INVITATION

INVITATION

I am learning more and more about this word. As I grow in Big "S"- Self, that part of Spirit that lives within me, I am realizing how much of my life has been lived in "teacher-mode": giving direction, teaching, telling "how"... Honestly, it has, in my experience, been a rather repelling way to live. People don't enjoy being told. They don't enjoy feeling like they are being treated like children. So, as a teacher of children for over 30 years, you might imagine that this has been a very large part of my way of life; one that is difficult to release.
In my journey, I am slowly, ever. so. slowly. learning to shift from this mindset. Thich Nhat Hahn has said that before we “strike” the bell, we must first “invite it to awaken” by gently giving it a “half” sound. Recently, I acquired another singing bowl. It is a small, dainty bowl that has a beautiful, inviting sound. Each and every time I pick it up, Thay's teaching comes to mind and I strike it very gently to wake the bell, then continue on with its use in a sacred way. How now to transform my day to day living with this practice?
What I do know is that I've spent so much of my life trying to start out "perfect"; to be sure that all my i's are dotted and t's crossed. So, perhaps, a good place to begin is to gently invite my own awakening with a "half-sound". Perhaps awakening my own S-Self in this way will also awaken my own mindfulness of how I tend to just "bang the bell" of others and bring about a transmutation of action.
So, I "invite" you in. I "invite" you to recognize my perfect imperfection and desire to shift into mindfulness. And, I "invite" you to make this journey with me.
In Love and Recognition of Our Oneness,
~ Rev. Emma