Broken Cup
When we understand the truth of uncertainty, we become free.
Several years ago, my family bought me a beautiful handmade coffee cup for my 40th birthday. Birds were etched on the side and the bottom read, “See the Beauty”. The cup fit in my hands perfectly and every morning I loved to hold it, feel its warmth, smell the fragrance of coffee or tea, and offer gratitude each morning. It became a simple and effective mindful practice that I looked forward to each day. After a couple years, this cup broke in a bizarre accident. In the moment, I had a choice to see it as an end or a beginning. To see the loss or see the beauty it represented for the last two years. I had to remind myself that nothing is permanent.
The broken cup helps us see beyond our illusion of control. When we commit ourselves to something, building a business, raising a family, going to college, or creating a work of art we can expect there will be some measure of failure as well as success. Becoming fluid and releasing the expectations we create in our minds allows us to experience life from a place of curiosity and compassion. This is a fierce teaching.
We may fail an entrance exam, our start up business may go under, our children may develop problems beyond our control. If we only focus on the results, we will be devastated. But if we know the cup is broken, we can give our best to the process, create what we can and trust the larger process of life itself. We can plan, we can care for, tend and respond. But we cannot control it.
Much like the element of water, we flow with life cultivating space to breathe, observe, and respond to life. Shifting away from the desire to grasp, cling to, and hold onto rigid beliefs or thoughts about the desired outcome. Instead, we take a breath, and open to what is unfolding, where we are. This is a profound shift, from holding on, to letting go. In this way, we can see through a lens of compassion for ourselves and others. We can navigate the calm waters of life as well as the turbulent waters with profound ease of non-attachment. The suffering goes down in our minds. It is the mind that can be a calm bubbling brook, or a tsunami. The power is within YOU. The choice is yours. Each moment of every day.
It is up to us to cultivate a practice to guide us to live a more joyful and free life. The power is within, the practice is essential, the result is an illuminated life.
Kelly Anunson
Life Coach, Yoga Instructor, Compassionate Inquiry Practitioner