Letting go of attachment to the fruits of one’s actions, one is ever content and does not have needs. Though one appears to be doing things (karma), actually the higher Self is the doer. Bhagavad Gita
When we respond to life’s events from a place of neediness, our first thought is for ourselves…What’s in it for me? When we respond from a place of nonattachment, we are serving forth a plateful of goodness to everyone without any need or desire for reward. As an entrepreneur turned gardner, I understand this evolution intimately. My early entrepreneur was an opportunist always seeking a pay back, which unfolded into a never-ending exhausting cycle of have an idea, act, have another idea, act, and so on. The result being an experience of purposeless neediness and discontent. It is fair to say neediness is a bottomless pit that no amount of reward can fill to contentment.
When I began to garden, purely for the sake of giving back to the earth, I never anticipated how truth, beauty, and goodness would be returned to me in such abundance. Placing our hands into the depths of the earth withdraws the toxins and venum accumulated from years of navigating world affairs with our ego. This purely meditative act literally sucks out the mental and physcal garbage and stills the mind. Who knew that gardening would first heal my wounds and then transform me from an opportunistic entrepreneur into a service provider. Collaborating with the earth to co-create a garden paradise reaches way beyond one person’s soul and expands into a community of like-minded souls. It is a community building exercise serving up peace, love, and joy.
When I first began gardening, I was a solo act. However, and in our hearts we all know this to be true, beauty is a great attractor. Within a few years, other gardeners began to show up until a loving, joyful, peaceful neighbourhood rose up in what was previously a chaotic, tumultuous area. In the words of Albert Schweitzer, “One thing I know: The only ones among you who will be really happy are those who will have sought and found how to serve.”
On a more philosophical level, every spiritual tradition encourages service as a way to purify the heart. Nischala Joy Devi approaches selfless service from the perspective of karma, which dictates the law of cause and effect. According to karmic law, whatever energy you express in the world (through intentions, thoughts, emotions, and actions), you receive back. In other words, you reap what you sow. So, for every negative action, you receive a negative reaction. Conversely, for every positive action given, you receive a positive reaction. As Devi states, selfless service redirects the effects of our actions, so “If we must reap what we sow, let us sow seeds of a sweet and tasty fruit.”
There are so many ways to bring truth, beauty, and goodness or peace, love, and joy into to the world instead of fear, anger, and mistrust. The most obvious right now is the never-ending spin of negative reactions to Donald Trump’s ego. Instead of spinning even more negative, alarming reactions, can you find the silver lining in what appears on the surface to be a dark karmic cloud? Spin your positivity into the world and watch karma transform and abundance manifest.
Energy Empaths
We are one and the same.
We are all energy empaths.
This is our birthright, to channel
life-giving experience into being.
Not just on the days of feeling good,
but every day, and most importantly,
during the storms of destruction, we
are called to express love, light, truth.
This is our journey, to shine light
on the path of love. To choose truth
over hatred and deception. As was wisely
spoken, the job of life knows no rest.
For more yoga actions and teachings, click here. Namaste.
