I have struggled with writing this post since most of my posts are written to inspire people to live their dreams in a bigger way. I also realize that this blog is about stating that which I have learned and have been guided to share.
In the last two weeks I have been revisiting the topic of smoking. The other day I smelled smoke in a place I wasn’t expecting it, and it brought up a lot. I chose never to smoke and understand the difficulty of quitting for those who do. I watched both my dad and biological father die of emphysema literally gasping for air. I saw my dad take his last breath. This isn’t a story about how evil smoking is. It is an observation of what could be.
All my life I have dealt with pneumonia as a child breathing in a plastic tent to protect my lungs, bronchitis, and many pulmonary colds. The spiritual work I have done has concentrated primarily on the heart and lungs. Throughout the process I experienced how much grief I had stored in my lungs, how much pain of who I could be also.
It is interesting that most people start smoking when they are a teenager. It is that critical time when they are coming into who they really are. Tobacco is a powerful plant medicine and has been used that way in indigenous ceremonies. It helps people get clearer in their dreams and was used sacredly in that way. I truly believe that at a certain age we become aware of a different spirituality and are being given messages to who we really are. It is in our breath, it is our life. The young people sometimes are scared of who they really are. Will they be accepted? Is it right? There isn’t a lot of guidance for people to live their life purpose. So….the cigarette becomes a way of pushing that down. The smoke which is usually something that is used to clear areas, is pushed down into the lungs to push down all of those feelings of who they are. Literally it eats away at the ability to live life in a manner that is in one’s highest good.
Some people are able to kick the habit at a younger age, and others succumb to its power over them. You see….when we don’t honor ourselves and our dreams it begins to affect us in so many ways. At first we might not be completely happy in our jobs, or relationships, etc. If we don’t face it, we eventually see it manifested in our bodies.
I know one of my lessons is to understand more about the power of the breath, the claiming of life, and the ability to help others see that for themselves. Within one year I lost the two fathers I had. My bio dad I had only known for 3 years before he passed. And I know that they gave me a powerful gift in those 12 months….they gave me the power to claim my life…my breath in a way that I had never done before.
My dad learned his lesson the last three days of his life in hospice. He always did everything his way. He literally could not do anything….and fought to breathe. He had to accept all the love his family showed him those days. It was something he never would have done otherwise.
So….the message with all of this is how are you going to claim your life? How are you going to show up with all of your gifts and talents? How are you going to claim your breath….your life?
I know for me it is about stating my truth, no matter how difficult it seems. And this post is another way of doing that. I see the beauty in everyone, their dreams, their hopes and their fears. I encourage everyone to live their beauty and find their dreams, and bring them out into the world to create such beauty.
Peace to you as you consciously and powerfully create another wonderful day of your reality.
Monica
