Summer solstice was yesterday and this morning, I am reflecting on the beauty in nature- the woods in my backyard, the birds at my feeder and the flowers in the garden. All is beautiful and sacred. I breathe deeply and am aware of the sanctity of breath as a conduit for Spirit and as my connection to all of life. We all breathe the same air-whatever our illusions of separateness are, each one of us is connected to the whole. At any given moment, I am taking into my body, through my lungs, the same mixture of gases and elements as every other living creature on earth is.
This is something that we don't often think about in our busy day to day world. We tend to live our separate, independent lives, thinking our own thoughts, feeling the sensations in our bodies, with a lack of awareness of our interconnectedness with the rest of the planet.
Yet we are part of a vast web of life-what we do, what everyone else does, matters to the whole. The "butterfly effect" (a butterfly flapping its wings can affect weather patterns), applies to all of us because we are each an integral part of the natural world.
My breath reminds me of this simple yet astounding fact-it was my first connection to the world as an infant and it will be my last connection when I draw my final intake of air.
Everything in between, my choices, actions, accomplishments, failures, all the striving to be someone recognized as important by the world, will be absorbed into the sea of life. I will leave behind only what I have created and the influences I have had on others and the earth as a whole.
As I begin my day, I resolve to organize my priorities with a recognition of my connection to all and the simple yet profound influences I can have on those in my small circle as well as the larger living web in which we have our being.
Breathe deeply, give thanks for the sanctity and interconnectedness of all..
