dear little ego

are you not tired of this treasure hunt,

no gold at the end of the rainbow

and no end

your story is a dark cloud

it blocks the light but has no substance

and goes as the wind blows

you think you’re in charge–

you don’t even decide when to breathe,

that effort makes you weak

a personal gravity holding you down

though your mirror is broken

your vision blurred,

when you surrender and your little sun sets

a sky of stars appears inside and around you

you have heard this song,

a full moon of white sound that makes you weep–

make that your prayer

you felt a rose open

where a world of flowers raise their heads—

that is your true purpose

One of the most important lessons Yoga teaches us is that we must learn to let go of any attachment to the outcome of our actions. If we act with full focus and integrity, and if we act with care and compassion in our hearts, we need not take pride or suffer disappointment from the results. We can still learn from our mistakes, but we need not rely on the outcome to be at peace, to keep our equanimity.

Perhaps the most powerful way we can learn to embrace this practice is from our own experience—the joy we derive from giving ourselves whole-heartedly in service to someone or some higher purpose. Many people who work in service of others find tremendous fulfillment in the act of serving, giving, or even praying for others.
-Swami Ramananda

“When God wants to help you in every way possible, God cuts off everything that would bind you, everything that you are attached to……You should be super happy if you don’t get everything you want, but it’s a hard truth to swallow.
Doesn’t the bible say that? A camel could go through the eye of a needle before God could enter into the heart of a rich man. What do you mean by rich man? So many entanglements, so many attachments, so much accumulation. Even if God wants to get in, there’s no room.”
-Sri Swami Satchidananda, excerpted from “The Golden Present”