May You Be Well - Ode to Joy
Ode to joy
In the choice to let go of your
known way of being, the whole
World is revealed to your new eyes.
—Dana Faulds
May this writing find you well.
And well rested.
This week has been one of stillness in motion.
Last weekend, I decided to join a virtual walk to the Inca trail to be done over a week's time.
So, I've been walking.
Climbing.
Following along and stopping at
checkpoints on the map—along places where my ancestors likely walked.
Walking made me think about my desire for a pilgrimage.
My 2020 vision board has the words personal pilgrimage boldly placed
near a map and a picture of Santiago de Compostelas’s famous pilgrimage site.
Without any foresight into what this year would bring…
As it turns out, 2020 has become a personal pilgrimage year for many of us.
Dead Woman’s Pass—Warmiwañusqa in Quechua—named for the crest that resembles the form of a woman’s supine body. It is the highest point (13,828 ft) on the Inca Trail.
In my walks I find solace.
And healing.
And rhythm—a familiar one I somehow lost this past year.
As I walk in nature.
I find myself connecting to a bigger rhythm.
And at the end of that walk, I'm new.
Fresh.
I pray you too have found a practice, or find one now.
One that you see as gift.
These practices are medicinal. Walking, morning pages, the short LifeForce yoga practice I sneak in (in my bed, at the sink, while tidying up or cooking).
The last few weeks have also slowly unraveled a new revelation.
I was wondering what to do with the doubt, fear, anxiety, and sadness that can take hold and take over. And then I remembered something a treasured friend shared with me a while back about the Dalai Lama.When asked how he could be happy and smiling all the time in the midst of all the pain and suffering going on in the world, he responded by saying that the love was bigger.
That quote had a profound effect on me. I had a visceral response because I could feel that the love was bigger. My body understood and remembered it. I know love is bigger.
Now I wanted to practice making the JOY bigger.
So part of my anxiety and depression prevention practice to keep unhealthy darkness at bay is to make the joy BIGGER. Period.
This practice gives me agency—I am not at the mercy of a tide of emotions, thoughts, or old stories. I can choose.
Here’s how I practice it:
When the dark cloud of fear, doubt, sadness creeps in, I make the love and joy bigger than the cloud. I let myself feel what comes and then I say to myself: “Make the JOY bigger.”
Each day I look for all the gifts of joy in its many forms—delight, adventure, freedom, clarity, humor, play, and wonder.
As I sit and write this note to you, I sit in the sun in the backyard.
I am thoroughly enjoying the sunshine on my skin.
The deep blue shade of the sky.
The soothing hum of the bee hives.
Appreciating the elegant flight of the resident Red-shouldered Hawk above.
Blanca’s zen face as she basks in the sun.
The smell of tomatoes on the vine.
And many more joys and loves right here in our always-in-progress urban homestead.
Of course, I find time to rest. Some days the rest is just long enough to enjoy a cup of favorite tea (or my morning oats)
May you make your joy bigger.
May you rest as an act of self-love and self-care and resistance.
May you walk lightly this week.
Rest and be well.
Love,
Marcela
