 Stepping Up to the Plate  |
One can’t help being aware of the sensation of “hanging in space.” Tumultuous is the word that comes to mind when I think about the world at large these days. Not so far behind us are the recent September tragedies of such magnitude that it is still hard to grasp. Before us we have a holiday season of mixed and varied traditions, emotional ups and downs, and the usual festive frenzy and, to color it all, the great Unknown looming before us. No one really knows what the future holds.
The Siri Singh Sahib (Yogi Bhajan) once gave me a rhyme:
“Be kind, compassionate, loving and sweet.
Inspiring to bring people out of retreat.”
I have finally realized this is our job, our responsibility as humans. It is stepping up to the plate.
We are blessed with tools to sustain and guide us: deep meditation, compassion, prayer, love, faith, yoga and other practices of spiritual discipline. Perhaps the most important tool of all is service - our ability to give of ourselves. We are now aware of so many more opportunities to give and serve than we were aware of before. This year we have the opportunity to take our innate understanding of what giving is to new and higher places.
I invite you to inspect the facets of your life, to meditate deeply on the gift of life, to give thanks with a grateful heart, mind and soul, and to give back and serve in every way you can. Step up to the plate!
~ Get together with family, friends, colleagues,
neighbors and within your communities to share
meals, sing, pray, watch uplifting movies, dance
~ Invite those who are alone to share in your
Solstice, Hanukah, Christmas, New Year’s and other festivities
~ Organize service projects in your community or neighborhood
~ Spend time making gifts or visiting those unable to celebrate as you do, in hospitals, nursing homes, shelters, prisons
There are so many more people willing to be more open and generous, willing to listen more, willing to help wherever they can. Projects are going up across the country involving community and interfaith outreach. We are inspiring ourselves and each other to be strong in the face of adversity and this inspiration comes directly from our state of being.
I encourage you, in this season of giving, to give generously to Dasvandh, an organization teaching the principles of conscious awareness we need in today’s tumultuous world. Where so many things can seem uncertain, Dasvandh serves you with the tools and teachings to heal yourself and strengthen your state of being. When we are strong within ourselves, we can be kind, compassionate, loving, and sweet. Getting strong within ourselves is what investing in your state of being is all about.
May God bless us all. May we all be showered with compassion, love, health, joy, and abundance. May the New Year hold for us all that has true value. May our hearts be open and may we live in the Grace of God.
Humbly,
Darshan Kaur Khalsa, Dasvandh Director