4th of July Reflection

HAPPY 4th! Independence Day! Happy Birthday America!
(Long post, PLEASE READ,LIKE, SHARE)

The United States began with a Revolution, but the revolution has not ended. The true revolution begins from withIN.

I celebrate our country as muc...h as anyone. Though I do not claim it to be the greatest. Not in any way. How would I know? I lived a few years in Germany, but beyond that my knowledge of other countries is limited.
America is a great place to be from, and a great place to live. I love it. I do. But I do not love everything about it. And I am not shy to say so.

I am teaching 2 yoga classes on the 4th. In preparation for this, I have delved deep into my frustrations with the country as well as my joys. Here is what I've come up with:

As we celebrate the 4th of July, the greatness of our nation, let us also take a moment for introspection, reflection. That is what yoga asks of us, challenges us to do.

I return time and again to the Declaration of Independence, that simple phrase that we all learned in High School:

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

What this statement declares, is that LIFE, LIBERTY, PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS, is the hope, dream, goal, of humanity. This is not a new idea. This is a concept, a thread, that has been woven throughout our homo sapien existence, since the first time that humans began to think beyond food and shelter.

LIFE, LIBERTY, HAPPINESS. LOKAH SAMASTA SUKHINO BHAVANTU
May all beings everywhere be happy and free and may the thoughts, words and actions of my own life contribute in some way to that happiness and to that freedom for all.

On this day, the 4th of July… what would happen if each one of us took one moment to reflect on these simple yet powerful words.
And in that reflection, asked our SELF, am I truly living, embracing, embodying the meaning of these words? Are my thoughts, words, actions in alignment with these words? Do I and can I with my whole being and whole heart, and whole person, wish LIFE, LIBERTY, HAPPINESS, on every person, from the guy on the corner with the sign that reads, “I cannot lie, I just want a beer” to my best friend and neighbor, from the one who has hurt me to the one who has helped and supported me? Can I truly want the same – LIFE, LIBERTY, HAPPINESS for both?

And how different would our world be, if we each, everyone, every ONE, took a moment to reflect.

Am I truly living, embracing, embodying, these simple yet powerful words, laid forth in 1776 by our country’s Founding Fathers (and Mothers who stood with them), and can I truly wish them on each and every individual within the borders of our great nation? And beyond!

Lokah samasta suhkhino bhavantu. Namaste.