Saturday, January 21, 2012

What Is It That You Want For Your Life?

The question, what is it that you want for your life was first asked to me in 2003. I was living in North Miami Beach and teaching yoga. I had a friend and colleague come down to teach a workshop from New York at one of the studios I was instructing at. It was around one in the morning when we were sitting on my living room floor with the communal joint where he asked me, “What is it that you want for your life?” Without hesitation, I said, “To know ultimate truth, at whatever the cost.” He leaned back and paused for a moment, smiled and said, “Yes, I want to know truth, but not ultimate truth.” Since I first spoke those words, I have come to experience some of the dismantling of my own beliefs and see some of my fixed ideas. Life has also allowed me to wise up to the fact that I need to be highly specific when expressing such things.


The other day, this question came back to revisit me. As I walked out of my kitchen into the living room, I was stopped by the passing thought; what is it that you want for your life? What struck me odd was the word ‘you’ was used instead of ‘I’. Rather than going into the mental exploration of the question, I decided to sit down on my couch, be with and see what would arise. Being better grounded these days, there was more clarity and a deeper understanding that came up for me when I sat with the question, this time around. Adding a meditation practice into life has proven a valuable tool for me.


As we move into the New Year, the year of the dragon in Chinese astrology, I am reminded of my own words from that moment in time. As my vision for what I would like to experience expands, I still want to know Truth, but rather, my expression of Truth. I would much prefer to meet life’s lessons from the side of gentleness. As my friend, Beth said, “No personal Armageddon’s.” I agree. I choose the side of gentleness. Seeing the 'other' can't help but to show you what you believe. What is it that you want for your life?

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