Are you laughing?
Are you laughing? Are you nourishing yourself?
You have heard about the state of our climate & democracy….
All waters have cancer causing microplastic.
Rain, snow, ocean, rivers, all waters inside your and my body.
Air pollution in India is currently choking children. Really.
Children in Gaza, Congo and Sudan.....don't worry I won't finish my sentence....
Many dear immigrant friends in the U.S. are scared.
Truth is important. We can't look away.
Grief and fear are real.
But grieving and raging without nourishing our ground is NOT wise.
It is important that we get silly and laugh a deep belly laugh.
Laughing activates the same vagus nerve that deep abdominal breathing activates.
I want us to cultivate joy
not because I want us to shove the harsh truths under the rug.
I want us to laugh, nourish ourselves with truly nutritious foods,
to rest and be silly
I want us to be still in the womb of love --
womb of love is called Shunyata or Mu in Buddhism
I want our joy more deeply than ever before
because I want us to have strength to look at the harsh truths
and weep our way into love.
again and again…
I want us to be alive and loving even when our worlds are dying.
because our wisest and most loving ancestors have done exactly that.
You are not just your body and mind.
You are me. I am you.
That's the teaching of all non-dual traditions in the world.
(Buddhism included).
You don't get to rest or heal or be happy in isolation. Without me.
But for my healing, you have to rest, laugh and be still.
You get to heal no one if you don't access joy.
You cannot heal me if the weight of your rage and grief weigh you down.
How will you love me without loving and nourishing yourself?
How will you love yourself without loving and nourishing me?
Let us please invest in what truly nourishes your body, heart and soul.
We don't have to invest in things that the world wants us to buy out of shame.
We can wear socks and undergarments with holes in them
The furniture in your house
and clothes on our bodies can absolutely be second-hand,
our phones don’t need to have all the playstore apps
We can live in your car and still choose to rest
You don't have to spend thousands on fancy vacations to get rest.
You just have to love life enough to slow down
and notice the gorgeous smell of lavender flowers
squeezed between your fingers,
or the smell of fresh lime and mint.