3 sisters ..corn, beans & squash ~

respect one another,
support one another,
bring your gift to the world
&
receive the gifts of others,
and there will be enough for all...
                 ~ braiding sweetgrass

there are three gifts that the buddhist community recognizes ~
the gift of the material..
money, goods, etc..
the gift of the dharma...
the living, breathing, momentary truth
of the way things are..
the gift of fearlessness..
freeing another/protecting another
from lack of self-confidence,
bringing forward safety..

in a dialogue with a student and fellow yoga teacher..
she brought up her lack of confidence as a teacher,
though she was honored by many students,
by a company that had made her an ambassador,
& the recipient of many gifts to illustrate the forte
in her metier..

HHDL gave a teaching about cultivating self-confidence..
if we indeed embodied it, he offered, we would suffer no more..

really?

lack of confidence..diffidence..
is actually the ego knocking at the backdoor..
that's interesting!

what if:
we respected one another
supported one another,
brought forth our gifts
& graciously received the gifts of another..
where would lack of confidence fit in?

lack of confidence is known
for it's comparing, competitive spirit..
not as good as, different from, must be better than..

this all comes from the scarcity of not being enough..
simply by being who we are..

makes sense..
i go through snippets of dissing myself very whole-heartedly..
who the farnbang do i think i am..
teaching someone, anyone,  anything?

that comes from my ego-clinging to a self..
that needs to have more, be more, be better than..
it is a funky feeling and i don't like it taking up residence..
move out! please and thanks..

the moving van that takes it to the dump
is respect, support and the giving/receiving of gifts..

if i love one another,
feed one another..
i am feeding myself....
nourished by nourishing..
wisely selfish, the dalai lama tells us..

the beauty of the partnership (of the three sisters)
is that each plant does what it does in order
to increase its own growth..
but as it happens, when the individuals flourish,
so does the whole.

the most important thing each of us can know
is our unique gift and how to use it in the world.
individuality is cherished and nurtured, because, 
in order for the whole to flourish,
each of us has to be strong in who we are and
carry our gifts with conviction, so they can be shared by others...
in reciprocity, we fill our spirits...
                    ~ braiding sweetgrass