Well, there’s only 364 shopping days left before we officially honor and celebrate Mother Earth again, and just that fact alone would seem to indicate that the human species remains a trifle disconnected from this beautiful planet that is our home. Many of us see the earth as nothing more than a hostile environment, obviously prone to inconveniencing us at every possible turn. We complain about the weather, we hide under and behind protective walls, we spend a fortune blocking out the sun’s rays, etc. Somewhere in all this we seem to have lost our grasp on the idea that the earth is even more than our home; it nurtures us, it provides for us, it is part of us. When we disconnect from it we disconnect from ourselves.
For me this represents an even more fundamental challenge. How do we stop fragmenting ourselves in general? As I’ve noted before, I often think one thing, feel another, say a third and do a fourth. More specifically for this post, how much of my life have I spent wishing I was somewhere other than where I was? I’m feeling blessed that I have neither the ability nor the inclination to figure it out.
Many of us often wish we were in a different place geographically. When we’re at work, we wish we were home. When we’re home, we wish we were on vacation or that the weekend would hurry up and arrive. When we’re on vacation, we wish we were permanently on vacation or retired. We often wish we were in a different place in consciousness, too. We compare ourselves to some idea we hold of how we should be, we tell ourselves we should know better than to get angry or be judgmental; that we should be further along than we are on our spiritual journey. No wonder we’re fragmented!
All this brings to mind a quote I heard years ago from Charles “Tremendous” Jones, a well-known motivational public speaker who passed away a few years ago: “If you ain’t happy where you are, you sure as heck won’t be happy where you ain’t.”
Yes! When I’m wishing I’m somewhere else, I AM somewhere else, but unfortunately I’ve left my capacity for love, joy, fun and peace back where I was! Those capacities are within me, so I need to be there too. Obviously in some situations and places I find it easier to access those capacities, but that doesn’t change the fact that they are generated from within me. The same places where I find it easier to access joy and fun might be exceedingly challenging for someone else. So apparently it’s not the place!
When I’m in a situation or a job or a place that I hate and wish I were elsewhere, it’s next to impossible for me to not only access those capacities, but also for me to notice what’s good about where I am. A friend of mine recently came back from Sequoia National Park having had a mystical experience upon seeing the huge, ancient trees. This was interesting to me because I know he doesn’t have those kinds of experiences here in Tahoe. In fact, he often complains about living here, even though this area does not lack for beauty. I asked him what he thought the difference was there, and he responded that it was simply how different those trees were. This got me thinking: what if we stopped wishing we were somewhere else and instead continually looked at where we were with fresh eyes and with open minds and hearts? Is it possible we’d notice more things that were different, good, beautiful and true?
My dog never seems to wish she were somewhere else. She has her preferences, for sure. But wherever she is, she still seems to express 100% of her joy. When my daughter was young, she never wanted to be somewhere else. In fact, it was the opposite: wherever she was, she never wanted to leave, even if it was from a place she resisted visiting to begin with!
As we become more OK with where we are, even if it’s a place or job or situation in which we’d rather not be, we can become more adept at still being ourselves. We can awaken to greater and greater depths of our own being. We can cultivate our ability to access joy and fun so when we’re actually on vacation or retired, we’ll be able to enjoy it even more!
This is particularly valuable on the spiritual journey. The only place we can unfold more of our greatness and beauty is right where we are. The Buddha became enlightened while sitting under a tree. He didn’t have to move an inch. When asked what he’d become, he said “awake”. We, too, can awaken to a bigger and vaster vision of ourselves right where we are. Only where we are!
So, perhaps the next time you find yourself wishing you were somewhere other than where you are, you can say to yourself, “I may not be where I want to be, but right where I am I can be who I want to be.” That’s what I intend to do. As we do, I can see a time when Earth Day will no longer be necessary. It will be redundant.
If that’s all we remember, that’s more than enough for now.
