birth days

Barack Obama, our next president, had to contend with his past in getting to his future. unless you lived in the sixties and seventies you wouldn't understand the time of turmoil and unrest that marked the changes that took place. in 59 years i've been privileged to see many things, and although i've not witnessed a fraction of what my father has experienced, i've lived a full life too. we often look at birthdays with skepticism and dread, forgetting that it is the opportunity we are given to "get things right", to find our Path. birthdays should be the biggest holiday of the year! in ayurvedic philosophy the birthday is a very auspicious occasion, to be honored for all the potentiality that it holds. remember, in Taoist teachings, that life is about self-discovery.

i draw from the wisdom of the ages and remember the quote from the Greeks that said, in death, they did not eulogize a person but rather were found to ask, "did he have passion?" with each passing year i realize that the abilities we gain through experience free us from bonds placed upon us by past emotions and problems. in life we have just four things it is said: problems, causes, lessons to be learned, and resolution of our problems. so far i've come up with a list of problems in my life and a few causes, but am still waiting for knowledge of the lessons.....

without botching the spelling in Sanscrit for phrases i'll just say that they spoke of the knower, the knowing and the known........ that process of acquiring knowledge is integral to progressing through life and moving on to a higher level. i am learning more about passion, not so much the physical, but the spiritual. i am not sure that enlightenment is in my cards but achieving a view from a higher level must be like the feeling i felt on top of the highest mountain peak in the range, when nothing within eyesight was higher than me...... i included a picture in a previous blog of that mountain and keep it in my mind's eye for inspiration.

so for any of you experiencing a birthday, remember that each day is a celebration of your birth and suitable for celebrating. i hope you too will find your passion.