Much of my life is defined by what I do. If I lay down all of the busyness, though, who am I really? This year, backpacking in the Haleakala Crater in Hawaii, I intentionally laid down all of the roles I use to define myself: doctor, mother, daughter, sister, writer, gardener. Naked of all definitions, I wandered in that elemental wilderness. Stripped of roles I was nothing more than a rhythm of steps, a sore knee, a song. Adyashanti suggests that the root of all quests is happiness. If I seek happiness in my external circumstances, I will never arrive. Internal happiness, though, can never be defiled. For now, in the midst of a busy life, I'll snatch moments of pure being and stash them in the burden basket of my soul.
 

Much of my life is defined by what I do. If I lay down all of the busyness, though, who am I really? This year, backpacking in the Haleakala Crater in Hawaii, I intentionally laid down all of the roles I use to define myself: doctor, mother, daughter, sister, writer, gardener. Naked of all definitions, I wandered in that elemental wilderness. Stripped of roles I was nothing more than a rhythm of steps, a sore knee, a song. Adyashanti suggests that the root of all quests is happiness. If I seek happiness in my external circumstances, I will never arrive. Internal happiness, though, can never be defiled. For now, in the midst of a busy life, I'll snatch moments of pure being and stash them in the burden basket of my soul.