It ain't all about me".   SD reminded us tonight that we need the darkness to recognize the light.   We need the  struggles to recognize and appreciate the love.

"All this is full.  All that is full.
From Fullness, fullness comes.
When fullness is taken from fullness,
Fullness still remains.
Om Shanti, Shanti, Shanti"
- The Isha Upanishad

All this is Love.  All that is Love.
From Love, Love comes
When love is taken from Love
Love still remains
Om Shanti, Shanti, Shanti


No comments:

Post a Comment

What would you say to your 19-year-old self?

  When I was 19 years old I didn't know a damn thing about life.  I certainly didn't know a damn thing about myself (I just didn'...