A World Within

 Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, the 18th/19th century German poet, playwright and novelist, wrote, "I return to myself and find a world."

The part of that quotation which fascinates me is "I return to myself." It reminded me how often we are so lost in our minds that we reduce ourselves to walking heads. We walk around unaware of all else that is going on, in our hearts, in our guts, in our bodies and in our souls. And by gut, I mean that part of us that works on intuiton. The part of us that reacts to experiences with physical sensations. That part of us which we so often ignore, but which actually, we should spend a lot more time with, because it can always be trusted.

If we can genuinely "return to myself" (ourselves) and be fully present to the world from every part of us, I believe that we would interact with the rest of the world in a profoundly different way. Because it would surely be easier to see people and events truly and with integrity and compassion when we are present to ourselves as well.

Because everyone and everything is sacred and should be treated with the utmost respect. And I think we can only appreciate that if we are fully present ourselves.