Mission Statement:
Accompanied by the meditative rhythm of rain and piano music, I wrote a few lines for my mission statement:
- Empower awareness of everyone’s essence by connecting with my own core.
- See others around me for who they truly are by valuing all the way I appear naturally in the world
- Model self-belief by fulfilling the potential this life brings with courage.
- Bring tranquility to those around me by staying calm in times of great pain and anxiety.
- Create positivity wherever I am by believing in the beauty of humanity
I tried to make it into some acronym, but I thought trying to be clever might get in the way of connecting with my own thoughts. These goals sound a bit lofty. I gave myself the permission. I have the reach for what is just slightly beyond my reach at this moment in order to inspire ourselves. I hope that is what I am doing for others.
Piano and the Rain:
I have been listening often lately to light piano accompanied by the rain. Sometimes it is to meditate and sometimes to help my own emotional regulation at the moment. It calms. I concentrate better.
I felt this simple duo of sound provides an interesting juxtaposition to life. I could be imaging it, as I often see parallels in many things. They give me a sense of order in the universe. It might just be a self-soothing technique. I am rather proud of it, so I keep choosing to see them. This time I see a similarity between Piano-Rain and Mission-Longing in life. We strive to create something beautiful in life, whether it is a good living, a happy family, an illustrious career, or the beautiful sounds of a piano. We work hard for that. We win some and we fail some. We can always try. Those are the moments in life we can influence with the force of will we possess.
Yet there are also these parts of our daily life entirely out of our control, like the rain. They will simply have to run their courses. Our curiosity for what could have been but would never be, our dreams for careers that didn’t come true, our longing for connection that is not reciprocated, and desires that cannot be acted upon. These are the daily moments we must also learn to enjoy as the sounds of the rain. We cannot decide when they come or stop. Being with the rain in whatever way we can–whether to sit quietly and listen to its splashes against the window calmly or going outside to jump in the muddy puddle joyfully, are better than lamenting about the beach day we lost or the letters it might be ruining. Whenever I feel that familiar sense of longing for something I am missing or could never have in my life, I try to stay with that discomfort. Often it is no one’s fault. The human condition that gave us the ability to dream and desire is also the one that forces us to choose where to devote our energy. We cannot have it all, thus we will always suffer the pangs of wanting more. By staying with that discomfort, I try to acknowledge and accept the humanity in my desires. It helps lessen the pain of deprivation and reduce the shame of not being able to get it all.
It is human to want. And we all deserve to have what we want. At times, we work hard and it happens, like practicing hard to make beautiful music on the piano. At other times, we must learn to sit quietly and listen to the rain. The fulfillment of the longings out of reach rests in the very moment we accept those emotions. When we allow them close to our heart without judgment or fear, we also accept our own wholeness even without the things we long for.