16/09/2021
Today is Yom Kippur where Jewish people fast traditionally to repent of their sins. The thought behind it is quite beautiful as it is a recognition that as humans we are flawed and never going to be perfect. Once we are aligned and accepting of the fact, we naturally start to become more patient and understanding and recognize that other humans are flawed too. A mindfulness practice today included loving self-compassion which included taking a breath in for ourselves (a reminder that we need to look after ourselves first before we can assist others) and a breath out for others.
At the end of practice, there is often a poem spoken and today was so moving that it inspired me to write this post.
It was a message to me to stop striving, to stop trying to be perfect. There is no such thing.
Wild Geese by Mary Oliver
You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
for a hundred miles through the desert repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.
Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile, the world goes on.
Meanwhile, the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain
are moving across the landscapes,
over the prairies and the deep trees,
the mountains and the rivers.
Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,
are heading home again.
Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting
over and over announcing your place
in the family of things.