What Am I Here For?

Green on Green on Green in My Backyard This Morning (with a little pop of purple on the side)

Yesterday I finished reading Alicia Keys memoir, More Myself: A Journey.

One of the conversations she talks about having with a few close friends was of them asking themselves, “What am I here for?”

We are here
We are here for all of us
We are here for all of us
That’s why we are here, why we are here
We are here

— Alicia Keyes, We Are Here

What am I here for?

That question kept bouncing around in my head for the rest of the day, along with thoughts about how I might get more involved in supporting BIPOC members of our community. It’s not enough, I told myself, to sit in my safe suburban home and make photographs and write blog posts. You have to DO something.

Finally at the end of the day I decided to sit and do a wise guide meditation, asking the question, “What am I here for?” In my meditation I imagined going to a place in the woods that felt nourishing and powerful. Then I imagined sitting under a huge tree and waiting to see what I might see. As is often the case, I was surprised when a little person showed up in my imaginings and I struggled with, “You’re making this up,” thoughts. But sure enough a little Rumplestiltskin-like figure did appear in my mind’s eye and he said, “You’re doing what you’re here for, helping life learn through being. Just be. Follow your joy. Spread light.”

It’s easy to think that you should be or do something because it seems everyone else is. And it’s often difficult to follow your own inner wisdom. I still intend to educate myself more in the inner workings of my own white privilege and racism (yes, I admit that like all white people I am racist). But I was also reminded that one need not DO anything to BE valuable.

Being a part of life learning about itself is of value. Every person, microbe, insect, animal, plant, and mineral is in relationship here on earth. We are all connected. When one of us holds a resonant clear energy it impacts all of us.

Be still and let your light shine.

May you walk in beauty.