4.25.13
Pittsburgh, PA
To my Dear Reader:
Here where I live in Pittsburgh, over the past week I’ve seen the earth wake up. At least, it feels that way. I’m aware that, in reality, there were processes in action all through the winter that make this illusion of a moment of waking possible. But, visually, all the trees not only bloomed, but have the freshest green promise of leaves and the tulips came out and the pink azalea bush in front of my house is just threatening to burst into a hot pink fury at any moment. In my world, the earth is waking up. This is so inspiring to me personally. As I meditate this week, I like to think of all the processes that are happening right now with my energy and my body and mind that, at some future point, will blossom into a new awakening. Even when we might feel like all is still and stagnant, the spring reminds us that there is hope and our faith in these processes helps us reach the hot pink flame.
What does this fresh spring green mean to us? The chakra color of anahata (the heart chakra) is also a lovely spring green—just like we see on the trees here in Pittsburgh now. It means to me that the processes of the heart that can bloom into love are always with us. Essentially, we are always in love and we have the ability to take this love-energy state and use it as a promise. It is a promise for hope, for eternal love and love that supports the good of all living beings. It is a love that is a whole lot more like metta (like the loving kindness meditation I offered a few Love Letter Thursdays ago) and a whole lot less like the love that shiny magazine’s would have you prepare for. While there are many loves that start with concerns over lipstick shades and just how far is “too far” for a first date that evolve into anahata love, it is so beneficial for us as human beings to recognize that this spring green of the heart is always happening. It’s not an event or an outcome, it’s a process. The heart wants to very much to be acknowledged as less of a thing and more of a guide, a potential and a happening. The energy of the spring green heart wants so very much to be shared.
This week, I extend my gratitude and love to you on Love Letter Thursday through this passionate poem named after the Heart Chakra:
anahata
aside from faith,
as far as you know,
you will never have another heart.
better to grow the one you were born with.
fill it with blood & love. risk.
let the strange world sneak inside.
accept all of life in your chest.
death is the end of percussion.
breathe deeply, the music
will function. listen close.
freedom thaws in your ribcage.
dance with vehemence
to feel its fast-pumping.
tempt two lips to greet your throat
& take note: your racing pulse
will laugh & kiss back. god is strong
in the clock of your desire.
every tick, my friend, divine
confirmation: you are alive. beat. yes!
you are alive.
Posted by Sharon Fennimore Rudyk, an independent yoga and meditation instructor and birth doula based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
