It has been a few years since I have written on this blog.  I never did share this with anyone when I started it.  I may now but I am not sure.  However, I felt compelled to write again.
Recently I was at Spirit Rock near San Francisco for the Monday night meditation and dharma talk by Jack Kornfield.  I was struck by the thoughts and feeling I had later when I reflected on that evening.  There must have been 400 people there...every seat full.  In the beginning there was lots of talk, chatter as people do when they gather.  Then the speaker, Jack Kornfield strikes the bell and it becomes very silent.  All 400+ people instantly become very quiet and move into their own space.  We meditate for about 20 minutes.  The feelings I have tonight as I picture that room full of people quietly meditating is a sense of how we are all connected.  I am imagining each person is experiencing similar concerns....  All of course with a different story.  However,  if you heard each person's story and "boiled it down to its essence" you would find such similarities.  It is as if we walk through this planet with our own distinct personalities, histories, stories that we paint about ourselves and this make us feel separate.  We are unique and of course to some degree-- we are one of a kind.....just like there are not two snowflakes that look identical.  However at the center of being human there lies consistent similarities.  When we realize the similarities we can really experience the depth of our connection with one another.  We are not separate but connected.
I was also struck that much of the information Jack Kornfield shared I have heard before and yet I need to keep hearing it again and again.  Just knowing something is not the same as living it...walking the talk as the saying goes,  I need a leader, a mentor not unlike sheepdogs that guide the sheep so they will not get lost.  For many that leader is a spiritual figure, maybe connected to religion maybe not.  I feel we do need guidance that reminds us of something bigger than who we are as individuals in the forefront  of our lives.  Being human is just not always that easy and we need to be constantly reminded of the mystery of life.  There are many ways and perhaps I will explore more of that in my next entry.