Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Listening to the Light

Autumn is a time to reflect on the phenom of “shedding”. Leaves are being shed in the blowing winds. Animals are shedding their fur. We are shedding our skin. As we peel back the layers of old protective coverings and surrender them to decay or compost them into the nutrients of our next phase of growth, we realize that the season has come to let go of the old and allow the fresh new layer or lack there of to take it's place.

I have been fortunate to have a fresh new perspective on this old lesson from nature as the surgeon reaches for his instruments to remove the diseased tissue from my body. A malignant melanoma has been discovered and determined to be manageable. The management of such a threat however requires due diligence to remove the threat in a timely and effective manner. I am surrendered to the process of diligence. What seemed like an annual chore of visiting the Dermatologist has now become a stroke of good luck and fortune to discover the threat lurking in my skin.

How can we use a mundane chore or perennial tasks to learn valuable lessons and gain a new perspective? I learn every day while delving into the muscle and sinew of athletes the value of body awareness. Every little nagging ache and pain that signals a problem arising can and should be addressed if only by acknowledging that it exist. I have renewed my commitment to listening carefully and deeply to the presentations as each athlete enters a dialogue with me. This is accomplished though writing, speaking, signaling in reflexes or perhaps a simple gut instinct. However we communicate our needs, the number one issue remains: have we been heard?

Listening is a skill that is honed over time and refined daily. When we listen with our ears we hear words and put together phrases that convey meaning. Listening with our hearts can tell us so much more. It is more than reading between the lines. It is feeling the vibrations on a soul level. Sometimes I come in contact with that subtle energy in a space so sacred I scarcely feel worthy of residing there. The Heart energy is palpable beyond the physical rhythm of the contracting muscle and electrical pulses that govern a steady beat. The streams of “light” that are emitted from the soul are not visible to most on a conscious level, yet our language lends itself to speak of this reality. “She was beaming with Pride” or “He was glowing with adoration”.

As we enter into the season of Christmastide and shed our old attitudes and platitudes let us seek to sharpen our understanding of one another. Speak of the joy lying deep with in our hearts. Enter into the bold space of caring and sharing. Giving Thanks is not reserved for Thanksgiving. Bring into to focus the light streaming from the souls around us. Feel the Love growing in your heart for others. Commit to sharing the Joy you find in the simplest expressions. Sing, play an instrument or find a warm place to just cuddle with a cat, a child or your best friend. Count your Blessings.

Settle in for the Winter, like a flower bulb. Gather your energy to burst forth in the newness of spring and show your true colors. Hibernation can be a big “reset” button as it affords us an opportunity to reflect and assess how we will project our lives in the new year. May we seek to Bless others as much as we seek to be blessed by those around us. I am blessed to be held dearly by so many. I too am blessed to have so many whose voices I can hear and whose Hearts I can feel. I look forward to seeing each in the New Year as Spring is waiting in each seed, bulb and bud that will open in due time.