Lighten Up

Here is a Pema Chödrön quote from Comfortable with Uncertainty that I wrote in the first page of my journal, a little over a year ago:

"If we have the aspiration to stop resisting those parts of ourselves that we find unacceptable and instead begin to breathe them in, this gives us much more space. We come to know every part of ourselves, with no more monsters in the closet, no more demons in the cave. We have some sense of turning on the lights and looking at ourselves honestly and with great compassion. This is the fundamental change of attitude - this working with pain and pleasure in a revolutionary and courageous way."

What a challenge! One that I wanted to take on--turn on the lights, so that there are no more monsters in the closet or demons in the cave. Not easy or fast or fun. I am slowly working on it; the aspiration is there.

Now I am reading Chödrön's Start Where You Are, and she says we've got warmth and brilliance right here, despite whatever darkness is around. Her first bit of advice is to lighten up. As in, relax. So, I'm integrating these thoughts of turning on the lights and lightening up. Yeah, it's hard work to look at ourselves honestly, but we can relax a bit, knowing that we've got this warmth and brilliance going on too. It's winter now, gets dark uncomfortably early, but I've got twinkle lights plugged in and firewood at the ready, not to mention cozy blankets, roasted vegetables, and family.