The Big Picture

It never fails. I seem to be reminded of the important things in life with many seemingly small daily lessons. This past week, in two separate families with whom I am close, saw the passing of a beloved 103 year old grandmother and in another a beloved mother. Just over two weeks ago, was the date of the passing of my father 33 years ago. And it's not the dates of their deaths that matter but the reminder of the value and impact that each of those lives had on so many others.

One of the strongest lessons I was exposed to with my Dad's death was that life is short and you never really know when your time will come. It taught me to not wait for the perfect moment to make things happen, to get out there and fully experience life. One constant truth is that all of us will die...you and everyone you know. Yet, we often live in a state of denial, bypassing true connection by getting distracted by things that simply don't make any difference in the big picture of life. We get tangled in drama, we let the emotional situations become grand stories and we begin to shrink away from living with an open heart. We begin to close down just to get through the day.

Take a moment to think about something that has taken a big chunk of your emotional energy. Perhaps it's a family situation, an upcoming gathering where the organizers are doing things differently to how you would do them. Or perhaps, it's a work situation where a colleague is getting under your skin for not getting back to you or doing a task in a different way to how you might do it. Sometimes we have our own projects that take on a life of their own. We want to get a new dishwasher and end up remodeling our entire kitchen.

Part of our yoga and meditation practice is to become a witness to our own experience. It truly is something we need to practice as this doesn't come easily to most of us, the ability to actually take a step back, to pause and notice things simply as they are. To quote Jack Kornfield:

"When we let go of our battles and open our heart to things as they are, then we come to rest in the present moment. This is the beginning and the end of spiritual practice."

The lessons of people passing, of situations that challenge us and of emotions that tend to overwhelm us, is to recognize that they are all teaching us something. If you look to the stories that have consumed your emotional energy, what have they taught you? In these moments can you pause, take a step back and look at the grander big picture of your life?

As I journey down this path of transformation, I more easily recognize how the little dramas truly pull me away from the beautiful unfolding of the present moment. In those moments, we have a choice to further indulge the distraction or to put it all into perspective. We are all connected through the same wave of energy, through breath and ultimately through love. Holding gratitude in our hearts for the daily little lessons reminds us of something much bigger. Thank you to those who have brought these lessons to us and have passed along. May we all find peace and live with ease.