Poetic Revelations: Invisible Threads

Coming into Relationship

An invisible red thread connects those we are destined to meet, regardless of time, place or circumstance. The thread may stretch or tangle. But it will never break."

~ Chinese proverb

Tapestry by Anne Pritchard

SELECTED POEMS

• Turning, Victoria Chang

• Of the Threads that Connect the Stars, Martin Espada

Dear Embodied Hearts and Dancing Souls,

This weekend I went to an InterPlay gathering with the Boston community. Generous tending hands took care of me the second I stepped off the train platform to the airport drop-off. This richness of hospitality is so similar to my Indian culture, it makes me appreciate this tribe even more.

Quick note: no Dance Chapel next Tuesday, July 4th.

A Met Gaze. Walking back to Harvard Square from a brief walk, I looked up for a moment to see what lay ahead. I caught the gaze of someone seated on a bench across the street. My eyes took in an older woman in a saree, red tikka on her forehead. Her face softened when she saw me, dressed in my long Indian kurta. Faster than the mind could think, my hands came together in joined fingertips in front of my heart, my head bent in a slight nod in a timeless gesture of respect for my elders. The woman’s face broke out in a smile, accentuating wrinkles on her forehead. Naturally I smiled in return and kept walking, my heart buoyed by the interaction.

Even more than a Namaste, a smile from my heart has been my passport on so many sidewalks all over the world. It didn’t work in the Swiss German mountains (not.at.all) but everywhere else, a sincere smile has opened doors. On the subway ride home, my gaze happened to land on a black man muttering to himself. I smiled. He walked up to the doors before the train stopped and turned to me to say something in a fast clip that I couldn’t quite catch. I asked him to repeat it and this time, we shared a connection over our complete inability to understand the woman on the loudspeaker. We both smiled with each other. As a non-sequitur he shares:

My Grandmother told me never to lie to myself and never lie to God.

Such are the angels on my path. Though the back of my mind was working out a thought around the man and his random use of speech, my heart knew the blessing in his words. “That is a true blessing,” I said. And he bowed his head to me, inviting me to disembark the train first.

Heart First.  Going to school in Philadelphia, you develop an attunement to the mentally ill (who are ill-served living on the streets) and their speech, which can feel disjointed. I was too exhausted to let the thought in my head compete. I let my heart listen and speak instead. 

In ways small and big, we played with interacting with out space. Dancing in Shape and Stillness while gazing at a large door, I experienced a wide, open solidness in my body. (Thank You Door). Later, we played with tapestries made by a wizened fairy with an incredibly open spirit. These tapestries told stories. In every case, as I came into relationship with these “non-human” entitities, the space around me opened, as if more of it was available to me. I became part of a bigger whole. 

There is an invisible language that binds us all. I’ve already shared that everything emits frequency: plants, trees, rocks, animals, humans. It is truly a riot out there. Through my body, I can travel from the outside in and have a felt experience of the other. This communication occurs faster than thought. Yes there is consciousness, but there is also a felt experience. Human words sometimes struggle in this space between body, heart, intellect and ego. What might happen if we listened, truly listened, at the level of frequency of our truth, rather than words? What might be possible for us in terms of coming into relationship with each other then?

Bypassing Identity. When we don’t listen from our embodied heart, we navigate life as a limited identity. I don’t judge our identities. Through eyes of compassion, our identities are valiant constructs. In fact, we use them to have a sense of place in our shared reality. They are also shields. They prevent nutrients from coming in and going out. Ultimately this is because we are not willing to accept the parts and pieces outside the identity. 

It's not enough to create Safety for others; we must each be willing to engage in the hard work of choosing a Safety that is available for all of our parts, not just the pieces our fragile identity constructs validate. This is precisely how (or why) our identities are limited. They simply don’t let in all of who we are. 

Our true salvation lies in welcoming all of our parts. It is the tenderest of journeys to reclaim pieces that were banished because no one taught us how to trust our open heart. Coming into relationship with ourselves is coming into relationship with something true. This is the only basis for our collective freedom and joy.

Stay #heartwoke. To your exquisite unfolding.

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