Be Where You Are

Being.

 I was at a yoga class just prior to leaving on my trip to Hawaii. My teacher, Krisna Zawaduk, and I were talking about the trip and I commented that I was really going to miss the studio and her classes while away and was looking forward to being back in January to attend once again. Her response to that stopped me in my tracks. “Be Where You Are”, enjoy Hawaii and “Be Where You Are”.

BE … WHERE… YOU… ARE.

Simple. “Be Where You Are”. That took my breath away. The mind can be so fickle and fleeting! How often are we lost in stories; fantasies and thoughts taking us away from being present just where we are?

For weeks in preparation of leaving, I had created all the fantasies of what would happen in Hawaii. Who I’d be, things that would change, the things I’d let go of.

During those weeks I wasn’t really in Kelowna because I was already living a fantasy life in Hawaii. No longer in the present moment but swept away by an illusion of what was to come. I wasn’t even in my body but somewhere inside my head in the future.

Fast forward to a month later, weeks into being in Hawaii. The first few weeks were fascinating to watch, as I took note of all the stories and ghosts that had followed me.

Longing for lost relationships, missing fantasy people who were a figment of my illusionary mind, missing being home and in my own cadence and comfort. My senses longed for familiarity and sensory pleasures to distract me. So, my mind created it by rehashing the stories and fantasies of the past. Funny how I got on a plane to move forward, but I was still out of my body and stuck in the past.

It was painful. The questioning, longing, and self-doubt, consumed me. I projected that onto other people, environments and circumstances.  I blamed all of these for the disconnect to myself, my heart and feelings of joy.

I hear Krisna’s words echo daily, “Be Where You Are”. I stop and breathe. I sit still next to the stories: hear them, feel them, and acknowledge them.

“Be Where You Are.” I surrender and allow myself to be here: hurt, fear, anger, attachment, frustration, lost dreams and all. Slowly, there’s space in my heart to feel all of this and just be with it. I can breathe a new freshness into all of this. I can float on the ocean and let the water remind me how to be present and go with the flow. The Earth energy is strong here whether it’s the ocean floor or the sacred lands upon which the ancestors walked. They bring stability. The inner fire begins to burn stronger; creativity churns as Grandfather Sun watches over. I can breathe.

“Be Where You Are.”

Begin to have a sense of the illusions we create. Know that our senses are with us to do just that, sense. They bring sensory information to the mind to be analyzed and bring meaning. The mind takes that information to create a story based on past experience and latent memories. We have a choice in that story. When we slow down, awaken, and become conscious to our thoughts and our responses, the illusion begins to show itself.

As the shackles fall away, the heart opens up and you have a choice.

What is the meaning you choose to create?