Dear Friends,

Today was an average day. I got gas and groceries, came home and ate lunch. Now I am ready to rock and roll! By that, I mean to do what floats my boat. Writing scratches an itch with me, so the more I write, the more I am operating from my essence.

Consider what floats your boat and do more of that. My list is small. I like to live my life consciously, so my wants and needs are simple.

Lately I am being urged to increase my satisfaction in living within. I ask myself questions all the time. “What makes you happy? What keeps you from happiness? Why does the ego never feel satisfied for long?”

These questions are our soul’s work in this world. Never mind looking for answers outside of yourself.

Tomorrow a neighbor is burying his wife; she died of ovarian cancer at the age of 52. A strikingly beautiful person, both inside and out. I know how her husband feels. How he is being crushed under the weight of the fatigue that deep grief causes. I never forget that. So I make it a point to honor my body/mind. I have asked so much of it for so long that I owe it that.

We are simply not responsible for other people. We are responsible only to God. And that is an impossible situation, since He is everywhere and in everyone. How do we carry out this responsibility? We realize we are only responsible to the God within. We can let everything else go.

What does letting go of the load feel like when you are being crushed under its weight? I have no easy answer for that. In such situations, you drop everything but the vitally necessary. You rest as much as you can. You don’t take calls. You conserve, conserve, conserve. And out of that conservation, your essence will find nourishment.

We are all in this together, but we are responsible only for ourselves. How can I say that? Because this is “the jewel-mirrored samadhi.” Look it up. Try it on for size. I may write more about it later. In the meantime, let the word ‘no’ roll around on your tongue. It is ‘yes’ to your essence. Never forget that.

Vicki Woodyard