I live my life in widening circles
that reach out across the world.
I may not ever complete the last one,
but I give myself to it.
I circle around God, that primordial tower.
I have been circling for thousands of years,
and I still don’t know: am I a falcon,
a storm, or a great song?
by Rainer Maria Rilke
English version by Anita Barrows and Joanna Macy- Original Language German
The painting above is called “oneness.” I’ve been painting images similar to this for almost a decade. The image just happened one day while working on a blank canvas. The title came later, which is common for me. The paintings come from outside of me sometimes. When they’re done, I look at them and think, “what is that and what does it mean?”
At the time the image and the name came to me, I thought, ” yeah, oneness is so important.” Seeing all those colors working together to create a different sort of beauty than they could create alone… that was important to me, and I thought it important to the world.
And so much has happened since then. The world is changing and awakening. All confirms to me that we are in a time when the power of oneness is crucial. Here’s how it plays out for me.
I must see other beings as me, equal to me, as valuable as me- plants, animals, humans, the earth, the ocean. All are beings, all have value and wisdom and yes, consciousness. I, alone, do not have all the answers. I can seek answers thru others and not lose myself. We will find the path together. There is wisdom and love everywhere.
I hear you saying, “listen to pollyanna there,” but this is not blind naïveté. All beings are spirit and physical. ALL beings. Let’s just talk about humans for the moment and consider that all are physical expressions with spirit onboard. Yes, not all are aware of their spiritual aspect, nor do they value it in others. A lack of connection to spirit doesn’t mean that individual is bad or wrong or lost. They just haven’t gotten all the lights turned on yet, to me.
How do we help others see, honor, value the spirit power in themselves? Well… I’ve been taught* that if I honor the spirit in them in my intention and energy, that expression empowers the spirit in the other. I don’t say, “Hey, you know you ought to do _______.” It’s not a verbal interaction, it’s of the spirit. So I envision (and you can explore this with me if you wish) that person who makes you nuts, sad, crazy… you know the one. I picture them in my mind and remind myself that spirit dwells in them the same as I. That source or god or the universe created them and loves them same as the most loving of us. These ones who seem sad, mean or draining, to me just haven’t connected to the amazing power of the light in them and that’s a sad thing to me. It’s like driving down the freeway on two wheels… dragging a lot of shit because you don’t understand your own personal power.
When I see all others as physical and spirit… I empower that spirit side of them. It’s not a magic wand, just an energetic nudge. If each of us begins seeing the other as spirit, as holy, as valuable… it helps them and it helps us all.
Your loving consideration of all helps all, as we are all connected. We are all one… like those circles in the painting. What I do affects those around me but also radiates thru the whole. I believe there are stronger energies coming from the outside, from beyond the veil if you will, that are helping being positive change in the world but I also have a part to play in awakening our planet. You have a role to play too.
This long babble was intended to share how that poem by Rilke, reminded me that what I do matters. What I create, say, generate carries much further than I might imagine. I can make a difference in our evolving world. You can make a difference too.
Sending light and love to us all
❤️
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I know some days, I go on and on. But maybe there’s one or two of you out there who need this. So, I continue. 😉
I read the first few lines of this poem in a book last night. I researched the poem this morning and found it on Poetry Chaikhana-
Sacred Poetry from Around the World
https://www.poetry-chaikhana.com/Poets/R/RilkeRainerM/Ilivemylifei/index.html
On this site, poet Ivan M. Granger wrote his comments on the poem, which I found so helpful. I’m including the commentary, as it just broadens the message to me.
Commentary by Ivan M. Granger
” live my life in widening circles
that reach out across the world…
I circle around God, that primordial tower.”
These images of circles and circling, revolving around a great center he names God, it makes me think of the cathedral labyrinths of Europe. Or the ancient spiral glyphs carved into rocks and cave faces. I see the circling pathway around some secret center. The road can be bewildering, twisting and turning, keeping us disoriented and uncertain of how near we are, but ever moving inward.
And that courageous line–
“I may not ever complete the last one,
but I give myself to it.”
We walk the winding path, not out of certainty, but because it is the only path worth walking. Walking that road, quietly, with attention, one foot in front of the other, becomes meditation. It becomes worship. Each ring, whether near or far, is a layer of our lives that is blessed by our passing through it.
Walking the circling path is not only the way to the center, it is actually part of the center. We learn to participate in the center by first walking the path. Obsession with the destination becomes an impediment to reaching it. Instead, by patiently inhabiting each step, we discover the center in ourselves… and our feet naturally end up there, as well.
We walk with our whole selves–
“and I still don’t know: am I a falcon,
a storm, or a great song?”
On this roundabout road to God, we question our own nature. We encounter the mystery of self. Who and what are we really? Ultimately, it is in that questioning of a self that eludes definition where we find the still center.
Commentary by Ivan M. Granger
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*- the teaching of honoring the spirit in another as actually changing or helping them elevate comes from Paul Selig, a channeler who has published many books of channeled dialog from his guides. “You lift others, not by denying them love but by loving them more.” ~Paul Selig
Paul’s work with the Guides has been incredibly helpful to me over the past 5 or so years. You can learn more about Paul’s work at PaulSelig.com