Life will give us hardship. Rents need to be paid. Bodies age. People pass away and we suffer loss. Mouths need to be fed. Exams have to be passed. We need make no effort to find reasons to work hard. Relaxation…on the other hand. Celebration…does not happen unless we make time for it. Without us remembering to take the deep breath. To pause for our shoulders to come down. To take the silence to feel into our expansive hearts. We must set aside the time to bake the cake and light the candles. To gather and sing in celebration for a single person for no other reason but that they are alive on this Earth. To mark a day as holy and make it a holiday. We have to choose to do these things because life will not force us. These acts make our life our own.
Every season has its own reasons to celebrate. Life events, the turning of the Earth and planets, school accomplishments and conclusions. Even times of hardship like the loss of a job or a medical leave can offer time to recalibrate, rest, and reconnect. Loss can be a chance to come together to remember in celebration and mend wounds.
People are always reminding us to “put your own oxygen mask on first.” But I think that it’s more than that. Life flows through us. We don’t give to others from a bucket that is different from ourselves. We are not all inhaling from the same mythical oxygen tank. I think we breath one another’s breath. That is what air is, is it not? When someone says “my bucket is empty” or “my bucket is overflowing,” she is not actually holding a bucket. She is talking about her own self. To that end, I cannot give you anything but myself. So I have nothing to do, but live my life. Live my joy. And as I do that, you can partake in it. Just as I partake in yours.
Whether as a quiet secret in one’s mind or as a planned community effort, we can notice and claim each and every moment possible for love, for celebration, for relaxation. This is my moment. This is my life. Breath into it.
Happy Summer!