Sea Glass: A Musing…

I spent the beautiful and sweltering summer weekend with some of my favorite people in Rehoboth Beach. As I walked around their home taking inventory of all the beach momentos, my attention was brought to a small collection of sea glass in the kitchen.

I started to think about my own sharp edges. All the times I have cut into myself, into others…the cuts from others that are scars, the cuts that are still open and sting….

Sea glass helps me remember. Remember that all edges can be smoothed, washed over, changed with time, made softer, gentler, more beautiful. Everything decomposes, and everything can be changed.

This train of thought brought me back to an important lesson from my teacher.

“Between the breath is where compassion, love, fear, and anger come through. It’s in the in-between. In those moments of anger, see if you can use your breath as a way to compost…a way to let love and compassion flow through.”

What thoughts and beliefs are you changing about yourself?

How do I wash myself clean?

How do I smooth over my edges?

What wounds are still left open?

Have I forgiven them? Have they forgiven me?

How do I make amends?

When the negativity comes, how do I direct it positively?

How do I regenerate, compost, wash away into something new?

How do I soften my impulses? The impulse to react?

How do I detach so that my actions, thoughts, and words no longer cut myself and others?

How do I practice non-harming?