Tat Tuam Asi

In Sanskrit, there is a phrase: TAT TUAM ASI. Roughly translated, it means: THOU ART THAT. The concept is that just as we cannot live in joy or anger without joy or anger living within us, we cannot live in this universe without this universe existing within us. From the simplicity of the elements we share to the too-impressive-to-fathom spark of life that lights all beings, everything under the sun is reflected in the microcosm of ourselves.

It may sound elementary on one hand and whimsical on the other, but can it be pertinent to our everyday?

The fact is that in today’s global environment, the idea is more pertinent than ever. Right now we’re provided every opportunity to distract ourselves and to consume wildly, without once having to consider what voids we are really attempting to fill. Society seems to be increasingly based on self absorption and lack of reflection, a path that is leading us progressively farther from our true selves, each other, and our place in this universe.

The message of TAT TUAM ASI is a simple but powerful one, and I ask that you try on this perspective for a minute or two.

Remember:

- We are every puddle; simultaneously a whole and a collection of drops.

- We are every tree; firmly planted through our storms and transformations.

- We are every person who we perceive as hateful, ignorant, selfish, impatient, etc. We dislike in others reflections of qualities that we are shameful of in ourselves, it’s just easier to point fingers than be honest about our own shortcomings. Negative feelings are natural and necessary, it’s how we react to and manifest these feelings that we’re in control of. Today, recognize that we all have our ugly moments, but we are not ugly people. Take the opportunity to react to the negativity of others in a positive way.

- We often react to the joys of even our dearest friends with a modicum of jealousy and bitterness. Remember that the joy of others can serve to remind us of our own capacity for joy; their luck indicative of the our own waves of fortune. Be happy for the joy of others. Smile at a stranger, so that they may remember to smile.

I know it may sound corny (stop sneering, or your face will stick like that). But honestly, if we close ourselves to the positive possibilities of the universe what are we left with?

Unstable

If change is constant
Then we are permanent
Eternal on this flaming roller coaster
Emotional cocktail shaker of closer, lighter
Double the dose
I can’t tell if I’m penning a Valentine
Or spilling the lines of a Dear John with your damn name
But I don’t even have anything to walk away from
And I can’t pine and whine over the dissipation of dreams I wasn’t sure I wanted to have come true
No name to my feelings
No right to you
Whirlwind around me
As you close the door

Sepia Dreams

I can never find the words
To put to
What you do
To me
But I think you see
Quite clearly
The script you are writing in the comfort of your director’s chair
I am a matinee heroine
No matter what screaming horror role you write me into
Like a room with no windows
Trapped and alone
Perfect movie poster
Cracked around the edges and unsure of itself in the harsh daylight
Frozen in time and mind through the lens of this memory