Ever go snorkeling? I love the calming hissing sound of my heart and lungs working for me, as I glide weightlessly through silky cool water; my breath a beautiful rhythm of vibrations.
Sometimes, I wonder if we would all relax a little bit more if we could just hear ourselves breathing.
I think I ended up in the Environmental Program at the University for Peace down here in Costa Rica because I realized, one day, that I don't know what I'd do without the rainbow of colors that exists silently beneath the sea, or the vibrant greens that paint the mountainside and fill my airways with euphoria, or the ability to see up to the Universe of sparkling stars dancing around an elegant moon.
...To lay in the pitch black beneath the moon and give thanks for breathing: a moment that sends chills throughout my spine just thinking about it.
Then I pray, don't take me soon, 'cause I am here for a reason.
We start class every day with an active listening exercise. To actively listen means to sit and do nothing. You don't talk, you don't ask questions, you don't nod your head. You just sit and listen to your partner's story. You be there with them. This is the most important part. The majority of our lives we spend within our own heads. "We're here but we're really gone," as Alanis Morsette so eloquently put it. It may seem like an easy task to sit and do nothing (unless you meditate, then you know). To be, means to really listen. To hear their words. To feel their feelings. To walk with them.
That was one of the greatest things I've ever learned in life. To walk with people. To become them.
These bodies, this flesh and bones, they create the illusion of separation. The beauty is in the connection.
To actively listen coaxes all of the blessings of the world to emerge.
Patience.
Gratitude.
Compassion.
We are all here for a reason. When we start to see that, feel that...know it and live it: We become alive.
Sometimes in my tears I drown, but I never let it get me down.
I listened to my partner's story today. He opened his heart, I looked into his eyes and I stepped into his soul. Together we walked along the northern border of Kenya. We followed the herds of animals. We left our children behind in school yards. We were wounded by warfare with neighboring tribes. We returned for our young ones. We watched as the distances became shorter. We felt the walls of modern structures creating frames around our open pastures. We wondered about the future, about our history, about our right now.
So when negativity surrounds, I know someday it'll all turn around.
There is hate and destruction, fear and sadness, longing and despair in the world. It surrounds us. Yet for every left, there is also a right. Before we drown, we have the opportunity to swim towards the light. Every stroke in that direction counts.
All my life I've been waiting for, I've been praying for, for the people to say,
that we don't want to fight no more, there'll be no more wars
and our children will play.
Sitting silently, I listened as he spoke. I was cross legged with my hands resting in my lap, slightly bend forward. Resting and comfortable. He looked at me, almost smiling, naturally, and spoke in a calm rhythm. His eyes connected with mine and, sometimes, I saw his lips moving, but other times I was in Kenya watching the animals graze.
He told me that with children we can bring people together. One boy will run after another boy, no matter which tribe they belong to. At what age do we lose this ability?
One day.
One day.
One day
Is it this "one day" that we are waiting for? Is that 'one day' out of reach? Or is it right now? And is it all we have? I often wonder who guarantees me tomorrow.
It's all one day.
What will you do with it?
Look around at all that is alive. Stop searching for something. Take steps... and arrive each moment. Just see the blessings that are all around us right now and be with them.
This is your one day. How will you live it?
"Actively listening".
There is so much constant sound around us, and usually we don't even hear it- just the parts we want to.
The world can be an ocean waiting to drown you, if you see it that way. It may also be a vast water of cool heaven that flutters with vibrant colors of life and helps you to hear your own breathing.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sl9voSKJmEU
"One Day" Matisyahu.
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