You are Always Supported

We all have times we feel that “nothing has our back.” That we are all by ourselves in this sometimes beautiful but oftentimes very challenging dance called life. Even though we may perceive our lives in that way, nothing could be further from the truth. We are supported every step of the way.

How can we make the shift of perception into knowing that we are supported and loved every step of the way? First, begin with your breath. Notice this amazing river of breath that is moving through you right now, rising and falling, rising and falling every single moment of your life. You may be like most people thinking you are breathing and at some level that is true, for you do have some control over your breath. But by far, the greater truth is that you are being breathed by life. If you doubt that just try to stop the river of breath!

So, I invite you to pause from reading for a minute or so and be present for your river of breath. Feel it from the inside as these amazing creations called your lungs fill up and then empty. As you settle in, shift your perception from breathing to being breathed. This can be a bit tricky in the beginning because we have lived our lives as if we are the ones that are breathing. Cultivate a sense of letting go and allow yourself to be breathed!

Now wave your hand all around you and feel the ocean of air that you live in. The river of breath comes to you from this ocean of air that surrounds our whole planet, the same ocean that dolphins, cedar trees, and butterflies breathe. We are all connected through breath!  And whatever breathes you, heals the cuts on your skin, and keeps the planets spinning as they do, is with you every step of the way. And if you lose sight of this, bring your attention to your breath, and realize that you are being breathed by life!

Allow another startling realization to flood you. There is a very good chance that you are sitting on something as you read – a chair, a bus seat, a bed. In your old perception of life, you sat, stood, and laid down on top of things. But the far greater truth is you are being held. How can you experience that? Just imagine that the support beneath you suddenly disappears. What would happen? You would fall! By far, the greater truth is you are being held!

Let’s take this a step further. There’s a good chance that as you are reading, you are in a building. Whatever is holding you is likely being held by a floor, which is being held by the foundation, which is being held by the Earth. And what is the Earth being held by? Nothing more than space! Can you be like the Earth, allowing yourself to be held as you live your life, whether you are sitting, walking, standing, or lying down? Weave this little trick of imagination into your daily life so you can recognize that you are supported every step of the way.

The last shift we will explore today in cultivating the art of being supported, comes from seeing the sun in your mind’s eye, tirelessly giving itself to the Earth. As the Persian poet Rumi once wrote,

“Even after all this time,
The Sun never says to the Earth, “You owe me.”
Look what happens with a love like that,
It lights the whole sky.”

It not only lights up the whole sky. The Earth’s love affair with the sun creates all life, giving us the oxygen we breathe and the food we eat. The next time you go out and experience the sun, let yourself be showered by its loving energy so you can remember that the sun is essential to you being alive!  So, whether it is your breath, a chair or the sun, know you are supported every single step of the way through the dance called life.