Reflections

Greetings all,

I hope you had a great first week of June.  I've been kept busy between assisting family members with caregiving this week and also officiating a wedding.  However I did get out one evening to see a movie with friends and that was wonderful.

This morning as I was teaching my Tai Chi class I had an interesting experience.  The fitness room that I teach in has mirrored walls on two sides of the room.  One of those walls has doors leading to a supply closet  They were not quite latched so the mirrors were slightly eschew.  Now as I led class toward that wall I noticed I had no reflection showing, due to the angle of the doors.  I was seeing all the students but not myself.  This struck me as very strong metaphor.  

Often we don't see ourselves, only those around us.  For me personally I've struggled a lot throughout my life in envisioning a positive future for myself.  Having no reflection showing in front of me was a clear reminder that this is still an issue for me.  I got used to not looking too far ahead or making plans beyond the next project.  I don't see myself on the path before me.  That is of course one interpretation of this coincidence.  Another could be that none of us really see ourselves only the people around us, and it is through their actions that we form our self image.  Sometimes though we don't even want to look at ourselves, afraid of what we might find there.

There comes a point in life where many of us settle for just getting by, because the way our society is structured makes that very difficult.  Not all dreams should come to fruition, but there are deep yearnings in our hearts that when we deny them, we die a little.  I'm not talking of dreams of huge homes and fancy cars.  I'm speaking of how we live, relate to each other, and how we spend the bulk of our time.  Why do we accept so much less?  Is it because we don't think we deserve what our heart longs for?  Is it because we think we cannot have it?  Is it because we are afraid that if we get what we want we'll still be unhappy and it is better to not risk the disappointment?

I do apologize this post is not exactly up lifting.  Still even in darker musings there can be some wisdom and value to be found.  I have found that living through hard times has made me get very specific about what I don't want, which makes it easier to seek out what I do.  I hope that your time in the shadow land is brief, and that you learn something to your advantage while you are moving through it.  While you are there it can be tempting to just focus on getting through, but try if you can to envision where you want to come out of the tunnel.  Beyond pain there is more than just relief, there is laughter, joy, and love...always love.  I wish for all of that for you.

Peace and Blessings,

Thomas Mooneagle