The love of your fate
Lately I have been reading Joseph Campbell; both his "Hero with a Thousand Faces," and "The Joseph Campbell Companion: Reflections on the Art of Living." I have found so much inspiration and instruction for life on these pages. Here is the latest that has been inspiring me,
"Whatever your fate is, whatever the hell happens, you say, 'This is what I need.' It may look like a wreck, but go at it as though it were an opportunity, a challenge. If you bring love to that moment -not discouragement- you will find the strength is there. Any disaster you can survive is an improvement in your character, your stature, and your life. What a privilege! This is when the spontaneity of your own nature will have a chance to flow."
With the holidays fast approaching, and my birthday coming up next week, it is a time ripe for introspection for me: "Where am I heading? Am I living the life I want?" Sally Kempton, reminds us that yogic sages stated the three most fundamental questions human beings can ask of themselves are:
"Who am I?"
"Where am I going?"
"What am I supposed to do?"
For me whenever my birthday and the holidays all the way to New Year's approach, I find these and other questions start to get so loud in my inner space that it can at times overwhelm me. So I do what I have learned from my teachers: Find a quiet space, meditate, keep writing and teaching, keep doing what I love and love what I am doing. And, like Campbell wrote, love whatever is happening in my life may even welcoming and embracing it as if it was "exactly what I needed." That will certainly bring forth a more welcoming attitude that sees the Universe not as foreign and aggressive, but as intrinsically good.
May we bring love to the moment, whatever the moment brings, and not discouragement.
Comments