Pele. The goddess of fire/volcano. I have this exact poster in my office/weight room. She has been with me the last 10 years of my life, which has been a period of change and increasing self-awareness.
I have been reading several books that contain common themes. One that I'm almost done with has a quote from Sariputta:
"Do not look upon your body as your self. Do not think that the body is the self or that the self is the body, or that the self is in the body or that the body is in the self. Do not look upon your feelings as your self, your thoughts as your self, even your consciousness as your self. Your body can change and become otherwise, but grief, lamentation, pain, dejection, and despair do not have to arise."
I am finally getting this--that my thoughts, emotions and body are NOT MY SELF. Even as this should be almost obvious, and I've heard/read this before, now I KNOW IT. Yet, I can take comfort in using my body as a vehicle for my mind to LEAVE MY BODY. Pele is not the image you see--she is the spirit of Hawaii--its volcanoes, lava, lush green forests, deep blue sea, insanely colorful fish and terrifically handsome people.
Today I celebrate the totally fucking AMAZING body that I've been given to use in this short Earthly journey. It has opened up many new windows into my hearts, thoughts, but most importantly, MY SELF.
No comments:
Post a Comment