“We are made out of the most common ingredients in the universe. Those elements are made in the cores of stars, that explode, scatter that enrichment across the galaxy, allowing the next generation of stars to have those elements that can make planets and life. So, it’s not simply that we are in this universe, the universe is in us. It’s not just poetically true, it’s literally true that we are stardust.” -Neil deGrasse Tyson on Danica Patrick’s podcast, Pretty Intense, 5 September 2019
My high school best friend and I spent a lot of time back then talking about God and religion. We read theologians like Henri Nouwen and naturalists like Sigurd Olsen whilst trying to find our way in the world. We discussed the role of theology and natural experiences in building one’s belief system. We proved, to our teenage satisfaction, that God is within each of us. This led us to the conclusion that divinity is not a public experience but rather an individual experience. And, as author John O’Donohue said in Anam Cara, we began to “sense the magic and mystery of [our]self.”
We were definitely onto something. It took me years to begin to understand the shift that was manifesting in our ideas. It’s vast importance, however, is why this is the shortest blog post of all of the 12 lotus. Everything that I have written before comes together here. There is no path, practice, journey, or straight line to follow to discover the divine or the eternal, because it is within. Living my life simply and intentionally creates space and silence for the connections between the lotus to grow. All of the 11 lotus before this one are there to support me as I move in the space and silence that I need, just as they support each other when they move into the deeper water. In that space and silence, I am able to glimpse what is me and what is the universe, and our entwined relationship.
Divinity, the eternal, whatever name I give to it, is in all. It’s not a search to discover or find or become, its a journey to see.
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