April 19, 2020

Easter Pandemic Celebrations - Adventure Year Week 44

The images and videos from this Easter are unlike anything we've ever known.  Completely empty plazas, streets, and churches of Italy due to stay home orders have provided the opportunity for the creation of a video and musical tribute that would never be possible otherwise...



I also caught most of the NYC St Patrick's Cathedral Service, as it was televised on ABC Network television.  I don't know if Network TV has ever televised this Easter Service before, so it was a rare and interesting experience to be watching the priest and church staff go about their normal service while sipping iced coffee and eating yogurt with a towel wrapped around my head at home.



My favorite quote from the sermon "I even have a bloody mary while watching"... which he says "isn't the way to do it," but seems a bit hypocritical from the Catholic Church who continued to keep the Brotherhood Winery alcohol flowing into church communion services during the prohibition.  Hmm?



It continued to be a week of ups and downs, and navigating the space of trying to make the most of the least, while grieving all the future plans that have been cancelled, leaving only uncertainties in their place.







How does the unknown make you feel? Have you acquired too much baggage and responsibility for it to be freeing and adventurous? Most people would say that unknowns make them feel insecure, protective, and defensive. All of these responses represent an attempt to grasp to a past set of knows, rather than opening up to a future of unknowns which might end up being far better. I used to operate in the space of wanting to close up and become defensive to protect what I knew because it gave me a sense of security and comfort that didn’t require me to change very much. While in that place, I kept repeating the same mistakes and getting the same outcomes. However, once I started to embrace the possibility that unknowns may actually turn out better than what I already knew, my life took a very unexpected turn toward abundance and unlimited possibility. When I stopped clinging with entitlement to what I thought was supposed to be mine, I opened up to possibilities I’d never dreamed would become a part of my life. This is part of the process of enlightenment in Buddhist philosophy of non-attachment. Lightening our load. Lightening our expectations. Releasing our determinations. By not being attached to a particular set of future outcomes, we allow ourselves to grow and change in ways we never thought possible. As a monkey learns how to swing from tree to tree flying in the air, it must travel lightly, let go of the branch it has been holding onto, and trust that the next branch will support its weight or that it will land on a stronger branch than it had aimed for. If you can try to adopt this mindset with the state of unknowns in the world right now, than you can see opportunities that you would have missed if you were looking for a particular set of outcomes. You’ll be able to see yourself and the world around you in new ways. You’ll have deeper trust in yourself and the unknowns ahead.
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When we're at our best, we're just appreciating the little things that we have in this moment...



When we're at our low points, we're giving up on trying to do things because we just lack the energy to show up for fun things.  Even Max, who was first excited about having humans home all the time to play ball with, has resigned to the idea that maybe we won't actually be up for playing ball as much as he'd like us too.



The practice of self-fulfillment in a time of isolation is a very real challenge for people who are facing it for the first time.  I've been practicing it for a long time and even I find myself slipping into moments where I forget that it is still ultimately me and me alone in charge of my joy.







Can you fill your own cup? Full to the point of overflowing love, care, compassion, and forgiveness? Today was one of those days when I really needed to fall in love with myself for a little bit because my cup was feeling empty. I remembered my resilience in the face of all that I’ve already overcome. I remembered my accomplishments big and small that filled my heart and made a difference in the lives of others. I got in touch with people I care about and let them know I’m still thinking of them. I allowed myself to be vulnerable and yet still safe in my own care. I journaled and faced all the things that weigh heavily on my heart and reminded myself that I can be strong even when I feel tender, and brave even when I may feel scared. I used to wait for other people to fill my cup and often found myself running on empty, chasing something on the outside that I needed to be cultivating for myself on the inside. I’m not going to pretend that it’s easy. It’s a process and a practice that is learned through conscious cultivation and deep self-reflection on our inner needs. The good news is we can practice every day and the sooner we recognize how to fill our own cup, the quicker we can get to feeling a sense of fulfillment no matter where we are, who we’re with, or what’s happening around us. I still look forward to long hugs and generous smiles and late nights full of laughter, but until then, I continue to practice filling my own cup with the self-compassion and universal love already available to me.
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For those times when we can show up and muster some good energy, I'm glad we still have ways of sharing it with the people we love, even if it's just over video chats for now.




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