A Year of Receptivity

Learning to fully receive what's already been given

The last few New Year’s resolutions have been true to their name; new habits, new projects, new communities, new goals, sometimes even, on years of particular hubris, a “New Me.” 

But this year my intention is the opposite: to deepen the practice of receiving what life has already offered; a wonderful partner, tight-knit friend group, thriving local community, a spiritual calling and teacher, Foster, Haven, 57. 

There’s enough within right now and right here to last a lifetime…

The ghost of insatiable hunger haunts me nonetheless, eager to see what might happen if we pour a little more on top. I can feel him now, just beneath the surface, lurking, tantalizing me with prospects of something different. 

The ghost winks and I grok his message: “I won’t rest until you receive me too.” 

Full receptivity, then, not only for life’s pleasures, but especially for its greatest challenges and deepest pain. Only then may the restless rest — and with a peaceful death for what might be, a fuller life for what already is.