The Tattoo

This, here, is my right foot.

The one-and-only tattoo I have is on this foot. Before getting this tattoo, I used a sharpie marker and drew it on every day for a month, just to make sure I wanted it. And boy, did I want this one. And even now, after 10 years, it means more to me every day than it did the last.

This word “kon” in Arabic means “be”. At the time I had been reading all about certain experiments in Japan that indicated that the energy of a word could visibly transform the molecular structure of water, so I decided to get a word tattooed on my body to support my overall growth and development (I mean, our body is overall 60% water and our brain and heart are 73% water!). I kept thinking of words, and at the time I was really focused on understanding and upholding justice in my life, so initially I was going to get that on my foot.  But then I thought, "is this really the attribute I'm going to want to work on in 10 years?" Well, it's 10 years later and I'm glad I went a different direction.

Ultimately I decided on “be”, thinking I could mentally insert whatever attribute I was focused on at any given moment: “be just” or “be joyful”. Only after I got the tattoo did I learn that in Persian the same word “kon” means “do”. I thought this was pretty darn cool back then, but today it is my favorite thing about my tattoo.

This one word, in two languages, means both “be” and “do”. This is what I am striving to live into at this moment in my life, being myself through doing the things that remind me of who I am. 

The whole being and doing thing is so fascinating to me. This symbiotic relationship is called our “two-fold moral purpose”, and essentially it states that the individual and society develop together. I, as an individual, cannot develop my character and capacity without being of service to my community. AND the community cannot develop its character and capacity unless individuals are being of service to it and supported by it. So if I want to “be” my best self I have to “do” what I can for my community.

It's truly incredible if you think about it. The lessons I keep learning from this one little tattoo. 

With love,

Awaken and Surrender

In the experience of beauty we awaken and surrender in the same act. ~John O'Donohue

What a remarkable concept.  Experiencing beauty leads to both an awakening to all that is potentially possible in this moment and to a surrendering to the larger, sweeping rhythm of life. 

In the last post I explored how beauty calls us, not to some distant future goal, but "to our inherent capacity in this moment, right now".

Beauty calls us beyond ourselves and it encourages us to engage the dream that dwells in the soul. ~John O'Donohue

In this sense beauty awakens our own calling and invites it out into the world.  It beckons.  It draws our attention to all that is noble within, here and now.  There is no rush to become, no urge to fix, no hustle to do more.  There is a gentle coming alive, a humble waking up to the truth of what has been inside of us all along, and in that awakening there is a surrendering, a recognition that while we are noble and grand and matchless in our capacity, we are but a drop in this one great ocean of humanity.  Beauty reminds us that if we relax into the present moment we will remain connected to the sacredness of all life.  We surrender when we appreciate that there is no place for competition in our quest to live into all that we potentially possess, for we recognize that what we truly seek is a meaningful life—a life lived in service—a life braided with luminous moments.

"Every life is braided with luminous moments." ~John O'Donohue

May your life be braided with luminous moments of beauty that lead to your awakening and surrendering, all in the same act.

Much love,

... we feel called

When we experience beauty, we feel called. ~John O'Donohue

I can remember being 12 years old on a crisp fall afternoon, sitting on my branch in the woods on the farm where I grew up.  I sat there completely still, transfixed by the way the light flooded through the falling leaves, casting its rays upon the ground.  All around me birds sang sweet melodies beckoning me into the moment.  I couldn't help but be exactly where I was, which was why I was there—I have always longed to be here, present. 

Much of what I've read about "calling" is that it is that "thing" we were created to do, to carry out, and that it is something we pursue, something way out ahead of us that we go after.  Much literature explores calling as being rooted in our uniqueness, inherent in who we are; yet, it is still something to move toward, as though it is forever out of reach.

What if a calling is not this elusive, distant dream or aspiration of our soul.  What if a calling is actually a prompting of the soul to awaken to our inherent capacity in this moment, right now.  I believe we are always growing and changing and transforming and becoming, that is what life is all about—striving to become the best versions of ourselves; little by little, day by day.  However, if we are overtly and solely focused on who we could be, we tend to neglect to be who we are, right now—and who we are right now is magnificent.  Sometimes we just need to be reminded of our own nobility.

That 12 year old version of myself knew this, which is why anytime I was feeling unloved/unlovable, not enough, or just plain down, I would go sit on my branch in the woods at my parents farm and immerse myself in beauty.  For when we experience true beauty we feel called—not to something out there far away from us, but to the present moment, to all that is worthy and good within us, to the glory and grace of God in our lives.

May we all seek the beauty that beckons us home.

With love,