Imagine with me one of those fancy water pitchers. The glass is curled over and inward at the spout. There is one small opening where the water pours out. If you tilt the pitcher too far forward toward the cup, all of the water will surge out and over the curved glass, some going into the cup, a lot going all over the counter.
I imagine my hourglass coffee carafe. There is a chute molded in the glass for the coffee to flow from the wide bottom of the carafe, through the chute, and out the open top. If I were to pick up the carafe and rapidly turn it straight upside down, the coffee would splash everywhere, even if I held the carafe directly over the cup.
There is an awareness of the liquid. Don’t take your eyes off of it. See how fast or slow it moves. Adjust the tilt of the pitcher, or carafe, or water kettle, or watering can… or maybe even the container of self. Don’t tilt it too far too fast. Allow the contents to flow steadily into the cup, the mug, the soil, the destination.
I often get ideas about what I want in life. This sentence is as far as I got before my “guru” called me and we ended up in a discourse for a while. One of the concepts we discussed is how thought is a force. These ideas I get about my life and my goals do hold power. I’ve been noticing how I don’t feed positive thoughts as much as I feed negative thoughts. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve had some serious breakthrough this year regarding belief and self will and co-creating the life I want with the God of my understanding. I am in a very different place now than I was one year ago.
I am doing things now that were only a thought one year ago.
I am currently being reminded of my power to feed positive thoughts or feed negative thoughts.
I am living in a beautiful garden beyond my wildest dreams because I started devoting myself to focused, positive, loving intention. Do I have doubts? Yes. Do I have hard days? Yes. Have people misunderstood me? Yes. The difference now is that I continue each day despite the voices trying to tell me I can’t.
I am in a time when these dreams, which became thoughts, which became actions, have now been realized. I am a yoga instructor. I have students. I am a writer. I have readers. I have celebrated these things, even in real time with you all in previous posts. Can I be honest today? I am tired. Arriving at the doorstep of this weekend, I melted into acceptance that my cup is empty at the moment.
We all know the expression of “a dream come true” or “dreams coming true.” The thing about that expression is it is so passive. As if the dream just comes true all by itself in front of you if you wait long enough. With the help of my mentor, several other teachers, and various ongoing personal studies, I have come to comprehend my responsibility and contribution to my dreams, which are only as powerful as their ability to serve humanity. Yet before I can offer anything to this world, I must first pick up myself, pick up my resources, interlock with my community, and utilize my resources and community.
It takes energy, and I cannot sustain that energy by myself. I cannot fill up my carafe once and dump it all over the cup and the counter and find my dreams come true in a mess all over the proverbial kitchen.
As I’ve picked up momentum with a new job, more love in relationships, fun ah-ha’s in teaching and writing, I also find that momentum slows down when I don’t go to the well as often.
We all have access to a limitless well, and it is defined within each of us in our own way.
I went to a yoga class Saturday morning for my own practice. I was not teaching. My teacher allowed for a few moments to set an intention at the beginning of practice. I had an unexpected (and rare) clear vision enter my mind’s eye. It was the image of that fancy water pitcher slowly and smoothly pouring crystal clear water into a cup… into my cup. My whole body relaxed with relief and joy. I knew I was right where I was supposed to be, allowing myself to be refreshed through yoga and connection with my Higher Power, my Higher Self.
I am reminded there is no rush. This reminder is timely as new little dreams are appearing and evolving into repetitive thoughts again.
I am reminded there is grief in change. Alongside my celebration of dreams realized, there is sadness that life is different than it was.
Maybe that’s why God pours ever awaited blessings down so slowly and gradually.
There is so much exchange that unfolds between the darkness of the well and the container that pulls from it.
It didn’t take long to fill up my cup again this weekend, and that’s because I remembered the well is within and not somewhere outside of me.
As I continue in the flow of life, even into a new season soon, I hope to practice that slow pour of my energy, rather than the rapid dump.
As I watered my plants today, this concept was solidified. I can’t drown the plant’s soil in water and expect it to grow beautifully right then and there just because I poured a gallon of water on it all in one go. I mean… I could, and that would lead to a great big mess and a great big disappointment.
This week, I noticed a long vine growing down from my pothos plant. I’ve taken slow care of this pothos for two years, even adjusting the pot and changing the soil. I have often felt discouraged not seeing the trailing vines as soon as I hoped. Now, a beautiful, trailing vine is here. It came by time, trust, care, love, and patience.
Yes, just like I can pour love into a loaf of banana bread I bake, I can also pour love into a house plant.
If you don’t believe me, try it over the course of two years with something or someone you really care about, and see what happens.
If you have already done this with something or someone, I sit here with a big smile on my face imagining the beautiful trailing vine of new life sprouting from your focused attention and effort.
Cheers.
"I am reminded there is grief in change. Alongside my celebration of dreams realized, there is sadness that life is different than it was." This is beautiful, Jeannie, and resonates with me so much. The moment we complete a step and realize we can't go back to the moment before the step was taken can be surprisingly bittersweet.
Cheers to your successful Pothos! I have one that's completely taken over my dining room. Vines literally climbing the wall! I accomplished this largely through neglect, however. 😂 So, I think maybe mine is rebellious. I have successfully made baby pothos from the mama plant, and that can be a fun project for you to look forward to. They're so cute when they're babies. 🌱
And if that vine gets too long, you can cut it back, and put it in water until it gets roots, then pot it up and give the plant to someone.