There is a current

There is a current running underneath everything, which gives us great hope and great humanity.  I know this, rather than believe it, because I have seen it in my own lives and in the lives of others.  There have been times in my life when I have felt so free, so in touch with my own emotions and with others and the world around me.  I seemed to breathe deeper and observe and experience everything more intently.  I loved, not with the shallow radiations of my present emotions and thoughts, but with a strong urge of compassion and care for those around me, which came from a deep groundedness I could feel within myself.

Those were the times when I was most in touch with the current of life, energy, passion, whimsy, and love that flow through all of us.  Most days, we ignore it.  It's easy to forget you have a spirit, a vivacity, an openness within you - from which we can give others our greatest love and understanding and which gives us our most light-hearted, resilient, and happy self.

Certainly, there are things we can do to nurture this energy within ourselves....take long bike rides, cook wholesome meals with patience, practice listening (really listening) to others, allow ourselves time to dwell or meditate on our day or on the beauty of our friendships, watch the waves, or the clouds, or the birds, dance wildly to music, get lost in a game with children, put our hands in the sand or the grass or the earth.  We feel like we are losing time, when we do these things, but there is so much that we gain.  Otherwise, we may see life as merely a collection of minutes and struggles and processes and roads and roadblocks and heartaches and hassles, when instead we could see it as a constantly unfolding adventure of life and love and growth and understanding and friendship.