The Experiment: Day 97 ~ There Is Nothing That We Can Do That Is Without Meaning…

“It is only when we can believe that we are creating the soul that life has any meaning, but when we can believe it – and I do and always have – then there is nothing we do that is without meaning and nothing that we suffer that does not hold the seed of creation in it.”
May Sarton

This whole notion of “creating the soul” has been a wake up call for me, and I feel it is right and true. I understand now that in every single moment we have choice. Mostly it is unconscious but if we, in our conscious moments, set ourselves on a path that brings more light and grace into our lives, that is centered between giving all the love that we can in every way possible and receiving it as well I think that most of our lives can be spent in soul growth that gives a deeper and wider spiritual dimension to our lives. This is not to say it is easy, nor that we can always do it, I certainly can’t, but I think if we have it as a goal to strive toward we can hit the mark more often than we miss it. This is very subtle and requires conscious effort, but I am finding that since this concept has come into my awareness I am changed somehow. How sloppily have I lived through the days prior to this, all too often, grasping, moaning, and wailing at what is rather than being consciously aware of what might be. I believe more of our lives and our well-being is in our hands than most of us have understood to this point, we often come from a place where we feel acted upon by other people’s actions than by creating a life where we have choice and can see the outcome of things being in our hands. A very simple way to put this is that this is the year I stop allowing myself so often to feel like a victim which I have most of my life since I was very young. No, I couldn’t stop the abuse acted upon me then, but I am an adult now. This is the year I want not to be a victim in my life but a creator of a whole new kind of life. I don’t know how all of that will manifest but I do know that it is important.

Take today for example. I got some news this morning that really hurt me. I could have stayed in that “poor little me” place and had a grand old pity party. I have surely done that often enough in the past, but in talking to my eldest daughter who is here from Chicago I see just how hard it is, coming from out of town Christmas week and trying to juggle seeing everyone and they are spread pretty thin trying to do it all. That I am not included in a gathering that is going to be at my ex’s is just how it is. Instead of allowing myself to be miserable and sad all night I am going to talk to my dear friend via Skype, we will spend some time together, and then I will watch a movie with the pugs. Sometimes things just are what they are, life is not “all about us” all the time, life is “all about everybody” doing the best they can. Someone shared with me their word for 2018. It is “Allow.” I thought that was so profound. How often do we let our minds get so obsessed with the way we think it should be that we just won’t let go, allow what is to be, to be, and accept what is with as much love and understanding in our hearts as we can muster? I think “Allow & Accept” is something I will write inside my 2018 journal. Imagine, if instead of fighting things, suffering over things because they are not how we wish they would be, we realize that we are not alone in the universe with everyone revolving around us but rather we are all in the stream of life with everybody else. We can go with the flow or we can build dams that block up our easy path to flowing with the rest of life and everyone around us. We can fight to the death to get our own way or we can allow that it is just a moment in time and let go of the outcome that we thought was the only way which allows us to be open to many other different possibilities in life. I want to be open to all the possibilities around me, not cutting myself off from the world with hurt feelings, an “I’ll show them” attitude making sure that everyone knows how miserable you are so that they will suffer too. I want to cause no one else to suffer. That is incredibly important to me as part of my way of being in the coming year.

I am not a victim.

I am the creator of my own life and I am going to create a beautiful, peaceful life for myself and to the extent that I can for others around me.

I will not cause or add to the suffering of others. 

These are things that I will carry with me in the coming year.

And the world does not revolve around me.

I want to be in the stream of life with everyone else knowing that my actions can be loving, caring, open-hearted and unselfish, and that in being all these things I can make the way easier for those around me, or I can be selfish, self-centered, make decisions based on what is easiest for me, and expect everyone else to consider me first, before their own feelings. That is not something I am proud of. In living in victim mode we often feel that we are right to expect others to bend to our will, afterall we have suffered greatly in life. The truth is that we all suffer, we all have heartache and sadness at times, and if we, as individuals, make choices that will ease the heartache of others, allay their suffering, we will find a joyous peace inside ourselves that will lead to greater happiness. We will be creating our souls in the best possible way, souls that will carry us through life in the path of light, rather than the darkness. I have spent far too much time in the dark in my life. In the time that is left to me I want to live in the light as much as I can.

Think of your soul as a bowl. A glowing bowl that was meant to hold all the love and beauty that we are. What will you put in your bowl this year? I am going to find a bowl and keep it on my work table here beside me. Each day I will put in a thing of beauty I have found that day. I can write it down on a slip of paper and drop it in the bowl. Perhaps I find a feather or a pretty stone. I will fill my bowl with beauty, the bowl represents my soul, I want to imagine it in the center of my body and see how many things I can put in my bowl that will make it glow. I want to be lit from within, led by my inner glow. I am just now seeing this as a path that is possible for me in life. I will lay a rose in my bowl today. What will you put in yours?

How are you preparing for the coming year? What things are important to you? How do you want to live your life? What changes will you make this year so that you might glow from within, spilling over with light and love? I would love for you to share your thoughts with me in the comments below. If each of us works on this in the year ahead I believe we will have a very different life, one that brings us more happiness and joy. This is my path, I have begun to walk it. It is a mystery. And it is all there is.

 

The Experiment ~A 365 Day Search For Truth, Beauty &
Happiness: Day 1 ~ Introduction To The Project
“Do or do not. There is no try.”
Yoda

Comments

  1. Accept and allow. YES. let our light shine among all the other lights. create a soul bowl and fill it slowly with beautiful little amulets. do collages. write in a journal. dance. cook delicious food. write stories and poems. garden. pick flowers and float them in water or arrange them in vases. commune with the sun and moon and rain. don’t take things too personally. adore your self (in all her facets). breathe fully and deeply.

    READ MAITRI’s BLOG!!

    xox
    ka

    • Oh yes sweet Ka, this is a year for creating beauty within and without, all the kinds of things, collage and more. And you tickled me with “READ MAITRI’S BLOG!!” Thank you so much honey, I am just delighted that you are here and that it means so much to you. May the new year bring many delights and surprises. I am blowing you a kiss.. <3

      Love you honey,

      M. xo

  2. I think your post is so insightful, Maitri. Your word’sloppily’ (as in “however sloppily I have lived….”) truly resonated with me. I have been living quite sloppily this past few years, but I hadn’t the word to express it and here you gave it to me, like a beautiful New Years gift. Along with Allow, I will be keeping Sloppily in my mind to help me stay aware and attentive during 2018.
    And I agree with Katya…
    READ MAITRI’S BLOG!! 💙

    • Oh thank you so much sweet Moira, I appreciate both you and Katya saying that! It means a lot to me, and yes, sloppily — don’t we all live that way, or most of us? To live with intention can be a lot of work, and we will slip off the course, but oh how worth it it is to try. And that word, allow, just got me, it’s a good one! I hope you have the most wonderful new year honey. Onwards and upwards we go! 🙂

  3. From tomorrow on to the 1st of January I will retreat to a lovely cottage in the middle of nowhere. I found this place last year because I was looking for somewhere with NO FIREWORKS, because Ben is so frightend by all the noise (and I don’t like them, too). The cottage has thatched roof and the owners breed horses and advertised that there is a fireworkfree zone, next town 3 km off – so we had a wonderful, quiet New Years Eve 2016/2017. And there is no phone, no internet available. Just poor network coverage, but I see it as a wonderful chance not to let myself be sidetracked.
    So, time to think, feel, dream. Meditating on “how do I want to live my life”, beginning with “how do I want to live my life in 2018”. That`s new! Before, I just thought about “what do I have to do, how am I supposed to live my life”. There will be crayons, paper, room for being creative and open. Oh there it is: My first project for 2018 is turning my garden into a space for creativity and build a gARTen shed where I am able to have some painting equipment, steatite, wood for carving etc. at hand.
    And of course in 2018 I will continue to READ MAITRI`s BLOG!!

  4. Oh Silke how wonderful, and what a wonderful way to usher in the new year. I hate the fireworks too, my pugs don’t like and one pug gets especially frightened and I have to give him a pill. I truly hate that they are allowed. But your place where you are going sounds heavenly, I hope you have a beautiful, creative time, and what a wonderful plan to have a gARTen shed. You are starting your course in 2018 with intention and that is grand. And thank you, too, for reading my blog! I love having you here honey. May we grow together in the new year… <3

  5. I love your creator intentions for the New Year Maitri; very positive and uplifting.
    Personally I have not yet thought much about my plans for 2018 other than carrying on with what I have been doing, a lot of which is health and nutrition focused. A goal I’ve had for at least a few years, which may be coming into fruition in 2018 is to be more vibrant, lean and healthy. For me, to have that as my baseline will allow me to take on other pursuits when I feel more energized and clear.
    I have a LOT of resources that I have collected over the years for personal development tools. I just need to choose from what I have, rather than signing up for new programs. Frankly, I get a bit overwhelmed when right after Christmas my email inbox is flooded with offers of new ways to kick start the new year. It just makes me tired and feeling like I haven’t done enough. So, right now, I’m not committing to anything new and will just stay the course with the very good practices I already have.
    I wish for you a beautiful 2018 full of creativity and joy!

    • Joan, I know what you are saying. Living the ketogenic lifestyle is my baseline for the year, to lose weight but also as you say become more vibrant and healthy, that in and of itself is a huge thing for me. And keeping on with this blog everyday challenge is also huge because since I started it almost 100 days ago so many things have changed for the better in my life, more and more everyday. I believe it is leading toward something and I am ready for it. I am on the cusp of many changes as are we all as we go into the new year. I wish you well and SO know about buying many courses and resources and never finishing and sometimes never even starting them! I think a great many of us are sitting on a treasure trove of things we might use. I think the main thing is just to be very present in our lives, in each moment, and making each the best we can. The rest will take care of itself.

      And I wish the same for you dear Joan, the best and brightest 2018 that is possible. And we shall each Keto On! and enjoy the transformations in our lives! 🙂

Leave a Reply to Silke Cancel reply

*

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.