Our upcoming days of All Hallows Eve, All Saints Day and Dios De Los Muertos help create the reality check that we are here for a very limited time. All that we do, whatever we do will one day be part of the 6 million year history book of being on Earth. And for each of our very short time here, it feels useful to pay our respect to those who were once walking along the life path with us. It’s because of the brave souls before us that we are able to live the life that we do!
Halloween, once a celebration to ward off ghosts (read more: history.com), was basically a candy holiday for me and it didn’t have a deeper meaning as a kid. But after losing some close friends and family to the afterworld, and with more awareness of lives lost too soon from oppression, hate and other atrocities, these holidays tend to inspire me to review and meditate on our life cycle.
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Keyvan Shovir Mural – 2015
“In Memory of “, is a mural painted in 2015, in memory of three contemporary female Iranian literary figures and social influencers. Portrayed with intricate patterns by artist Keyvan Shovir, he features poet Forough Farrokhzad, poet Simin Behbahani, and author Simin Daneshvar. They became inspiration and influential women who changed expectations of women’s roles in the society. I didn’t know of them before seeing this mural and I’m reminded how important art can be in educating and inspiring us. I walked down Clarion Alley the other day and enjoyed the work of local artists expressing their views. More please.
Clarion Alley Mural, SF, CA
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Death is all-pervasive. Though our nervous system and reptilian brain do whatever they can to keep us from it, some part of us knows it will happen. Yoga and other Eastern practices in particular, are essentially a full preparatory course that teach us about the ultimate journey of letting go and accepting there is a moment of completion for the physical body. Rather than be full of fear with losing the precious cargo of this body, we can be build a relationship with the aspect of the self that was here long before we took this body, and will continue on after we die.
But death has been an un-welcomed guest in many homes over these COVID months with close to 5 million deaths worldwide according to worldmeters.info. So many people die and we have no idea who they are. It’s hard to even make it real until we know someone that has died due to COVID. It’s hard to fully come to terms with the fact that we will all pass one day, until we have a positive ritual around death and understand it as a powerful part of our spiritual journey. Mind, body, spirit – there is no separation to these parts of our whole that sometimes feel unlinked or torn apart.
I appreciate these holidays which help us remember that our bodies are limited, even these minds are limited. And, there is a way to understand that our most subtle and powerful aspect of the Self is that we actually unlimited. So in memory of all we have lost this year and in years past, may our hearts be filled with wisdom and compassion. May we move past grudges or harms that can be healed with broader perspective. May we honor all those before us who helped get us here – for better, for worse and everything in between. That’s life…and death.
Let’s stay connected.
