CIRCLES ARE NOT ALWAYS ROUND

Life’s moments, impermanence, transformation and circles

Moments of life and being Alive

The sudden thrill and chills you feel when you hear a great song, witness an amazing piece of art or an invaluable talent...

The excitement while trying to find a pen to write all the thoughts down that are spiralling in your head, when your fragile, delicate muse decides to visit you, forcing you to pull your car to the side of the road and write. When sailing with the amazing dolphins, standing at the edge of the boat with a pounding heart every single time, wanting to jump into the sea to swim with them but knowing that they will immediately disappear if you do that!

Having the desire to sit up and wait all night long -without ever thinking, ‘it always rises the same way anyway’- to watch the fresh rising sun painting the sky into a sweet ruby colour with her graceful hands.

Trusting and surrendering to the universe to let it do the work. Opening space in your heart for new experiences.

While walking your dog under the heavy rain, watching the seagulls flying over the lake, screeching, playing with the timid sun rays coming through the dark clouds, and at the background, realising a magnificent rainbow rising into the sky…

Discovering one warm summer night, that the brightest star reflecting on the sea exactly like the moonlight is not the North Pole as you thought it would be, but actually the Jupiter- which came so specially close to planet Earth.

Holding the hearts of your dear ones in the palm of your hands gently and kissing, taking care of them, sometimes clinging & grabbing too much, trying not to let go, but sooner or later you know you will have to…

Knowing that letting go needs courage and it doesn’t always mean giving up.

Knowing in your gut that ‘now’ is the right time to let go of the things, situations or people to whom you have to say goodbye to.

Being aware of how you grow and evolve through all the experiences you go through in life and awakening with the powerful gift of the present moment.

Realising that so many people in life, are not truly alive…Whereas, it is enough to have even a glass of clean water to feel alive, when you learn how to be grateful. Being able to see in the eyes of a lover, a few mysterious unsaid but sweet, charming words is enough to be truly alive… Taking very long walks-just because you can. The taste of freshly baked bread with chocolate melting inside… A brilliant smile is enough to feel alive. Hearing a few special words from your precious friends, your family, when you need them the most, which feels like a feast to your soul... The sun like a giant orange, setting into the sea makes you feel truly alive. The misty new dawn - always remembering that ‘a new dawn is a new beginning’. Being a devoted follower of the ever-changing mystic moon. Just watching thousands of playful stars flickering in the night…

All these moments and special times…they are always there, only desperately in need of catching our awareness, mindfulness, and realisation. Acknowledging, appreciating, exploring life’s moments piece-by-piece, step-by-step is enough to be fully alive…

Life plays so many games on us. Sometimes very unexpected ones, sometimes joyful, exciting ones or challenging ones that can even turn into brand new opportunities. And sometimes, unbearably sad and difficult ones, that cause us to suffer…

But we always have choices. We have the power within us to choose. We can choose to be happy. We can choose to live in the present moment. We can choose to shine. And we can choose life. While living, every single second, we make conscious and unconscious decisions… Good decisions make things roll smoothly. Bad decisions make good stories.

Impermanence.

'Spring knows how to be summer and autumn leaves know how to fall down. Coming together and falling apart is the movement of time, movement of life… Accepting impermanence means that we spend less energy resisting reality. We see that impermanence is a river that runs through life, not a rock that stands in the way.’-Sakyong Mipham*

Impermanence is unavoidable and we face it in our lives in every situation whether we like it or not, and that’s the only way life can work. Without impermanence, everything would last forever! Without constant change, ’life’ itself simply would be impossible. Understanding and accepting impermanence is a liberating experience as it teaches us to be less attached. By nature, every relationship involves a meeting and parting. This doesn’t mean we have less love. It means we have fewer fixations, less grasping on people, things and pleasure. Less pain, less frustrations, less suffering, less desperateness. More dignity, more freedom, more wisdom…

When we accept impermanence calmly and peacefully, we can live in the moment with full awareness. Not being overwhelmed by the difficult moments, experiences because we know deep down that that moment or that situation will soon change as well. The true aim and only reality is just ‘being’ in that moment, knowing that the only worthwhile moment is the one we are in. Knowing that even our previous or the next breath has no importance, because even that changes and does not stay the same…The breath we take just NOW is the only reality and the only valuable moment.

Once we learn to accept impermanence, we become capable of self-generation, we start to learn to adapt life’s changes and turbulences.

We acknowledge. We accept. We adapt. We transform.

Perpetia.

The mysterious and exciting Latin word for transformation! The greatest power is to renew and rebuild our lives in order to create a better ‘us’. Re-birth through

experiencing transformation in our emotional and spiritual lives. To learn to transform the self, through the experience of conflict, challenge and letting go. While we are transforming ourselves, there is a strong chance that we become an agent of transformation and renewal for others as well…

Circles.

Circles are not always round.

Along the way, they twist. They zigzag. Perhaps, they go straight for a while. And they might sometimes fade away… But, inevitably, in a magnificently perfect way they eventually turn, find their way and meet the other end. Voila, a circle! Millions of dots hold hands to form that circle. They are all connected to each other.

Everything in life moves in circles. And your life is that circle. What you plant here & now is what you get in the end. A circle is a circle, and sooner or later the end always meets with the starting point. How you perceive the end of your journey actually depends on why you started it in the first place and what intentions you had along the way. But still, the most important question is; what happens on the way?

Circle of Karma. Circle of love. Circle of suffering.

Circle of happiness. Circle of change. Circle of transformation.

Circle of life itself.

* Present leader of the Shambhala Tradition lineage- from his bestseller book ‘Turning The Mind into an Ally’

Cover Photo Credit: Levent Akpulat

Photo Credit: Hakan Kocoğlu