The Invitation calls us to look deeper and expand our awareness of ourselves with the humblest ability. We must look at failure, betrayal, commitment, as well as love and beauty with the most open heart not for others, but ourselves. By inviting to take care of ourselves first, we can be free to choose and explore who we are and who we want to be. But with this choice, we are touching the center of our suffering.
If we truly, truly want to be free and create a beautiful world where the heart + body+ soul are in alignment, we must walk through the fire alone. But of course, you will never have to walk alone, even if it feels that way. No matter what happens in your journey towards your true self, you must be grateful for it all; the good and the bad. Because in the dark tunnel, you must see the power of love as the light that will get you through it. There will always be somewhere, something, or someone who will be there to stop and listen to your sorrow and support you on your path.
Personal Reflection
Oriah Mountain Dreamer’s inspirational book of poems is 130 pages long and separated by 13 chapters. Published in 1995, I feel it is one of the most spiritual and uplifting books that profoundly resonate with the experience of living in this day and age. Mountain Dreamer wrote with the simplest of words, without the fluff of fame or haughtiness in her demeanor. That’s what makes The Invitation one of my favorite non-fiction, self-help books. Each chapter begins with a section of the poem below and Mountain Dreamer dives deeper into them with her personal experience. Each chapter offers a meditation that one can do by themselves or with another person. It begins with starting the journey alone and eventually ends with finding your way home.
When I opened the Invitation for the first time in 2017, I was moved to tears. No other self-help book, not from Byrnes, Chopra, Winfrey or even Hicks moved me as much as Mountain Dreamer’s book did. And this book was given randomly to me from someone I only met once. I am grateful to her because this book was a true gem that helped me pull through. It helped me to see that all suffering is connected, and yet we must keep doing what we have to do without hesitation. We will breakdown in following our “dreams” but we with find the path of our heart’s journey. And in every moment we still have to surrender to the tasks in front of us that must be done whether we like it or not. There are sacrifices to be made, but that doesn’t mean we have to sacrifice our purpose or the vision we have for our life.
And every time I open The Invitation, I feel as if I am speaking with my soul; the divinity within me that yearns to be understood, not pushed aside for the sake of others. I read Oriah’s words and I look around. The world seems a little bit brighter, more relatable, more understanding. A little softer. I feel compassion for all existence as if I have reached another new vibration. I am moved deeply by her words, and I notice my heartbeat. This is because I know deep inside, we cannot forget our longing for peace, simplicity, and calmness. Therefore, I learn to appreciate every moment of my life and realize that it’s the pain that keeps me going to eventually illuminate the joy within. The more I heal, the more I see the joy in every day—even in solitude.
“I smile because I know what I have been through, what I have overcome, and I know there is still so much to look forward to if my time on earth allows. Life is that fulfilling.”
As spring begins on its first day, I realize the deep longing I had for sunlight and warmth. When I take a deep breath of the new spring equinox, the aching in my legs and feet, the constant migraine in my forehead, and the long talks I have out loud by myself and with myself during the darker times float away. But the pain in my chest that has always lingered, is still there. I don’t know where it exactly comes from, or how long it will last. It’s just there and it fluctuates every single day. The world is in pain, so maybe that’s where it comes from. Yet still, I live in the present, sharing its gift with many others living in this current era of the new millennium, an exciting time to be alive. And I show appreciation for this by just waking up every day and living in the year 2019. Though as humans, we all feel the same emotions, my experience is my experience alone that no one else can replicate. Not even my siblings.
One of my favorite proverbs is: All people smile in the same language. And I smile not because I am happy rather than sad, I smile because I know what I have been through, what I have overcome, and I know there is still so much to look forward to if my time on earth allows. Life is that fulfilling. All it has to do is make you smile for a second from simple joy and the world changes. All my life I am alone, yet at the same time, I am not alone. However, being part of the western world and the world as a whole at the same time, where practically everything is reachable at your fingertips, my longing for a deep connection with another that I see many people enjoy as I walk the streets and ride buses alone still will never go away. I feel it is far away and still unreachable. I am told I must work on myself, focus on myself and love myself. Wait..what? Then I whine and complain, impatient and sad, “How much more must I work on myself to eventually have love reciprocated?” Nevertheless, I continue moving forward and “work on myself”.
We cannot fight for or force a loving devotional connection with someone else. Love just happens, and at any moment, it can disappear, end, or shatter to pieces. Nothing is certain. And no matter what is gained or lost through it all, we cannot escape the connection with learning to love ourselves. This is the absolute truth. And that is what Oriah pushes us to remember in The Invitation. Because in actuality, having a deep relationship with myself and the opportunity to share what I have learned, accepted, and healed to help others can be just as rewarding. The journey of my soul, of my authentic self, can be just as exciting as having a relationship with another. It doesn’t have to be anything less. It doesn’t mean I am not loved or that I will never find love.
I have faith everything will work out for all in achieving their hopes and dreams, including my own. And even if just for a moment, I can help another on their journey towards whatever they wish to achieve, towards whomever they wish to be with long term even if it’s not with me, that experience will last forever in my heart nevertheless. It doesn’t matter how it affected them or if they never speak a word to me again. But I wish and hope, it affected them in a good way. Because for me at least, the shared memory was beautiful. Bittersweet, but still beautiful. So beautiful that I am still moved to tears to this day even years later with the encounters I have had with others.
Whenever I look back and grieve at the sad moments in my life, at the times I broke down due to pain and illness, due to anxiety or fear, or due to other complicated situations such as lack of self-love or inner turmoil, my heart had no choice. And it still has no choice. It doesn’t want me to give up. I have to pick myself up again, and again, and again, and hear my heart say, “look at where you are now. Look how far you have reached. The sun shines, the clouds shift, the trees die and are reborn, and I am still beating with you every step and every experience along the way with the revolving earth. You are still alive. You are much wiser, more content than ever before.” And it’s true. I am the most content I have ever been in my life.
The beating heart is like the revolving earth. We don’t take notice of it, but it still occurs. Things can happen at random times, unexpectedly without warning, but we are meant to survive the unexpected. And again— I feel a sense of gratitude for how much the human is capable of. How much the body can handle, even in the most difficult and scariest of times with nothing else left to “hide it fade it or fix it.” And to realize, that I am that human, who feels pain, yet at the same time the same human who can persevere through it, surprises me and makes me feel accomplished enough even if I haven’t received an award or acknowledgment from others of how much effort I put into my life. I reward myself. And I am indebted to those who have helped me along my path.
We must let the tears flow outward as we dive inward. We must ask for help, and handle the pain with care and let it heal on its own. I learned, after reading The Invitation that we must not fight or look down upon the pain or see it as a nuisance, or a weakness. We must treat our pain with tender love and with patience. Though I feel a sense of fatigue, at least that fatigue acknowledges that I am still alive. That I still have so much to learn and experience. And the realization that I still have time to experience the multitude of this earth makes me even more excited and more grateful. When I sleep to dream, I am still alive, transported to another dimension with my spirit. And when I wake up, it is still a part of my life that I can wonder about.
“To be alive in this day and age is more than just checking your iPhone for the daily newsfeed or waking up to the sound of an alarm clock to go to work. To be alive is an “invitation” to experience and share a story no one else ever will.”
And then when I grieve once again for whatever reason, I shift my way of thinking and remind myself of those currently suffering even more than I ever will in this lifetime I believe, because they cannot live even simply in freedom. For even people in my era, they are constrained by familial or societal expectations or restrictions such as war and poverty and natural disasters. I think of a child, currently less fortunate begging for money in my motherland, Kenya, or some other land stricken with severe poverty, who yet still smiles so excitedly at the simplest things such as taking a picture with a selfie stick. I have never even used a selfie-stick and they have been around for a while now. I am a millennial, I live in North America, yet I have never used a selfie-stick or handled a selfie-stick ever in my life (shaking my head). Maybe then, it could be something new to try despite how old fashioned I sound and smile like the little child in Kenya. But then again, maybe not, since it seems that the “selfie-stick” trend is over in the so-called “modern world”. Whatever.
Do you see? Despite this fact that trends come and go in the developed world, we still have to experience life with ourselves and what we have or haven’t done throughout the years living in it.
I have loved, I have hated, I have received, I have given, I have grieved, I have healed, I have failed, I have succeeded, smiled, laughed, cried…I have suffered and longed for things out of my reach. I have judged others for their foolishness and faults, and I too, have been judged for my foolishness and faults. I have spoken words that I do not remember, and I have spoken words that I remember and wish to forget. But I cannot forget them. Because it is all a part of my story. But I have also let go, and I have forgiven, and I have learned through it all. Yet the learning never stops. Because even a simple question leads to a whole new place untouched. That is the never-ending power of the human spirit. We are curious and we want to learn. So the universe will follow your desire, and teach you the lesson so that you can become knowledgeable and “spread the word”.
I appreciate the freedom I am given in this era. While it is can be lonesome and isolating at times, it is expansive. We find ways to connect eventually. And I hope and pray that it will only get better for future generations. I am grateful to have reached this far, to at least be able to write this and share it with others. Little by little, may my words be a small addition to what changes the world for the better.
To be alive in this day and age is more than just checking your iPhone for the daily newsfeed or waking up to the sound of an alarm clock to go to work. To be alive is an “invitation” to experience and share a story no one else ever will. This era allows us to recognize what the past has built and given you, as well as what the present currently offers you to truly be you. I will live to the day I die knowing I lived my life to its fullest potential possible so far.
And as I am here willing to share my experience openheartedly with whoever is willing to take the time to read it, may it touch their soul and inspire them to reach within and see the good in humanity. Because the longest relationship you will ever have, is the one you have with yourself. And it longs for serenity and balance as much as possible. It deserves the best experience possible. it longs to be shared with others.
Can you face your self and be honest and say everything is perfect? no, because it doesn’t have to be. But as long as you are living the truest expression of yourself in the present moment with all that you know, whether you are aware of it or not, is what is most important. Because maybe there will be a point down the road in your life where you will face yourself and ask, “I ended up here?” You will pause and then say with amazement, “Wow. How wonderful. Cool. It all makes sense. It all lines up.”
That is the invitation. This is my invitation.
So tell me, if you are willing to share here and now, What’s your story?
