Happy New Year, my loves!

I am writing with a New Year’s gift to you – a daily meditation. I crafted this meditation for myself, and would like to share it with you today.

Here’s the story behind the meditation:

My grandfather died a saintly death. A masterful death. He was a sage of his time, a warrior who served in World War II and a poet who wrote by the river Ganges. He helped raise me on the farmlands of California and infused my childhood with stories and songs of the Sikh faith that brought me to the path of revolutionary love.

When he died, I was angry. He left me without teaching the secret to his fearlessness, I thought. After months of heartbreak, I realized that his final lesson to me was the way he died. Surrounded by his children and my grandmother, he gave each of them a smile. They dabbed his lips with amrit, the sacred nectar. After my grandmother did so, he slowly took the cloth into his mouth, sighed and died. It was a sovereign death. His courage was his surrender – his embrace of the unknowing.

How did he do that? If I wanted to die as bravely, I realized, I would need to start practicing. So I crafted a meditation for myself. Thirteen years later, this meditation is my daily practice before I fall asleep. Finding courage in dying each night teaches me how to have courage in living each day. 

As we enter the unknowing of the new year, may we enter with open eyes and open heart. May we be present to our grief and nurture visions for ourselves and the world. May we be bold. May we be brave.

I invite you to do this nightly meditation. You can use the text of the meditation below. Notice how it does its work on you over time. You can also download the Revolutionary Love Training Course. It’s the last track on the audio course, and you can listen to my voice leading you through the meditation each night.

You are not alone. I am honored to journey through this life with you, our beloved community.

Yours in revolutionary love,
Valarie

P.S. My team and I are entering a period of reflection and design. We will be quiet in your inboxes for a stretch. Thank you to everyone who made a donation to fund the next phase our work! It’s not too late to send your support. You can donate here.


A Meditation For You…

Think of today as an entire lifetime.

What was the hardest part in this lifetime? Notice where you sense that hardship in your body. How did you get through it? We somehow managed to make it to the end of this day, the end of this lifetime.

What was the most joyful part of this lifetime? Every day and every lifetime, no matter how hard, contains moments of joy. Notice what made it joyful. Sense what feels like joy in your body.

What are you most grateful for in this lifetime? Every day and every lifetime offers a new reason for gratitude. Sense that gratitude in your body.

Now, are you ready to let go of this day, this lifetime? Are you ready to think of the work you have done today and know that it was enough? Are you ready to behold everyone and everything you have ever known and loved, kiss them, and let them go?

Are you ready to die a kind of death?

Each night, I die a kind of death. Each morning, I wake to the gift of a new lifetime. In between, I labor in love.

It is enough.

– Valarie Kaur, See No Stranger

header image from @focus2flow on Instagram