Photo credit: Susie Baer, Dewey Beach
Monday, March 20, we will meet online.
Need Zoom tech support? Email Phyllis here.
(support available before sangha starts)
Susie will facilitate Monday. Please join us as we contemplate the question: Who am I?
Some may read this, and say ‘yes, I ask myself that question periodically,’ or ‘I know exactly who I am. Next!’
Thich Nhat Hanh writes:
When you ask the question, “Who am I?”—if you have enough time and concentration—you may find some surprising answers. You may see that you are a continuation of your ancestors. Your parents and your ancestors are fully present in every cell of your body; you are their continuation. You don’t have a separate self. If you remove your ancestors and your parents from you, there’s no “you” left.
You may see that you’re made of elements, like water for example. If you remove the water from you, there’s no “you” left. You’re made of earth. If you remove the element earth from you, there’s no “you” left. You’re made of air. You need air desperately; without air you cannot survive. So if you remove the element of air from you, there’s no “you” left. And there’s the fire element, the element of heat, the element of light, in you. You know that you are made of light. Without sunlight, nothing can grow on Earth. If you continue to look, you see that you are made of the sun, one of the biggest stars in the galaxy. And you know that the Earth, as well as yourself, is made of the stars. So you are the stars. On a clear night, look up, and you can see that you are the stars above. You’re not just the tiny body you normally may think of as “yourself.
What parts of me are my ancestors? Living in the present moment, what parts of my past do I carry with me? I notice the habits of my mother, father, aunts, uncles, grandparents in me. I keep some of these habits alive, and instead of judging them as negative or frustrating, I can notice them as messages from my ancestors, and lessons from the universe holding up the mirror to my foibles. Not all of the habits I inherited are bad. My ancestors taught me to be generous and helpful and stay connected with family. They showed me the importance of a spiritual life and meaningful work. Some of what I inherited are my best attributes.
We each make a decision to be just like our ____ (insert family member here) or the complete opposite of _____ (insert family member here) or somewhere on the continuum. I believe that we all desire to survive and do better than our past generations.
Anthropologist Angeles Arrien worked to find creative solutions to world problems. She facilitated dialogue between people of different ages and cross-culturally. She said that our ancestors say about us:
“Oh, maybe this one will be the one who will bring forward the good, true and beautiful from all the past generations and the generations to come. Maybe this one will be the one that will bring the end to all the harmful family patterns, maybe this one will be the one.”
I hope to be this one. The one to change the patterns and the programming. So that’s who I am… right?
Will you join us on this meditative journey Monday evening as we breathe together? No pressure, no expectations, no shoulds — just breathing.