My intention was to teach on the kleshas or the afflictions of the mind (attachment, craving, ignorance, and aversion) in class tonight. It didn’t happen. Something else happened. This is how it is at times. You never know. Instead, what I didn’t realize was that I was being taught the lesson. Direct experience is the best teacher.
In being a new mom, I feel like a witness to the passage of time. I didn’t notice before how quickly time passes, until that time was filled with the joy and complete love a child brings. As I witness my daughter growing, I let go of each incredibly precious moment; however, I so deeply want to tattoo each one into my brain (And, I don’t need another one of those.), grasp onto it, and never let go. My affliction is that I want to keep my baby girl right at 4-months old even though I know she will grow, and become whom she is meant to be. Is this the dilemma that every parent faces? Have you ever noticed that when everything in life is copacetic, filled with joy, love, and abundance that we grasp and attach more, so much so that we want more and of course we do! Our innate nature is love, we are all meant to be free from suffering. It is what we are all working towards always–to be free from suffering.
Lesson learned. We can celebrate each moment and settle into the present experience. There are very few certainties in life, and the one thing that is certain is that time passes, each moment transcends us, and each moment transcends into another, and my daughter will grow.
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