3rd Eye - CLARITY/VISION - In what ways do you cause your own suffering by wishing yourself or your world to be different that it truly is? Are you seeing things clearly and accepting things as they are, or is your vision clouded by expectations, fears, doubts, or guilt?
The third eye chakra is all about perception. The way we perceive ourselves and the world around us is directly responsible for our suffering or joy. Seeing things clearly takes a certain amount of acceptance and the ability to let go of anything that might cloud our vision. This work of clearing away obstacles to clear vision is never-ending. Whenever I think I have swept away self doubt, fear comes crashing in. I release expectations and judgment leaps in to take their place. Is the world a horrible place or a beautiful place? My answer would change day to day, maybe even minute to minute, depending which lens I choose to view it through. In reality, it is neither horrible nor beautiful; it just is.
Sometimes I believe I do see things clearly, but my problem isn’t what I see, it’s what I would rather be seeing. I want everything to be better, to be different, to be other than what it is. I don’t want poverty, I don’t want sickness or violence, and this grasping is what causes me to suffer; my want. I want the people I love to be different, to be better, and I get frustrated when they don’t make the choices I would make for them. I tell myself this is because I care about them and I just want what’s best for them, but what I really should do is recognize that they see things completely differently than I do, and have their own sets of needs, fears, desires and expectations of the world. This is a hard truth for a mom and a wife. Of course I want all that is wonderful for my husband and my daughter, how could I not? But trying to control what they do in order to force them to have good things is not ever going to work. I need to work on letting go of the vision of how I want things to be and get better at accepting them as they are.
The odd thing is, the third eye chakra is also the center for dreams and imagination. How can I see and accept things as they are when I have such a powerful imagination and dreams that I am passionate about pursuing? How do I turn my dreams into reality without wanting them in the first place? It’s like living in a house of mirrors, always trying to pursue that one true clear vision while being constantly presented with a multiplicity of other beautiful possibilities.
I have always had big dreams. While the specifics have changed over the years, the size of my expectations for my life has not changed; I have always thought I was supposed to do and be something special and big and marvelous. Growing up I was always told how smart I was, how wonderful I was, how I had limitless potential and I could be or do anything with my life. As I have aged, I have had to realize that I am, in fact, just a normal human living out an average human existence and that it’s more likely than not that I will have a normal average life until I die and fade away into oblivion, just like most other humans. This realization is extremely difficult for me to swallow at times, and brings a lot of sadness and restlessness into my life. I am always striving, always reaching, not willing to rest or accept, always chasing that vague mirage just out of reach in the hazy distance, that awesome something.
The only remedy for this problem with my vision has got to be right in front of me; the everyday beauty and joy. I find it in my garden, in my kitchen, in the forest or by the ocean, in my yoga studio and in bed next to my husband at night. Anywhere where peace finds me, where joy touches me, must be the real world. Any time I am mindful, existing in the right now, when I am in my body, when I am only right here, that must be the real me. The truth is right here with me right now, sitting in my office in the early morning, the sun streaming in and illuminating my keyboard, my tea on my right and my journal on my left. The winter songbirds, woodpeckers, chickadees, and nuthatches, are flocking to the bird feeder, and the smoke from the wood boiler is rolling over the yard, the trees are shedding a layer of ice as the sun warms their bare branches, and I can smell the cinnamon essential oil I put in my diffuser this morning. The day is stretched out in front of me, ripe with possibility. Although I know this clarity is transient, and it may not stay for long, I have it now, just now.
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