How Are You?
SELF-INVENTORY OF THE MIND, HEART, AND BODY
Q: How Are You?
A: After glancing from side to side, I rest my eyes on the first word of this question. What exactly do I mean when I ask this question of others? It is perhaps the number one greeting amongst friends, family members, and even at times amidst strangers. And yet, where are we going with this inquiry? Is there a true desire to know the “how” of the human being before us? What is “how” about anyway? It certainly isn’t why, what, when, or who…
The origins of this perpetual cycle of words came from the 1600s as a way of checking in when we started to have concerns for each other's health. At a certain point, for some, it became more of a psychologically agonizing curiosity while many, not wanting to reveal the true inner workings of their internal dialogue, would decidedly declare “fine!”
So let’s try this. How are you? What arises? Is it a pleasant or uncomfortable reaction/response? Do you feel cared for or pried into? What feelings are provoked? Memories or dreams? What part of your current reality rushes forth to answer? The tired you or the inspired you?
HOW AM I?
Let me see… My eyes ache slightly at this midnight hour as I type into this radical portal to the simultaneous & paradoxical finite/infinite collective mind. Through my computer screen, I can read words that are encrypted with the meaning given to them by various humans throughout time. I can type them, mix them, and throw them into phrases that inspire thought waves and engagement. In the face of this miraculous and bizarre reality, I am indeed in awe. From this awe-ness, I feel a slight giggle rush through my spine as I scan the various centers of my body for their timely response.
My mind, my heart, and my body each have ways in which they are activated by the information I am attempting to digest and transmute as fodder and food for my own output of being. As I write, I listen, and as I listen, I write. There is a circular rhythm of life appearing from within me that begs me to pay attention. “Life is a miracle!” it shouts, “don’t ignore me!” it demands, “remember to notice!” it urges…
I feel a tug on my sacrum, I am then reminded of my long drive from Wyoming to California and suddenly I am embodied again. My intellectual center swoons into the curvature of my back as my body claims my present moment and my philosophizing takes to the backseat of my awareness. More stretching is needed to soften the tightness around my bones.
And I well up with some tears. The last week has been an epic one on the inner planes. Deep dreams of healing from ancient traumas of life's past and then more recently as a child in this one. I weep in gratitude for the opportunity to learn about myself and in despair for the material surfacing. Growing up is hard to do, self-actualizing is excruciating… However, both are necessary for becoming a butterfly. Who’s in?
I am also on the cusp of my life. This is ‘how’ I am most often than not. I am comfortable here in the discomfort of the edge. From here, the view is grand, the visions are bold and possible. My feet are rooted in the present with the potential for lift-off only moments away. My heart beats to the drum of anticipation and I awaken inspired to spread my wings. This is my how...what is yours?
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We cannot change the world until we accept we are the world. This is the new conversation.
