Life is short when compared to the universe, thus!!!
“You are not a drop in the ocean. You are the entire ocean in a drop.”
– Rumi
This is one of those quotes I saw on Pinterest link and it made me stop and think. I never really thought about it this way, but it’s such a lovely perspective. We always think of ourselves as being so small in the grand scheme of things…just one tiny drop in the vast expanse of the ocean.
It’s nice to think it this way…all of our experiences, travels, people we meet, are in our hearts and souls. We carry our world inside of us, each and every one of us does, making us all like the entire ocean in a drop.
Author Anthony Robbins says: “Every setback is a set-up for a comeback.” When we realize life is a brief opportunity to grow as the spiritual champions we are meant to become, it changes everything. So, let’s keep our eyes on the prize, and day by day, little by little, grow those spiritual muscles – the virtues that are the very essence of our life’s purpose.
There will be pain at losing what is familiar and probably tears along the way.
As Psalm 30:5 says: “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.”
How does a spiritual champion live life?
Monday November 21, 2016 Published in Opinion
WHAT IF you had a dream of being a great athlete – the strongest, fastest rugby or soccer player – a true champion of the game?
Imagine that you suddenly realise you’ve forgotten the rules of the game and are heading the wrong way on the court or the field?If life were a game, how many of us would truly understand the rules of success? If we are self-serving when we are meant to love and serve others, or aim for money, looks, or the pursuit of pleasure, we have lost the plot, ignoring the goal of our soul to make the greatest contribution with the gifts the Creator has given us.
How would our lives change if we understood that we are spiritual champions meant to develop as much love, integrity, loyalty, creativity and trustworthiness as possible in our lifetime?
What if we woke up one day and realised: “I’m playing the wrong game!”
An athlete who had reached the pinnacle of his sport was asked what he wished someone had told him when he first started out.
He replied: “I wish that someone had told me that when you reach the top, there’s nothing there.”
Many goals reveal their emptiness only after years wasted in their pursuit.
Second Corinthians 4:18 says: “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”
Jesuit priest, Teillhard de Chardin said: “We’re not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience.”
In this brief life span, we are given free will to make our choices.
God is our steadfast coach, guiding our lives as if we are star athletes.
When we fall, we aren’t meant to give up, but rather to get up, striving to the very limits of our strength. We are given tests and trials, not as a deprivation but as an education – a love offering.
If we truly understood that life brings us the perfect teachable moments for our own good, we would welcome every one of them.
We would celebrate each new lesson, each step of personal growth.
Sufi mystic Rumi says: “The wound is the place where the light enters you.”
This is echoed by Leonard Cohen’s song Anthem: “There’s a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in.”
My brother John was a strong, healthy man all his life, a design director with Walt Disney Imagineering, overseeing multiple projects and walking miles each day inspecting them.
When he was dying of brain cancer, unable to walk unassisted or even turn on the coffee pot, he said: “You know, Sis, this isn’t an emergency. It’s an emergence.”
He treasured the experience of giving up doing for being, and dived deep into new spiritual awareness.
When I asked him how he could meet death with such fearless serenity, he said: “Well, for me it isn’t about fear or about hope. It’s about trust.”
He went to a whole new level of trust and faith, and when death came for him, he welcomed it with open arms.
The Baha’i Writings say: “But for the tribulations sustained in thy path, how could thy true lovers be recognized?”
John Howard Kavelin January 7, 1944 – July 18, 2009
John died as he lived — with joy, gratitude, wonder, and amazing spiritual clarity and wisdom, defying the effects of brain cancer diagnosed 15 months ago. John was a devoted member of the Baha’i Faith and embodies its teaching to “let your vision be world embracing rather than confined to your own selves.” He gave joy to so many as an art director and imagineer for Walt Disney Imagineering.
When he was little, he was called “Mr. Toad” because he moved so fast. He later designed “Mr. Toad’s wild ride” at Disneyland. John received his Bachelor’s and Master’s of Fine Arts degrees from Carnegie Mellon University and Brandeis University. His 40-year career as a designer spans the worlds of opera, theatre, exhibit design, television and film. John is a 17-year veteran of Walt Disney
Imagineering as an art director and show producer, He was the lead designer for “Asia” at Animal Kingdom in Orlando, Florida and spent 6 years in Japan as Director of Design and Production for Tokyo Disneyland. In 1990, John, his sister Linda Kavelin Popov and brother in law Dr. Dan Popov also founded The Virtues Project, a global initiative inspiring people of all cultures and beliefs to live by their highest values. It began on Salt Spring Island in 1988 and spread to more than 96 countries and has been endorsed by the United Nations and the Dalai Lama.
Of all John’s creative projects, the two most meaningful to him were The Virtues Project and the design for the Baha’i World Congress in New York in 1992. John’s sweet nature, loving friendship and wise mentoring will be deeply missed by his family and countless friends. A celebration of his life will be held Friday, July 24th at 11 AM at Harbour House and all are welcome.
Preview RUMI – “You are not a drop in the ocean.
You are the entire ocean in a drop.”
