Monday, November 7, 2011

It’s All About Moi…

For a couple of weeks…I’ve gotten angry every time I’d go outside…there…on the empty lot next door…encroaching on my property line…were the apparent parents and grandparents of the new crop of weeds in my dry creek…I fussed and fumed…it was their fault…these really weren’t my weeds…I shouldn’t have to pull them…and…I didn’t…
Bertha let me by with it for a while…evidently she was giving me enough rope…and then…surely enough…I hung myself…or she strung me up…it’s always hard to tell with us…
Yesterday…she reminded me of a scenario from the previous week…I witnessed a teacher ask a student to pick up some paper from under her desk…the student replied…it’s not mine…
I was all too quick to point out…that she wasn’t asked if it was her paper…she was asked to pick it up…which she reluctantly…(eye roll please)…did…
Bertha said that both situations reminded her of the ancient Hawaiian practice we’ve been studying called…Ho’oponopono…(pronounced just like it looks)…(she put on a lei and hula skirt for effect…not that I needed it…I was beginning to catch on…)
One of the basic premises is that…the individual is responsible for everything that shows up in their life
I have to say that I have had some difficulty with that one…but now…it suddenly made perfect sense…I may not have been responsible for the weeds…as in I caused them…but I am responsible for the weeds…because they are in my dry creek…and if I don’t do something about them…nobody will…
The student may not have put the paper under her desk…but once asked to pick it up…she was responsible to comply…
Therefore…I may not cause the actions of another person who makes me angry…but…once I am angry…I’m responsible for getting un-angry…for cleaning it up…
And in Ho’oponopono…that is done with the forgiveness prayer…it goes like this…
I love you…I’m sorry…please forgive me…thank you…
The cool thing is…you aren’t forgiving the other person…or asking the other person to forgive you…it’s all about you and the Divine within you…
It’s hard to explain…even for Bertha…and she’s now looking for some coconuts to make a top for her ensemble…so she probably won’t be any more help…
But…I can tell you that I feel relaxed, calm, and loved when I repeat the forgiveness prayer…I feel reconnected with God…in fact I make it my daily practice…I also repeat it if I get upset about anything…and I can actually feel the calmness return…
Oh…and for the record…I no longer have weeds in the dry creek…it really wasn’t such a bad job…it was a beautiful day to be outside…and after all…it was my responsibility…
Jane

2 comments:

  1. Love this one Jane and boy how I needed it. We are back in Mexico, my time ran out fast. Miss you and hope to see you over the holidays!

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  2. Cheri,

    Sorry we weren't able to connect again...but we'll plan for the holidays...I'll be out of school and that will make it easier!

    Glad this spoke to you today...I kept getting more and more examples as my day went along...very interesting how it happens!

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