Enlightenment is not a state where we become liberated from feeling, but rather . . . consciousness is liberated to freely experience feeling more fully. Energy, vibration, the movement of life through the body can be fluid, without resistance. Ah, such a sweet aspiration.
To enter inside a mood, image, or emotion and be touched by its color, fragrance, and essence. To know firsthand the rarity and preciousness of having a human body, a sometimes shattered heart, and a miraculous, sensitive nervous system. Such a sweet invitation.
Not a transcending of our vulnerability, fleeing into a state of power and untouchability, safely hidden away in some protected spiritual cocoon. But something a bit more spacious than that. Something more open. More raw. At times, even more painful.
For some reason, we were given a heart that is whole, and we will never be satisfied with that which is partial. We will never know ourselves to be fully alive by embracing only those feelings and those dreams that our families, societies, and gurus claim are worthy and valid. But only through the courage and the mercy required to touch all our feelings can we truly know that our own wholeness is also part of the universal whole.
To partake of the entirety of the spectrum of this human experience, with as much curiosity, soul, and kindness that we can discover. To give ourselves permission to care, to take a risk in allowing another to matter, and tend to the heart that inevitably breaks in response to suffering, disappointment, and despair.
To see for ourselves to what degree the unconscious quest for power, mastery, certainty, and invulnerability may be an expression of fear, not love.
To at times crumble to the ground, feeling awe and gratitude. Awestruck at the bounty that has been laid out before us in all it's dimensions and expressions. To fall apart. To fail. To get back up. To be humble again. To begin again. To be a beginner. A perpetual amateur in the infinite field of Love's possibilities.
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