I must...

When I was a child, I used to love the speed and thrill of sledding in the winter. I used to love the first warm spring day when we pulled out our baseball gloves for our own spring training. I used to love the long summer days that seemed to never end, playing Kick the Can and Capture the Flag late into the night. I used to love lying out in the soft summer grass, gazing up at the clouds, searching for shapes and stories in the summer sky. I used to love looking up at the night sky to see if I could find Orion's Belt. I used to love catching leaves, aflame with color, floating gently down on a fresh fall afternoon. 

Lately, I've been wondering what it was that made those childhood moments so magical. What made me feel so alive? What filled my soul with such joy and light? 

What about you? What fired you up and made you feel fully alive as a child? What brought a smile to your face, a tear to your eye, a shiver to your soul?  What made you want to sing or dance or play or share your deepest heart's longing? What helped you know yourself, your truth, most deeply?

Was it a particular place? Was it a person? Was it a song? Was it a still moment? Was it a story?  As you call to mind the source of your inspiration, the feelings, the place, the moment, ask yourself what made it sacred? What made you feel holy? What made you whole?

Only you can answer these questions.  Only you can find and know your truth.  As you do so, you will find life, liberation, love.  As you do, you will know the ache that erupts in the core of your being and cries out, "I must... for I can do nothing else."

I must write. I must sing. I must dance. I must draw. I must paint. I must help. I must learn. I must tell my story. I must pray. I must sit still. I must run. I must play. I must work. I must rest. I must feel.

I must moves us from fear to freedom.

Nelson Mandela spent 27 years in prison because he could do nothing else. Mother Teresa picked up the first person lying destitute in the streets of Calcutta because she could do nothing else. Vincent van Gogh painted Starry Night because he could do nothing else. Joni Mitchell wrote and sang River because she could do nothing else. Bob Marley wrote and sang Redemption Song because he could do nothing else. Mairead Maguire and Betty Williams founded Peace People because they could do nothing else.

Lately, I've been wondering what it was that made those childhood moments so magical. What made me feel so alive? What filled my soul with such joy and light? 

 

Maybe the answer has something to do with the grace, energy and mystery of the must.  What must you do?

“I learned this, at least, by my experiment: that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.”  ― Henry David Thoreau, Walden: Or, Life in the Woods

The Mirror

I always say to the kids with whom I work, "If you're gonna point a finger, you better be lookin' in the mirror first." Most pause & reflect. Once one decided to give me the finger; I had my pocket mirror ready.  

When confronted with injustice or a 'teachable moment,' Stop. Reflect. And if you're compelled to say something, to Act, try to do so in a way that invites the other to see that in criticizing or condemning another, they are condemning themselves. As Thich Nhat Hanh reminds us, we 'inter-are' - we are all connected. We need each other find our deepest truth and real life and liberation.

You never know who may hear or read your mirror invitation or how they will respond. I think the hardest thing to do when challenging others to look in the mirror can be to let go of the need to 'win' or change the other person's heart or mind. Ultimately, that is out of our hands. We can only speak truth, live kindness and compassion, and invite others to see that we are all connected, we are all sisters and brothers. 

Maybe just as difficult is to look in the mirror and see ourselves as we truly are, broken? Yes.  But also beautiful, blessed, beloved daughters and sons of a loving Creator.  Any opportunity to see this truth most deeply in ourselves and invite others to see this truth in her or himself, is a moment of grace, a gift we can give ourselves and the world.

Embrace these 'mirror moments' with humility, courage, conviction and a smile. In so doing, I trust that you will help facilitate sacred transformation and release an energy in the world that is desperately needed. It may not be easy, but "if you want to make the world a better place, take a look at yourself and make a change."  And as you look in the mirror and see the potential for change in yourself, you will liberate yourself to see the potential for change in others.

Much peace to you!