The Web of life

Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound together. All things connect.”  – Chief Seattle

Understanding connection to others and our environment is not easy to understand and in fact, it’s easy to avoid, because it makes us face the responsibility and vulnerability of ourselves in the world.

For years I unconsciously believed I was a separate identity in life.  I knew that what I did affected others but I don’t think I ever felt liable.  I never thought about my responsibility towards the whole.

I avoided my connection back then because I wasn’t ready to acknowledge the consequences of my actions and it was easier to find someone else to blame.

I now believe that it is only through death that we find connection again.  It can be a death of a loved one or just a death to part of yourself that connects you back to the truth.  For me, it was when our son died and I faced what life really means, it challenged me to find what I was connected to.

It was through experiencing death that I was forced to search for that connection again in order to survive.  When we do not connect back to what we were once apart of, we become lost in our grief and in the illusion of the world.

Every part of the earth should be sacred to us. Every shining pine needle, every sandy shore, every mist in the dark woods, every meadow, every humming insect.

I no longer wanted to be a sole identity, broken on my own.  I craved to be apart of something bigger and feel the comfort of the whole again.

It takes time to re-connect.  We have lost it for so long, we all need time and patience to get it back again.  To see the connection and oneness in our world, in our environment and in each other is a gift, and it takes a disciplined practice to understand it.

To go beyond the mind and reconnect with the deeper reality of life, different qualities are needed.  We need surrender, non-judgement, an openness that allows life to be …instead of resisting it and the capacity to hold all things in the loving embrace of your knowing.

So as this New Year begins, look deeply into how you live your life and learn to find stillness in your life and create a practice that helps you find that connection again, in others and everything around you.

 “When you seek to find the connections between problems, you can find unexpected solutions, just as a person picking up a coin finds the other side”.