Poem - I Will Live

I was inspired to write this poem after reading Dawna Markova’s book: I Will not Die an Unlived Life. The poem is a culmination of all of who I am, my life, and my experiences up to this moment in time.  It took four months (February-June) to finalize it from the initial draft penned in my journal.  That's a very tiny fraction of time considering that the poem has been over 51 years in the making since the day I was born. Today, I nervously shared it publicly for the first time with my yoga students at the end of class.  It is no longer my own hidden jewel; it now also belongs to others who touch my life and whose lives I touch.  From my heart to yours, my fellow traveler on this journey of life.

I Will Live

by MaryAnn Broussard

I will live

a passionately embraced life,

savoring every day as if

it is my first and my last.

I will be

graceful and confident,

believing I am worthy and valuable;

that what I have to offer is

more than enough.

The Ocean in One Drop

“So many of us are afraid of meeting ourselves, alone, without distraction.  

We have been taught to fashion an image of 

who we think we are supposed to be and show that to the world.”  

--Dawna Markova in I Will Not Die an Unlived Life, pg 22

We avoid ourselves at our own peril and to the detriment of a life well-lived with utmost fulfillment and healthier relationships.  Our constant states of distraction with the world and the people around us on social media, television, and computer screens drain and rob us of awareness, presence, and wholehearted satisfaction. 

Instead of creating our own inspiring, heroic life stories, we try to wear the stories of others and dress in ill-fitting garments which do not accurately represent who we are now and are still meant to be.  Little by little, we become strangers to the very personal essence of “who I am” and even come to develop fear and phobia of finding ourselves alone with our own company.

Which Kind of Happy Makes You Happy?

I just read an article on HBR titled "What Kind of Happiness Do People Value Most?"

People were asked to answer the question of whether they preferred experiential happiness or remembered happiness.  They were also asked to explain the reason for their answer.  You can read the full article at the link I provided above.

I am curious to ask myself and others:

Which happiness choice do you typically make?

Experiential happiness or remembered happiness?

You are the Soul Within

“I am not this hair. I am not this skin. I am the soul that lives within.” -- Rumi

You are not your hair. You are not your skin. You are not your name.  You are not your clothes.  You are not your social media.  You are not your stuff.  You are not what you do.  You are a radiant, beautiful, magnificent soul that lives within a temporary earthly, physical body.

Nurture Yourself Within

"...all human experience is generated from within--either with the support of external stimuli or without." 

--Sadhguru in his book Inner Engineering

Develop and nurture within yourself a way of thinking, being, and living that is not enslaved to what is happening outside of yourself. Tenderly and regularly care for the self within so it can remain true to who you really are regardless of the external circumstances.

Only Sacrifice for a Life Well Lived

The Dalai Lama, when asked what surprised him most about humanity, he said: 
"Man.
Because he sacrifices his health in order to make money.
Then he sacrifices money to recuperate his health.
And then he is so anxious about the future that he does not enjoy the present;
the result being that he does not live in the present or the future;
he lives as if he is never going to die, and then dies having never really lived.”