In the northern hemisphere, it’s Spring. Where I live in California, we’re having a most spectacular superbloom after a wetter than normal Winter. Noticing the abundance of blooms everywhere – whether I’m out hiking or simply walking my dog through the neighborhood – the flowers in all their colorful brilliance and unique shapes are spreading joy. I don’t think I can look at a flower and not smile; can you?
When I post pictures of flowers on social media, they tend to get the most “likes” and “comments.” My sister and I trade texting each other photos of flowers we come across that we admire. For thousands of years, artists have painted flowers and blooming landscapes. Flowers are often given as gifts. I have yet to give someone flowers and they didn’t smile in gratitude and take a moment to admire their beauty.
The irony about this in our modern-day culture is that the flowers are not doing anything other than being. Their gift is themselves. Their medicine is in existing and giving of their essence.
So often we think productivity and the results of our labor will be our legacy. Yet, our legacy is in who we are as individuals. Our personality, characteristics and quirks.
On April 19, someone I admire greatly transitioned beyond the veil. His name was Joe Marrone and he was a lightworker if I ever met one. Sure, I could share about all the years of service he gave as an officer in the Los Angeles Police Department…but his impact and his legacy will be who he was and how he made folks feel simply by being his authentic self. He could make even the grumpiest and hardest-shell, inner-city kids laugh without even trying. He cared deeply about people, especially those who the rest of the society had given up on.
Since his passing, his family started a social media account for folks who knew him to post videos, photos and stories of his life. In almost every single one, either he’s laughing or someone he’s with is laughing because of him. He was light. He was joy. Even in the darkest of situations and places, such as in the hospital fresh out of surgery to remove cancer from his brain, he’s making jokes.
I guarantee you when folks remember Joe, they smile, they laugh and they remember the light he carried within him simply by being Joe.
My point in all this is: Each of us is born with our uniqueness. Here at INCC, we call this your Original Medicine. Your Original Medicine is not what you do in this world, it’s who you are.
You are a light. You are joy. You are love. And you have gifts unique to you that bring this light, joy, and love to the world simply by existing and sharing of yourself.
Your bloom is not going to look like the bloom next to you, so there’s no point in comparing. Your service is yourself. In the words of one of our teachers, Gail Larsen, “Be yourself. Everyone else is taken.”
So, what makes you bloom? What water, nutrients and environment(s) do you thrive most with? How can you give yourself permission to live in that way?
And if you think you’re not of value without producing something, just ask your friends and family, “If I were to die today, how would you remember me?”
I can guarantee their response won’t be what you’ve achieved by societal standards or how much money you made. It will be memories based on joy, love and how you made them feel simply by being your most authentic self.
And that, beautiful soul, is always more than enough.