Hugs

Reflections

"you have to make him or her very real in your arms, not just for the sake of appearances, patting him on the back to pretend you are there, but breathing conscious and hugging with all your body , spirit and heart." Thich Nhat Hanh

All of my life hugging has been something very important to me. Actually, I am a very good hugger. I am not saying that to sound conceited or superior but I am actually a very good hugger because I hug the way I want to be hugged. This morning when I read Thich Nhat Hanh thoughts on hugging it hit it right on for me, that is how I feel but never knew how to express it.

I know a lot of people who can hug you and it will take your breath away.  You can tell when someone hugs you with their body, spirit and heart.  That kind of hug can actually make you leave this realm for just a few seconds... it is a connection that is expressed so deeply.  I am not talking sexually here although when it comes to hugging sexually that is as important. But I am talking everyday regular meaningful hugs. 

A true hug can make a sad person feel happy, it is a sign of true compassion and a true sign that you really care what the other person is experiencing. To me, hugging and hand shaking are very similar. It actually offends me when someone has a weak limp hand shake. A hand needs to be firm, strong but not breaking your hand strong... strong that lets other people you are confident in who you are.  Hugging falls along the same line... a limp, weak hug feels meaningless. You do not know how many times I have had to bite my tongue not to say something when someone has given me a weak limp hug.

I totally understand each person do things their own way, and I do respect that... just keep in mind the next time you hug someone, your hug could be very healing for them.. either mind, body or spirit.  If you stop and think about it anyway... healing is done on many levels and a hug could be the perfect medicine for someone who is in pain or who is suffering silently.

Let's Play the Yo-Yo Game

Life is amazing sometimes, you take fifteen steps forward on a positive road, and because of one obstacle you fall back ten steps. I have read numerous things how the obstacles on our paths makes the journey more rewarding. I suppose on my good days, I can see the positive side of that, but on my down days it is like a slap in the face.

You study and gather new ideas and you become so motivated and filled with so much excitement and hope, but yet there are yo-yo days that makes you do a  nose dive straight into a hillside...and all you can do is stand there with your mouth dropped open like a cartoon character wondering what in the hell just happened.  One minute you hear echoes ...... all obstacles enhance your path ..... and the next minute you hear this little evil character on your shoulder saying, ' yeah right, WTF is going on!"

I have just recently started studying Buddhism and I truly believe that studying it has been Divine Sent because of all the coincidences that have gathered together bringing me to this moment. For one it has put me on a quest to find the true meaning or way to love without attachment. Trying to incorporate a lot of the Buddhism way of thinking into yourself can be very challenging (at least for me). But in the long run I know it will be very rewarding.

All through my other studies the one major key I have always learned is, you will never learn everything about something... things always change and thank goodness in life we will never stop learning regardless of what you are studying. But damn there has to be a way to take something into yourself and allow it to become one with you without playing the damn yo-yo game.

We take everyday situations and one minute we think yeah, I am cool with this situation.  The next minute you are saying WTF- I deserve better than this!  Or one minute you feel like you are floating in a cloud of softness and the next minute you are dragging your ass across thorns. The freaking yo-yo game... does that make you unstable? I don't think so... if you think differently that is truly cool you are allow to have your own insight, but me personally I do not think that makes me or anyone else unstable.  If you pick a rose and immediately put it into water, soon that rose begins to wilt-which means every second it changes- just like humans change every second.

So see, most of my articles/posts has a beginning and an end...today this is all over the freaking place and it is damn right okay!!  I love something I read this morning by: Thich Nhat Hanh-he said suppose someone standing on the side of a river bank - throws a pebble into the river. The pebble allows itself to sink slowly to the bottom where it rest as the water passes it by.  Too many times in life we try to rush everything we are involved in. And the outcome of rushing everything brings confusion to your mind, your being very much like this post.

I know what I am expressing and not saying here... but I wanted to post this just to show you it is okay to have days like this where everything feels screwed up and you feel like a puppy running in circles chasing your tail.  There are always going to be days where things just do not make sense, tomorrow will be a new day, you will have a fresh start and perhaps you and I both will see things differently. Today...... it's the yo-yo game.