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The first element - the earth .


Taoism and Yogic philosophy both have the 5 elements as the foundation of the practices.

In both these practices - the elements vary slightly, but there are some commonalities.

 

There are interesting comparisons one can draw and so I'd like to touch upon the "Earth" as the first element . When you think of the earth - what comes to your mind?

A vast expanse that holds so many living and non - living beings without any judgement.

The earth doesn’t say that you don’t have a place on this planet.

It does not judge between good or bad . In it's capacity it bears the weight of all beings .

So the first aspect we learn from the earth is that of a non judgmental perspective.

Before we step out and look at the external world, take a pause and look at how we make judgements about ourselves. ? Do we hold ourselves with the love that we deserve?

We have a constant narrative about ourselves ;

I am lazy

I am fat

I am too thin

I am dumb

Mostly a negative narrative. Now this part may be drawn from our experiences and what people have told us during various phases of our growth . But do we accept ourselves for who we really are.? Just like the earth that accepts everything it holds .

Yes it gets exhausted and we can see that through global warming and other forms of destruction , but here we are paying careful attention to its capacity to hold all forms of being with love.

The other aspect we learn about the earth is grounding or foundation . The earth is always grounded, more so in the philosophical sense its function is to hold. It therefore has to build strength to do so . It is also faced by several environmental issues , sometimes to a point of break down , but some times it sees events like this current pandemic , where it did get a chance to breathe.

Such is life - Cést la vie ! We as humans face challenges in our life span and we should trust the universe to give us that space to come back and build ourselves.

 

So when you are down and out and you think there is no hope , think of how the earth stands its ground. And it's important to hold yourself with love before you can give it to others.


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