Working From Your Core

     As I sank into chair pose, the instructor reminded us to engage the core.  In truth, the core should often be engaged to support the back and keep you balanced.  Engaging the core is a metaphor for living your life.  If you are not clear on what you believe, or serve, how can you live a productive, considered life?  Baseball great Yogi Berra said, " If you don't know where you are going, you'll end up someplace else."
     So how do you decide your direction and destination?  A thoughtful upbringing is helpful.  Proverbs 22:6 states:  "Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it."   While this quote resonates with me as a parent,  I don't believe that a chaotic or uncharted childhood  means that our lives will be thus.  On the contrary, no matter what your childhood held, you can decide what you believe and what is important.  Matthew 6:24 states:  "No one can serve two masters.  Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other." 

     God, the Divine, the Heavenly Father , Yaweh, the Almighty, the Great Spirit, these are all labels we use to try and understand the unfathomable and infinite.  If we are are all children of the Divine, it is in our power to act like it.  None of us is better than the other.  None of us is more dearly loved.   None of us is more special.  What would happen if God's people fully embodied the beliefs that we espouse?  Would having the newest car still be as important as helping someone out?  Would material things still satisfy the thirst inside?  Matthew 6:20-21 reminds us to "store up for yourselves treasures in heaven where moth and rust do not destroy...For where your treasure is, there your heart will also be." 

      Each of us can take a moment and reflect:  Where does my heart lie?  How do I spend my time?  What do I place value on?  Our answers may differ in detail, but I would guess that we share some common themes.  If family is not present, some may create families among their friends.  I would guess that memories of time spent with loved ones outweigh tangible gifts.  A well timed kindness lasts longer than any beautiful wrapping or jewel.  

     The great religions give us an extraordinary start, but it is only a beginning.  The individual must search, read and set his own intentions.   To quote Madeline L'Engle , "We can't take credit for our talents.  It's how we use them that counts."  Take time to find your core.  If you work from there, you will live an authentic life.  Be blessed.