I AM….the tree that grows from the earth, the bird that flies in the sky, the wind that blows the hair that is on my head,  and the earth beneath my feet.  I have been reflecting this afternoon on connection, beauty, life and spirit.  Walking home after seeing the movie “Wild” I am struck with awe at the strength of the human spirit.  When we go through things that strip us down to the bare, it is easy to see what matters most in life.  It is when we lose sight of our rawness that we also lose sight of our humanness.  The movie, while lacking a bit in depth and richness, did cause me to corm into that space inside that is deep, dark and raw.  The stressors that we go through in our every day life do not compare to this place inside.  The text/email that didn’t get returned, the co-worker who drives you insane, financial woes and the like are the distractions from this deeper danker space inside.

As I walk, I reflect on where and when I am most connected with this inner space.  The answer is varied but often comes back to being in nature much like Cheryl Strayed in Wild.  When I am traveling or at the ocean, I am brought right into that palce of awe.  All the bills, the fears, the worries fade away and I get to, for that time, just be me.  I don’t have to be anyone for anyone.  I don’t have to take care of anyone.  I don’t have to be any certain place except right where my feet are.  All the pressure I generally put on myself is left behind and I finally meet myself in a place I have been hiding from.  This has not always been comfortable.  In fact, some of my most profound moments have come with some sadness as well.  Sadness generally from the fact that it has taken me so long to be here.  The same sadness that sometimes arises when I am in meditation as this is also a place where I find my true self. It is the sadness that is felt that allows freedom to set in and I begin to feel my true essence.  Is there a God?  Who really knows but the strength of human beings show that there is a spirit in all of us.  That spirit when it shines has the potential to light up the whole Universe.  When we are struggling with our emotions, when we are suppressing our feelings, that light gets dinmer until it is pitch black inside and out.  It is only when we face our inner darkness are we able to release the light within.

Reece Witherspoon did a pretty good job at evoking that place inside of me.  A place I have been sitting in over the past month.  The difference being is she helped remind me that the way to come out of the dark cave is by connecting with the earth. I am the wave in the ocean and the branches swaying in the wind as much as I am all the other things that you see, hear and feel. I am but a mere pebble in the sea of many other pebbles.  What I did in this lifetime may be a reflection of what is within me to some degree, but it is not me.  I am deeper than that and this and so are you.

Cheers to embracing all that you are.  Let the love within shine outward; embracing the light that is you.