September 2019 | The Sweet Ache

The Sweet Ache of Being Alive

When the sweet ache of being alive,
lodged between who you are
and who you will be,
is awakened,
befriend this moment.
It will guide you.
It's sweetness is what holds you.
It's ache is what moves you on.
  - Mark Nepo

We are each born with ease and struggle, kindness and hardship, a gift and an emptiness. Our life can allow for a conversation with them, between them, to have one fill the other. It doesn't really matter where the emptiness is, where the challenges arise, or even what the gift is. The question we can ask ourselves is, "How do they meet? How do they complete each other, transform each other?"

We waste so much of our life trying to figure out the emptiness, blaming, being ashamed of it, or even feeling entitled that we shouldn't have it at all. All this does is distract and divert us from our soul's journey. What if we embraced the struggle or emptiness, softened into it, accepted it (without resignation), and instead made ourselves available to it with a sense of wonder and curiosity? Maybe even asking ourselves "How did I get here?".  Blame keeps us stuck and hopeless, responsibility can be difficult but incredibly liberating; And once you make it a habit, the keys to your happiness are no longer in someone else's purse or pocket. This doesn't mean that past circumstances and horrendous, violent traumas haven't heavily influenced us, but how are we sustaining that trauma or horrendous experience? The past isn't here now, so how is it that I'm keeping it alive?

The ache is essential, and how we know we are close to what matters. The pull of the heart ignites our knowing that there is more to life then what's on the surface.  When we chase a sense of self, comparing our lives with others, then life becomes a compensation for not really knowing ourselves or taking the time to do so. It's like a wound within us-- when we become disconnected from our essence, and we try to fill it with love, approval, success -- fulfillment outside of ourselves. When we pay attention to the deeper longing, the presence of the soul, and connect with others from that place, that is true intimacy.  It invites the sweetness,  real connection, which allows us to fall into Love, Beauty and Grace, with ourselves and with others.  And all this depends on availability, how open we choose to be moment to precious moment, and how deep our longing actually is.

When our soul, which contains our life force, connects to another's, it's intriguing and interesting. We become mysteries encountering each other, beyond what we know. We as humans are starved for this type of intimacy, and crave the experience of being intimate with all of existence. When we think we know, we become blind to the mystery; we live in a reality of our own thoughts, ideas and beliefs, and become trapped in our minds.

Are you actually fully present to your real experience of life or are you trapped in your own mind?

"My barn, having burned to the ground, I can see more completely the moon."
- Mizuta Masahide (1657 - 1723), Japanese poet and Samurai

What is this miracle of life that each of us is allowed to behold and cultivate?
What do we do with our suffering?
How do we embrace the sweetness and the ache?
How do we awaken and lift up and out of our history?
How do we truly heal the physical body?

These are deep and rich topics with many layers, that aren’t always accessible or easily understood on our own. My teacher and role model, Master Ou Wen Wei is a world renowned Qi Gong Master and spiritual guide who has experienced unimaginable tempering and torment in order to learn, to be educated, and to help humanity gain deeper understanding of  life’s value and what it means to live meaningfully in today’s world. We hope you will join us for a rare chance to hear his mystical encounters in person, and meet a true Master and Healer of Love. Learn a daily practice to help you be physically healthier and vibrant, but more importantly to cultivate your heart’s ability to open, to contain turbulence, and therefore much more love.