Reverence
What do we do in a world which has lost its way? My inner child squirms in discomfort, while my ego climbs to the dizzy heights of self-righteousness in a bid to bring back a modicum of global Reverence again! How naive & ridiculous, for tis neither my right nor within the bounds of my ability to change the world, well, not the whole world anyway! I grew up in a house of Reverence, I was raised by an actual Reverend, my Father’s title was ‘The Very Reverend William Beare’ and he lived that title, it wasn’t just his job, it was his personality, his calling & his natural state of being to be wholly Reverent….not in a conservative or Bible-bashy way but in a broad-minded, unconditionally Loving way….the best way! I started out on this planet in the cradle of Christianity and I was joined at the hip to Dad, going with him to every Church Service, Ecumenical Musical Occasion & Spiritual Gathering possible, I was never forced to go, I loved it, I didn’t need the books, I knew all the prayers & hymns off by heart, (still do) a large section of my memories of my close relationship with Dad is woven into my relationship with my own sense of Spirituality. There is a Peacefulness & Gentleness within me where all my good stuff lives, it’s a haven where I hold my capacity for deep Love, Reverence & Compassion. It is difficult to say whether that part of me is Nature or Nurture and I guess it doesn’t really matter, it’s there! For a long time in my 20s & 30s I strayed from that part of myself, I think it was an unconscious disconnection, something to do with feeling inadequate the way I was & wanting to belong to situations which my underdeveloped mind perceived as cool….However I was never cool! This is not self-deprecation, I say this with affection & heartfelt acceptance of my blunderings. After years of Yoga I feel now that I’m finally coming back to the Reverence within & paradoxically now that my darling Dad is gone from this plane of existence, I am beginning to grow into the kind of person that he always was. Even though I moved away from organised Religion & found the more secular Practices to be a better fit, I do truly value my roots & the stability gained from them & lately, find myself dipping into elements of those Religious roots on occasion. It doesn’t matter how we connect with Spirit, it doesn’t even matter if we don’t consider ourselves Spiritual, there is always the option to be Reverent. Reverence, to me is a profound & strong respect & presence within every situation, some examples are taking the shoes off on hallowed ground, being silent when others are speaking & teaching, not being late, knowing when & where it’s appropriate and equally well NOT appropriate to curse! (that’s a tough one in Ireland!!!) readily honouring the chance to help another, manners, humility, gratefulness & the ability to recognise our own wrong-doings & atone accordingly. During the 2 years of this weird hibernation we’re experiencing due to the Covid Pandemic, I’ve been witnessing a loss of Reverence in our society, initially in the first 20 months, it felt like a terrible grief….like I was in mourning, I was pointedly aware of the absence of respectful discourse and also I was observing how vitriolic & combative people had become on social media & how I too was feeling the acidity of my own inner corruption… but lately, thankfully, by some divine insight, deeper than cognition, I’ve come to the following conclusion: (this works for me, find your own words/Practices to make the equation work for you) If I feel a lack of Reverence, instead of bemoaning the loss & fighting to convert the lost, simply become more skillfully reverent myself! Rather than trying to change the whole world, reconnect with the part of me that has a vibration with which I resonate, nurture a connection with that beauty inside by taking the time to look in, to go in, to bow to & align with that higher part of me. If I detect a lack of Reverence, that is the exact time to improve my own PERSONAL Reverence. Taking the time to do this, in our own individual ways is how we access our collective evolution. We may not have a physical place of worship, it doesn’t matter, TIME can be the sacred space, using some time to reflect & grow can be our portable Temple/Shala/Church, that way, we can always find Peace & we can cultivate everything we need from inside ourselves, even & indeed especially when we cannot feel it outside. Namaste.
