At 3 p.m. tomorrow, Taps Across America participants will play twenty-four beautifully haunting notes of a Civil War bugle call honoring those fallen in military service to the nation. The spiritual practice of remembrance unites all humanity through our shared sacred rite of passage we’ve christened “death.”
Beliefs, like memorial statues, are molds that sculpt the collective consciousness of our society. External monuments are temporary, subject to decay; however, internal structures guide our thoughts and actions to have a generational impact. Our human destiny does not come from the outcomes of external conflict but the journey within as we remove the mental obstacles that create beliefs of separation and conflict. Reminded of the preciousness of the here and now, we are connected by our mortality.
We all seek a life of peace and joy, a desire echoing from a Divine Source emanating from every living organism. Memorial Day confronts us with the tremendous pain and suffering loved ones endure long after the ceremonial flag is folded and the bugler's last note drifts into the heavens. Spiritual awakening comes to those who embrace grief, a painful process often masked by the national temptation to think of Memorial Day as "the start of summer." The sacred pause is an invitation to process the profoundly courageous journey into the heart.
As we remember those who have had to bear the unbearable of losing their loved ones to war, we attempt to fully empathize with their suffering. We've all suffered in some way this past year.
How is your soul?
Pause, reflect, open your heart, and know suffering is the great sculptor of our being.
Day is done, Gone the sun,
From the lake, From the hill,
From the sky.
All is well, Safely rest,
Love is nigh.
