A letter to my daughter

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

A letter to my daughter

18 April 2012

Gaborone, Botswana

My daughter.  My love.

I gently gaze at your sweet face in slumber every night, not wondering how you will turn out to be one day, but gazing with great delight with what you have already become.

Today, I’d like to write you another letter; as I usually do, at least once in every country we move to.  My heaven, remember that these things that I am about to remind you; you already know.

Love and honor everything within you and around you; including those that may even seem inanimate. For when you do, you remember that you are made in love and by love – and that, you are – LOVE incarnate.

The collective is very powerful; but do not let it undermine your faith in the power of One. You will be challenged along the way, to wish to be accepted and might feel the urge to conform even if it defies the very nature of your being. Be kind to yourself when it happens. Do not judge your choices. Honor it. When you forget, all you have to do – is to Re-Member again. You belong to your heart, and within it – is the universe that we all have been wondering about; and hopelessly been exploring without.

One day, you might want to question more, than you already do. You may want to ask about God and life and your existence. It’s not that you haven’t done so yet, you have – many times. The dying butterfly in India made you wonder about death. Daddy’s prayers in the temples made you ask about God; and mommy’s reminders of you to believe in yourself made you wonder who you are. The answers are closer to you than you think. When the mind tires of all the asking, the heart begins to provide answers.

There also might come a time when you will be perplexed by all of our creative differences; or maybe not. But when you do, understand that we are as varied as nature itself – and within each being holds beauty though it may not satisfy everyone’s taste.  Your environment is your greatest teacher. The earth will remind you to be humble; the trees - to stand tall yet quietly in constant service to others; the flowers – to remember that beauty can be fragile yet can feed our soul; the bees and the ants – will help you understand that to produce something as sweet as honey in life, we all have to work together; the moon reminds us that though we may not see things at times- they are still there; and the rain does not really discriminate who it falls on to. You need not go too far to find teachers in life. Just look around you – be silent – and listen.

Treasure your friendships. They are your siblings born to find you outside a mother’s womb. Honor their freedom; inspire their spirit; hold their hands in darkness – for nothing is as sweet as friendship that sees you through in your journey in life.

Be happy. You know what this is, more than your father and I. Continue singing and dancing – this is a great sign that you were born to celebrate life itself. Never abandoned your delight in the grass hoppers and the spiders who weave their webs ever so carefully, ever so perfectly. They can feel joy as you watch them – and you will be able to feel them too, if you will close your eyes and silence your mind.

Be grateful. There is no need to downwardly compare to achieve this state. Just be grateful for the overflowing abundance of life. Every being, in varying levels of evolution in consciousness, will have their standards of abundance. I say, all you need is to open your eyes; and even if you don’t, just rest your ears into someone’s chest and when you feel that heart beating, you know that you have been granted the gift to experience a miracle.

Commit to joy. Routines and labor cannot suffocate you out of this. Do what brings your spirit to its heights.  I climb mountains to achieve this; your father finds it in the peaceful and simple loving family of ours. He finds it in an honest day’s work. We have much to learn from him.  Your Lolo Tat and Lola Nan, find their joy in service to others. Find what brings you joy – no matter what expression it takes, joy will enable you to touch the feet of the Divine in your daily life.

Be ever so kind – to yourself and others. Speak kindly, touch gently. For kindness, suffices when love still struggles to fully unfold itself. In your kindness, you will be a blessing unto this universe – especially in this planet that seems to hunger greatly for it.

Be generous. There will always be more than enough for our needs. Give especially when you have nothing left; for true giving comes when we give of ourselves. You give to yourself when you give to others, to all beings, to all things. As you might have already guessed why, we are all one.

Remember, that you are not alone. Do not discount the presence of those that are invisible, but most importantly, never turn blind nor take for granted those who are visibly there for you. Be there for yourself, for if you are not, you will not realize or appreciate those who are always there for you. When you are lonely, know that we all do get lonely sometimes, and even this loneliness can be a gift. We call upon ourselves experiences we need to remember to love again. Thank and bless your loneliness, understand the lesson behind its coming into your life and then bless and set it free. For loneliness, is simply forgetting, that there is only one of us.

Above all, LOVE. Love yourself. There is nothing selfish about this. Your love will ripple and overflow and will automatically bring you to serve others.

I love you Aaliaa Srishti.

Eternally,

Mommy