Tag Archives: Three Truths and One Wish

Three Truths and One Wish

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1. Truth: You are capable of so much more. Whatever you think you can do or have or be, whatever you imagine, your opportunity and potential are so much more than that, so much bigger. Whoever you want to meet, whatever you want to learn, wherever you want to go, whatever you want to accomplish is possible, so invite it, try, at the very least begin to entertain the idea, dream, plan, wish. Take that first step, some tiny action that manifests your intention, focuses your attention.

Of course, things don’t always turn out as we planned, and our imagination is limited, so once we start, we have to keep ourselves open to what arises, not try to force or control an outcome, and be realistic, because you can wish all you want to be a unicorn or meet a hobbit or be a foot taller, but none of those things are going to literally happen. And yet,

I am larger, better than I thought;
I did not know I held so much goodness.
~Walt Whitman

2. Truth: You are already free. All of the limitations and restrictions you put on yourself, your possibility and potential, are of your own creation. You are afraid, so you tell yourself “can’t” or “impossible.” You think you must earn love and belonging (rather than believing it is your birthright), so you tell yourself “should” and “have to” and “no.” You do all this even though the truth is that you are able to try anything and are already enough.

If we cannot give up our lives to something larger than ourselves – to
something larger than the conditioned mind that we imagine is who we
are – then we cannot be free. ~Justin McKay

3. Truth: You are the only thing in your way. If you are waiting for something to happen, stop waiting and happen. Take the first step, make a start, do one small thing. Show up and remain open to the possibility of the moment. Allow your heart, your gut, your intuition, your innate wisdom and compassion, love to guide you. Move out of the way and allow your basic goodness to manifest, as it naturally and organically will if you would only step aside.

You have the freedom to be yourself, your true self, here and now, and nothing can stand in your way. ~Richard Bach

One wish: That we can get out of our own way and realize our full potential. That we can manifest in the world that which we were born to be and do.

Three Truths and One Wish

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1. Truth: There are places you carry inside, no matter where you go. You feel the temperature and the texture, experience the smell and the sound of these locations, see the colors and shapes of the environment, know the size and mood of the space, real and present in memory and dreams.

For me, some of these places are Amsterdam, my childhood home (not just the house, but the whole town–my church, my school, the field at the end of the road where I lived, the local market, post office, the park, my best friend’s backyard), my grandma’s farm, the cannery I worked in for four summers in a row while I was in high school (trust me, I wish I could rid myself of that one!), my little house in Colorado, the basement of that other house which was the first place Eric and I lived together, and the long stretch of beach from Waldport Bay to Seal Rock.


2. Truth: There are mortal beings that you keep in your heart no matter where you go and even when they are gone. These are the ones who’ve taken up residence in your heart, who you have long, heartfelt, silent conversations with regardless of your physical proximity. You dream about them, long for them, miss them, imagine where they might be, what they might be doing right now when they aren’t with you. And when they become formless, no longer attached to a body, you keep them in your heart, your body, hold them with you, carrying their memory, their love, a precious and wild thing that lives in and through you.

3. Truth: There are practices that will follow you, no matter where you find yourself. These are the things, the habits and the methods that you rely on, that you turn to, that you engage in. These can be helpful and healthy, traditions that sustain you, maintain your sanity and comfort, but they can also be destructive, trapping you in your confusion and suffering. Yesterday I wrote, did yoga, ran with Sam on the beach, meditated, read, and took a long walk with all three of my boys, carrying my camera so I could stop and take pictures of what I noticed, what touched me. These practices are magic, medicine. It wasn’t so long ago that my habitual patterns had a much different flavor, a quality of despair and character of destruction. My teacher, Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche says, “We are always meditating–constantly placing our minds on an object and becoming familiar with it. But are we getting used to things that will take us forward on the path?”

One wish: That we can practice gentle and kind awareness, that we can view everything we encounter and experience as an opportunity to cultivate a way of being that generates compassion and wisdom, and that we can let go of any habitual patterns that cause suffering.