As I look back over the past transforming week, I realize so well that I have not been walking alone. There have been many others showing me the way and supporting me by their generous presence. Some members of my Sangha have been a significant part of my evolving understanding and awareness.
A couple of individuals at the retreat have likewise helped me by showing me their personal presence and own vulnerability. They encouraged me, even invited me to do the same. Many others did so in a more generalized way. The frequent bowing was an oft-repeated invitation to mutual awareness and shared affection.
It has truly been a joint effort, and I realize how much my home is in a community of supporting, loving people. They too are on fire with awareness, each in their own way. They show their own courage to let the fire take control, and in doing so give me support and encouragement.
A couple of retreat members have unknowingly been my teachers. Their presence and open vulnerability have helped me reflect on how in the past I have allowed others to define me. This past habit has been a source of great suffering for me. I am slowly understanding how it is possible to invite another person to stand close, but not so close that we may appear as one.
Maybe it is also an intense lesson in not-grasping. I now understand better how to allow intimate awareness while maintaining a separate presence. I more easily see the balance of gleefully being aware of another’s presence while totally letting go.
There is great vulnerability in being more open-hearted, and so many of my companions have been there to support me this past week.