(These insights arose for me tonight in yoga with my beautiful, beautiful friends! )
Here's how you know if you've grasped these critical truths:
You've DONE Enough. You HAVE Enough. You ARE Enough.
Ask yourself three simple questions:
What if all that I have is all I will ever have?
What if everything I’ve done is all I will ever do?
What if all that I am is all that I will ever be?
(Rather than imagine what you would do if you were to die in a year, a month, a week or an hour, ask yourself how you would feel about yourself and your life thus far if it were to end right NOW.)
As you read these questions, you might feel disappointment, resentment, and fear creeping in.
You might feel surprised by these questions, as if they are ludicrous. Of course you haven't done all you'll ever do! Most of us plan to have more than we currently have. And almost everyone imagines that they could, and should be more than they currently are.
Pause for a moment. Close your eyes if you can and take three deep breaths.
Ask yourself:
Do I have enough? Have I done enough? Am I enough?
It's important to engage in practices that allow you to understand these facts:
You (and I) have enough. You (and I) have done enough. I (like you) am enough.
You are enough. I am enough. If you don’t feel this way, the answer is NOT external. While it’s wonderful to make plans to reach for your wildest dreams, it’s simply not possible to predict how much time you actually have to grow satisfied and complete with yourself, your loved ones, your circumstances, your accomplishments, and your life. No matter how far away you are from your “best self”, you can learn to be alright with how it is, and it isn’t and how you are and how you aren’t right NOW.
When we practice meditation, we become present to the phenomenon of “being”. Over time, we gain an understanding of the miracle that just “being” is. As you engage in healthy habits like meditation, prayer, and introspection, the ludicrous nature of these suggestions shifts into a “sudden” (you’ve known this since you evolved from stardust, but it's not usually apparent to our tiny conscious mind) awareness of these obvious truths.
OF COURSE, I have enough
Surely, I've done enough.
And without a doubt, I am ENOUGH.
Smile. This moment is the only moment that’s guaranteed to you. Reassess the gifts you've given, the good deeds you've done, and the way your life has caused you to be. Be as kind as possible to yourself. Be generous, not harsh as you review. Act as if there is no time to change a single thing. Imagine that you only have time for one. Last. Satisfied. Breath. Be complete with being incomplete. No one EVER gets everything done. The people you love know you love them, no matter how long it’s been since you said it.
(Remember we don’t HAVE souls. We ARE souls. This momentary experience is NOT all there is. If you don’t favor the term “soul”, you can substitute science, which has proven beyond the shadow of a doubt that we are connected by something far more powerful than our conscious minds. As people listen to the same music, their hearts beat in unison even if they are not together.)
No matter how challenging your circumstances in this moment, I want you to know that you've done enough. No matter how strained your relationships, or how many terrible mistakes you’ve made, you are loved.
When we relax into the miraculous experience of being ourselves, we see that there is nowhere to go, nothing to get, and nothing to add to who we already are.
As Mr. Rogers said, I like you for the way you love, and I love you just exactly the way you are.
Mary