Where are you today? I don’t mean physically, I mean emotionally, spiritually: where are you today?
All we can be is where we are. We don’t always like it; it can be painful, even hard to understand, but it is life. This past week a layer of sadness nestled its way into my every action. I am hurting and mourning the loss of the things that haven’t even left. Senior dog, graduating students, a parting of friends and business relationships, the world state of affairs, old chapters closing down … the good-byes are fast approaching. Change is one of the few things we know is a constant, but why is it so hard to let go?
God! Make it stop. I want to tell the universe to pause. Too much change too fast. Where is the emergency brake? But perhaps I am the one being called to change; maybe I’m the one who needs to grow. So where am I today? I’m trying to let go, but I’m holding onto the things I love for my dear life—the comforts, knowing what is instead of what might be. It’s kept me safe. But when we refuse to let go of things that have run their course, we fail to reach our potential. Holding on becomes the death grip to our staleness. Boredom will inevitably seep in.
The truth is, all change is growth, and holding on to the past keeps us in a rollercoaster of unmet opportunities. Everything has an expiration date. Everything! Do you ever feel as if you are window shopping your own life experiences. Watching things come, not getting too close out of fear they will soon go. Is this way of living really working for us? Do we take on the Buddhist philosophy of having no real attachments, letting everything have its own proper time and place, just letting it all be? Or do we choose to live more fully, to dive in deeper? Do we choose to love harder, feel more, reach closer for the REAL connection? For me, I choose the latter. Loving harder, diving deep, and devoting myself to others has been my solace through the times of change.
Rest assured, the pain we feel in the transition is in direct proportion to the amount of love we’ve allowed ourselves to give and receive. To live a life of devotion is to open yourself wide open, cracked to the core, as if to say, “I am loving and living with every fiber of my body.” This is true devotion, this is true living.
I have been devoted to my students who are getting ready to graduate, I have been devoted to my dog, Tucker, who is a senior fella, and this devotion to the things I love is a life well lived.
When we commit to caring for something this raw, real devotion, is love at its finest source. Crème de la crème of all love potions.
The ripping apart is part of the process, but it will never overshadow the amount of love given. What are you devoted to? What is in your own heart?
Devoting ourselves to anything can be a beautiful act of self-respect and love. Because when we truly give of ourselves we become of the highest service to others, and our devotion of love connects us all.
Today I want to talk more about devotion and why it is essential for your own well being.
When I was living in Seoul, South Korea, last year, I recognized the powerful result of being devoted to something. When you are devoted to someone or something you are saying, “I am open and willing to show you all of me.” Most of us don’t devote ourselves to much because we don’t want to get hurt, it takes work and well we think what is the point. It takes a lot of effort to care so much, but your true self has so much love to give. Devote yourself to something you care and believe in because your life will transform.
As I saturate myself in the thick, rich side effect of devotion, I see fully how rewarding a life we can live when we devote ourselves to more. Let yourself love, let yourself live. Be open in the face of fear, and care with everything you have.
So where am I today? As I prepare for what feels like premature partings, I see that real love never leaves us; the form is the only thing that changes. There comes a time in all of life when the ending is near. Perhaps it’s not the end but a beautiful new beginning. Maybe the secret to change isn’t holding on to the old but rather focusing all our attention on building the new.
What might be? Who can we become?
Perhaps the best way to gracefully release the past and step forward is to thank your past. For all of it has helped you become who you are today. The unknown is not scary when we know the Universe has something big in store for us. Letting go is mandatory for stepping forward into the best you.
Everything you have gone through has prepared you for this next phase of your life.You are more ready than you are giving yourself credit for. Be willing to live your life in new ways. So how to we let go of things we love…we invite in the growth; let it percolate in every fiber of your being. For your future is waiting. The newness is knocking at your door; you can invite it in.
It’s time to let the new in.
It’s time to let go and let more love in.
Enjoy this video from South Korea where I talk about the powerful effects of devotion.
Leave your comments below. What are you devoted to?
