EMBRACING THE BEAUTY OF OUR SOLO JOURNEYS
“There are some places in life where you can
only go alone.
Embrace the beauty of your solo journey.”
Murali
is my fellow-learner in the Tai Chi class. He has hearing problem. Today, as
our Tai Chi teacher was guiding us through a very intense and prolonged
meditative session called ‘Micro Cosmic Meditation’ (Tai Chi exercises and
meditation are done in a particular standing position), I was constantly losing
my concentration. My teacher noticed my restlessness and suggested to me to sit
down and follow the instruction… It helped; but, mind was drifting again and
again and again.
Then, I stopped… and watched
the reality, that my mind was drifting constantly… and, suddenly, I started
feeling better… Peaceful!
In the break, while
talking to Murali, he said, “Today’s meditation was very effective… I am feeling
better.”
I told Murali about my state… How I struggled and
then gave up my struggle… and felt better. He was surprised. “I always thought you had greater
concentration power compared to many of us here,” he said, “How do you write
with so much concentration, every day?”
“Maybe, I am able to ‘see’
that I lose my concentration, that my mind is drifting," I said, "Maybe, that helps me to
be centered.”
“How do you manage?” I
asked Murali.
“You know I have this
hearing problem… I cannot hear ninety percent of our Sir’s instructions.
So, I imagine pathway and let my mind travel through it… I also imagine different
colours for different spots… That helps.”
That’s the time I
realized, how interesting the phenomenon called ‘Meditation’ was: One needed no
ears, no eyes, no legs, no hands, no mouth, no nose… One just needed the ‘inner
eye’… to watch what’s happening… the breath that came in and went out… the waves of thoughts that surged and receded
causing, along the way, the swings of moods… happy, sad, anxious, hopeful… all
kinds.
Aloneness is sacred…
Loneliness is scary. Aloneness has nothing to do with the multitude we are
surrounded with… We can be very, very lonely even in the midst of hundreds of
people including our so-called ‘the nearest and the dearest ones’. On the other hand, we can feel strong and loved
in our aloneness – our solitude.
Marty Rubin says, “Solitude
is where one discovers one is not alone.”
We do not need people around
us – not even our loved ones – to make us feel confident and strong. What we
need is the robust anchorage of aloneness… a deep, deep grounding of ‘self’.
This anchorage is our solitude… our ‘aloneness'… And, ironically, in this
sublime state of solitude, as Marty Rubin points, we discover we are not alone!
Just as meditation can
happen even in the chaos of a market place, the love and strength can nourish
our hearts even as we embark upon our ‘solo journeys’ in this world… The more
we come closer to our cores, the more closeness we feel with people in our
lives.
Yes, the ‘solo journey’
takes place only through this inner pathway… We need to embrace its beauty!
GERALD D’CUNHA
Pic.: Kamal Kishore Rikhari
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