PERMISSION: A semi-iconoclastic poem

This poem is your permission slip to trust yourself to find your own way.

Here on earth

There are many points of view

Many ways of thinking

There is a new chorus of voices now. There is a new set of leaders. The new earth is a new way of living and feeling and being.

It is not the old way of gurus and religions and scriptures. It is the path of eclecticism of the individual, of each one of us shining in our uniqueness, each one of us claiming our evolution as a unique part of the grand design of creation, with something absolutely unique to contribute.

The evolution towards the new earth is towards a new way of thinking and being and believing that leaves all that is old and worn and irrelevant behind.

Yes, you are divine. You were born divine and shall always be divine. You're not here to learn how to be divine. You are already that. You are here to learn how to be human, to have the full and rich human experience, to contribute your human-ness to this grand design, to this planet, to the evolution of this earth.

You're here to be human. You didn't come here from the stars in order to be dissociated and disembodied. You came here to play, to experience all of it, to be part of it. To feel what it's like to be a human being: to have emotions, to suffer and to love, and to bond deeply and passionately with another human being. You're here to have all of these experiences. This earth is for you to experience, this human body is yours to play in.

And nobody said it would be easy. Nobody said it was easy. It was never supposed to be easy.

Do you know that this life is a puzzle? It's a puzzle for you to crack, to figure out within the constraints that you have defined for yourself before your birth, what is the best path for you? That's for you to define, that's for you to figure out.

Everything is a choice. You have a choice to be selfish. And you have a choice to be of service. And you can make a selfish choice here and a service-full choice there, and you can mix and match and change your mind as often as you like.

Because that is the meaning of free will. And this is a realm of free will. This Earth experiment is a free will experiment and you get to be part of it. You signed up to be part of it.

So take this life that you've been given and use the divine spark within you to transform yourself.

When we stop growing, we stop living — we stop feeling alive.

So find a way to grow, to connect, to experience, to be here now. With all your heart and all your soul and all of your energy.

Be here now.

Grow, learn, evolve.

Find your own way. Find a path through this maze.

Believe in something or believe in nothing, that is up to you. Have values and principles or don't have values and principles. Be loyal or don't be loyal. Be free or don't be free. Detach or attach. It is up to you. It's your path, it's your life. Go be you, be fearless, be utterly and uniquely you. Do it your own way. Trust yourself.

You are enough.

You belong here.

Dream. Plan. Create. This is all within the realm of possibility. Or flow, rest, relax — that is all within the realm of possibility too. Do a little bit of both, and go ahead and overdo it, and then go ahead and overcorrect. Go ahead and stumble and pick yourself back up again. And take the helping hand that's offered. Or don’t. Or beg and steal, or cry and wail…

Be all that you can be. Be everything that you are. It is all allowed, it is all permissible. Leave your shame behind and trust your heart. Trust yourself.

Do the best you can. Suffering is unavoidable. You cannot live without harming others at least a little bit.

Some may cry out more than others. That doesn't mean they're hurt more than others. Be gentle with yourself. Be kind to others. Or don't. Don't be gentle. Don't be kind. Push yourself, push others. Hurt and betray. And cheat and lie and manipulate. Do whatever you want to do. It's entirely up to you.

Play the game or sit on the sidelines. It's up to you play a different game. It's up to you to leave this tribe and find another one. That is also up to you. Find a cave and get away from it all. That is up to you too. It is all for you to create and destroy and recreate as many times as you choose. As often as you like.

What will you do with all this freedom? With all these choices?

Here's the catch.

This is the realm of free will but it is also the realm of cause and effect, of choices and consequences.

Play any way you wish.

Accept the consequences

— or reject them.

No doubt the universe will continue to unfold as it pleases and the relentless march of time goes on. Whether you like it or not. Whether you're here for it or not.

So go ahead, do what you will.

You are all welcome here.

In this saintly demonic cacophony of good and evil, righteousness and beauty.

You are all welcome here.

All of you.