Wednesday’s Wisdom
What do rice, money, and honey have in common?
I wanted to share some wisdom for a midweek pick-me-upper. And as I thought about it, my mind took interesting twists and turns, much like following a trail in the woods, knowing it was all enriching but not sure where it would lead to.
My mind went back to that day in November when on our mini-retreat we did an exercise in which three people were asked to fill their fists with coins from a bucket. With full fists they were then invited to receive a nicely wrapped gift. You get the picture, I am sure.
And although we did not discuss this, I personally have noticed that when I drop the coins my hands still smell like the money until I wash them thoroughly. So, ridding ourselves of the residue left over from clutching the money (beliefs) is part of the final step of letting go.
What are some beliefs you cling to that keep you from experiencing your gifts?
Oh the power of metaphors and stories to teach us deeper truths . . .
Then I got to thinking about Winnie-the-Pooh and his honey jar. There have been times he has eaten so much sweetness that he gets stuck and has to go without honey for a bit so he can get unstuck!
What sweet pleasures tempt you to gluttony and keep you immobilized from experiencing the inherent sweetness in this moment where there is no honey in sight?
What are we addicted to rather than fulfilled or satisfied by?
And finally, most powerful of all, I read this morning in The Book of Awakening by Mark Nepo (a power packed book of wisdom) about that old story of the monkeys who were trapped by finding their coveted fist full of rice in the hollow of a coconut shell. They were only trapped because they would not let go of the rice. Thinking they might not get more, they would not let go.
Mark Nepo invites us to ask, what is our rice?
And I would add, what is the coconut that looks innocent but hides the lure? What traps you? Could it be the love we never got from a parent as Mark so openly shared of himself?
Rice, money, and honey all have one thing in common here. They are only a problem when they are clutched out of a profound sense of lack.
I have been looking inside and realizing that what I clutch are approval and acceptance …. yes, that approval and acceptance that I did not receive as a child. And whenever I get even a little of it, I am prone to squeeze the life out of it. When I step back and see that so clearly, I have to practice and practice and practice some more at letting go, forgiving myself and freely accepting myself!
When we cling, we are not whole. We are not free. And, yet . . . all we have to do is let go! One finger at a time perhaps, but to experience the joy that comes with freedom, we have to drop the coins, the coconut, or the honey jar and see they are not the source of nourishment we think they are.
Of course, it helps when we discover that our true and abiding nourishment comes from Love . . . that immeasurable and non-clutching or clutch-able divine Gift so freely available to all of us from God.
Can you relate? I hope so! It is, after all . . . a shared journey.