What Shall I Give...

"...And we weave these tiny boxes - fill them with some small portion of the beauty and bounty which dwell all around us - and say “Thank you”.  I recognize the abundance at my feet.  And I choose to daily offer it back - in what way that I can..."

Sometimes, it's not the present which gifts us illumination.  
Sometimes it's a dip into the voices of the past..
As I sat before the keyboard this morning, scanning the ephemera of thoughts and images that traipse about my mind right now... unsure of what to offer.  Unsure of what would bring value, life and a sense of Light & Resonance to your day... I came across these words written roughly a year ago...

"To walk the streets of Bali at midday is to be constantly stepping over tiny, discarded piles of holiness.
Each day, the people, after meticulously sweeping the courtyards and sidewalks that spill out from their small, concrete homes and businesses - they put forth offerings.  Tiny, hand-woven baskets, plaited from cane grass, filled with bright snippets of frangipani or plumeria, or some other delicate, aromatic bloom.  There too, are a few grains of rice, maybe a morsel of melon, a stick of incense, lit as the sun crests the sky.  
Made and consecrated each day as a nod to the deities and demons gathered there - whose likenesses are carved into the buildings and archways.  Everywhere.  These small hand-wrought boxes of beauty, scent and sweetness - put forth daily to appease and thank the Unseen forces gathered there.  
'Thank you', they say.   For blessings of food and sustenance and pleasure and delight.  I acknowledge the Source.  And I give some small token back.
By midday, the small pilings of sacredness lay forgotten, swept up into the daily maelstrom of commerce and householder life.  Left to be dispersed by the wayward footsteps of dogs, hasty travellers and the winds of fate alike.  Temporarily forgotten until the next day’s miniature altar, prayer and ritual rise up to take its place.
It’s not a thing per se.  
Just is.  
Like the sweeping of the courtyard, or the going to the market or the watering of plants, the preparing of food.  This tiny altar business is just another facet of the Eastern circadian rhythm.  
It’s what we do, they seem to proclaim.  
Just as we see to the business at hand - of food and shelter and livelihood and all that - we carve out this space for the Divine.  A small nod in the morning to the hands of Nature or Grace that compose this grand, mysterious world - and we weave these tiny boxes - fill them with some small portion of the beauty and bounty which dwell all around us - and say “ Thank you”.  I recognize the abundance at my feet.  And I choose to daily offer it back - in what way that I can.
…
.....We’ve looked at the practice of paying ATtention.  Showing up, taking stock and slowing down just enough to notice what is there.  The stories, sensations and moments that could otherwise go un-heeded, un-witnessed, un-felt, but for our gift,
our practice of Presence.
 Being willing to sit for a moment with the silence, the mystery, the doubt, the what-if, the sadness and all else that may be lurking there inside these cells - trusting that the medicine is also there - the balm, the Light - if we are willing to sit a moment inside the darkness that we carry.
We practice looking.  And seeing.  Attuning our senses to the particular frequency of Grace.  Or peace.  Or presence.  Or ease.  Or song.  How we can drop out of the rhythm of rushing and striving and doing, into the slower cadence of Opening - Searching - SEeking - REceiving.  Where does this quality begin to show up?  And how can I practice meeting it?  
…
This week, I find myself singing little children’s church songs as I contemplate the words and practices and stories I wish to share with you all.  
Hide it under a bushel - No!
I’m gonna let it shine…
Let it shine...Let it shine….
And I can see my good, fresh-faced, five-year-old self, perched happily upon a folding chair on Sunday morning - holding my tiny finger up - my own little lantern - and singing along with all my heart - I’m gonna let it shine….".......

HEre's a link to the full-scale Love Note from last year - complete with instructions for a lovely Metta Meditation as well.  

And as I sit here form my perch in the woods, the cat nestled up beside me, beggaring some of this attention I put forth into the keys for her own.... I grapple with the question once more...
In a world increasingly in need of Our Light...
Our Courage.
Our Wisdom.
Our Skill
Our Conjuring.
Our Grit.
Our Heart.
Our Sweat, Tears, and maybe even a bit of the Blood....

What Form Shall My Service Take?

What Light am I being called to Shine Forth?

In what corner of the world - both the places right before me - and the vistas far beyond my view - am I being asked to Give Back?

This process of Practice...Mindfulness....Introspection.... Seeking - as we know - will always unveil deeper levels of Knowing as we continue to show up and Ask the Brave Question:::

*What am I Being called to in this Season of My Life?* 

I invite you to sit with me inside these questions for now.  
Trusting that an answer shall come.  
Trusting that the skills, resources and allies you need to accomplish all things - will be gifted you - the moment you step out to fulfill the next layer of your Life's great work - great purpose - Great Gift.

If you can.... take a moment to just sit with these questions::
Write 'em down.  Breathe.  Light a candle and move your pen gently (but steadily) across the page.


*What am I grateful for?  Right here & now - in this gorgeous, imperfect iteration and chapter of My Life?
*What Resources do I have that I can give back?
*In what ways can I give of my Time?
*My Energy?
*My Creative passions & skills?
*Where, in my immediate view, do I witness a need?
*What have I done, thus far, to meet that need?
*What one thing more can I do?
*What do I have in abundance - time, money, ideas, stuff, patience, skills, insights - that other folks lack?  
*In what way am I holding back?
*What is one thing I can do right now - TODAY - to add to the Light Factor existing in the World?
*What is One Thing I can Do - in the Coming Year - to increase the Light and Beauty Factor existing in the World?
*What is One Thing - that perpetually Grants me Joy?
*How can I share that with Someone Else?

....

Be patient with the questions that exist inside your heart and mind right now.
May you lean into the Goodness that abounds inside your Life right now - wherever that is found.
May you continue to Gift the world - the sweet nectar of your Presence - your Attention - your Heart - Your Tenaciousness - Your Vulnerable, Soft Pieces - as well as Your Grit.  We need them so right now.

Thank you for reading these words.  For taking what need from them.  For letting me know when some morsel of them has served you in some way.  

May we all keep showing up brightly and humbly for each other right now - gifting whatever we have on hand - at heart - our own tiny, holy boxes of offering and Thanks - back out into the Sphere.