Now that the weather is gradually turning warmer, I eagerly head out to the yard. I focus on a few things that need to be done first: cleaning up old growth, raking the lawn, spreading compost in the garden. These days, the sun is shining at an angle that seems to feed directly into my energy reservoir. I finish what I intended to, but I still have plenty of energy to do more. Everywhere I look, I see so much that needs to be done. So I do some more… and more. Before I know it, it’s 7 pm. I am bushed. My body aches. I drag myself back indoors for a late dinner.

Is this you? Don’t let it be!

Take it easy on yourself. God didn’t create the universe in one day. God took six days and on the seventh, God stopped all work to rest: “So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done ….” (Genesis 2:3)

You are Divine, but your body is human. Stay in touch with your body and know your physical limitations. Don’t work until you are depleted. Leave some energy in your tank. Stop your work and rest. The work of the garden – like the creation of the universe – takes time. You have all Spring, all Summer. Take it a day at a time – a step at a time. A journey starts with a single step, but a bad day ends after taking too many steps.

Don’t abuse your body in your work. Do not lose your Self in your work. Work is good, but so is knowing when not to work. So is knowing to stop when it’s time. Stop to “make your day holy.” Remember who you are. More important, experience and feel all that you are. Experience your holiness, your bliss. Bliss is a deeply felt feeling. When I was getting worn out in the garden, I was not experiencing bliss. I was feeling tired and sore. I was following my ego’s itinerary. I was not following my bliss. I was far removed from my Self, from the source of bliss.

Let Your Self Be

Doing is not the basis of who you are. Being is. After all, you are a human being, not a human doing. Let yourself be. Let your Self be. That means rest in, or abide in, your Self. Experience your innermost essence. Abide in your Self even when you are doing – whatever you do. You don’t have to wait for the seventh day. The seventh day can be now, in any moment, even in every moment. Then you will see how holy you are. You will see how creative you can be!

“… Beloved people,
Where are you trying to go,
wandering first here and then there?
Turn around!
You will experience within yourself
complete nectarean bliss.

Do not go forward, do not turn back;
do not look up, do not rush down,
Wherever you are,
whatever your condition,
just rest in your inner Self,
and enjoy its happiness.”

Verses 72-73, Mukteshwari, by Swami Muktananda