The Well

A place dwells deep within us which houses our energetic supply, not necessarily just physical or emotional energy, but the energy that we call upon to serve others-The Well. This has been the theme of this past week inspired by my weekend spent at ShaktiFest, a yoga-music festival held in Joshua Tree, California. I've been attending this event as well as BhaktiFest (held in September) for the past several years and each time I have new experiences. One such experience was finding myself sitting alone at a table having a bite to eat. It was a rare moment as I'm often hanging out with various parts of the yoga tribe, so sitting alone chomping on a big bowl of goodness felt like a nice and quiet respite. It didn't take long before I was joined by two different women, one after the other, with whom I shared two different, yet linked, conversations.

The first, a photographer who was shooting the festival, told me she had just returned from two months of travel/work creating documentary films and doing photography. I had a brief encounter with her the previous BhaktiFest as we both attended a session by Krishna Das. I said to her that it was inspiring to see how much she was enjoying and engaged during the session, not just acting as a photographer at work. When I reminded her of this brief encounter she said that she only says "yes" to work and projects that keep her connected to her spiritual practice. I silently thought to myself, "wow...that's cool. She feeds her soul as she's creatively engaged in her profession".

As the photographer left, another woman sat in the open chair. We engaged in a conversation that moved quickly from, "Hi, how are you?" to a much more open one. She was from Colorado and when I asked how her ShaktiFest was going, she said she didn't realize how stressed out and tired she was until she arrived. She shared with me that she had become involved in social activism concerning the fracking in her home state. She had a young daughter and had health concerns as some wells were opening closer to schools and hospitals and many people were worried about an increase in blood cancers and other health issues seemingly related to an increase in the number of wells drilling for natural gas. I said, "It must be difficult to balance the energy of your voice and those on the other side who want to capitalize on the "gas-gold rush" happening right below them. She replied, "Yes, it's exhausting." I suggested that perhaps her time at ShaktiFest was about filling up her own inner well so as to return to her activism with renewed energy and compassion. She paused a moment and looked at me saying, "What do you do?".

My question to people this week has been, "How dry will you let your own inner well get until you're willing to act on it?" 

I've asked myself that question more times than I care to admit and am trying to learn my lesson. Last summer I spent an amazing time in Australia--- time with friends, time in my favorite places, teaching two retreats and one workshop. In between, we had a few days on the beach and when I returned to the States I thought to myself, "Now I need a vacation." I didn't allow time and space to fully refill my well and launched straight back into a full and abundant season of teaching and running a business. I've spent the past several months moderating my energy and perhaps saying "no" to things I could have said "yes" to had I had more reserve. So this summer, I decided to take a longer break...somewhat reluctantly, but it feels necessary. I'm still doing some work, but once that's complete, I'm taking "we" time...just me and my husband. I'm an introvert so what fills up my well is spending time away from people in quiet and restoring situations.

I am truly honoring my choice to be away and recharge as I want to return to what I do with my well overflowing in order to teach from a place of full-hearted compassion and intent. So, what are you doing today to fill up your well? The more we keep that part of us topped up, the more we are able to serve. Perhaps you can take a page out of my book and not let your well run dry. Fill it up!