In Lak'ech Ala K'in
Dear Member of The Waldorf School of Santa Barbara Community,
As adults in 2022 we are being asked to end the wars. We are being asked to end the wars of race and sex and class. We are being asked to end the wars against the red states, against the blue states, against those who listen to NPR, those who watch Fox. We are being asked to end the wars against other countries and other religions. We are being asked to ends the wars against our earth.
Deep down, we all get this, no? Don’t we all desire a merciful world alive with a tenderness towards all creatures, human and otherwise, knowing that our children are in this world? Don’t we -- in the heart of our hearts -- see the folly and impropriety of spending our days in simmering resistance to the other? Can’t we see how such resistance to the other -- whoever that "other" may be -- is often an unconscious ruse of the psyche to forgo confronting more subterranean anguish? Meditating on humanity’s need to dissolve such resistance one contemporary writer writes:
“On every level, from the geopolitical to the intimate, it is time to live that new storyline. Only if we do it in our own conflicts can we reasonably hope that the politicians may do so as well. How we act is a claim on human nature and a declaration of what is possible. So let us pray for peace, yes, in preparation to be peace ourselves. May we look first for the humanity and divinity of all we meet. May we be free of all vestiges of the habit of organizing the world into good guys and bad guys. May we see and cease our own role in the creation of enemies. May we believe so strongly in the possibility of compassion of others that we become a walking invitation that calls it forth into reality. And finally, as we live this prayer, may we see it reflected in global events. In fact, let us insist that it be so.”
Only if we do it in our own conflicts can we reasonably hope that the politicians may do so as well. Wise words showing us that to end the bigger wars, we need to end the smaller wars. Poet Basho agrees:
“Traveling to and fro
to and fro
tending a small field.”
To tend the Field of the World, we tend our small field—or garden bed—at home. To end the Wars of the World, we strive to end the skirmishes in the living room, in the classroom, on one's Facebook page. To build a City on the Hill, we strive for a rigorous, large-hearted Waldorf school rooted in time, place, and spirit. To foster Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, we strive to act with kindness and care wherever we go towards whomever we meet, seeing each for who she is: a fellow holiness of this great mystery.
Says Waldorf founder Rudolf Steiner:
“Let your loyalty to another human being come about in this way: there will be moments — quickly passing by — when she will seem to you filled and illuminated by the true, holy image of her spirit. Then can come, yes, will come, long stretches of time when your fellow-being seems clouded, even darkened. But learn at these times to say to yourself: The spirit will strengthen me; I will remember the true, holy, unchanging image that I once saw. Nothing at all — neither deception nor disguise — can take it away from me. Struggle again and again for the true picture that you saw. The struggle itself is your faithfulness. And in those efforts to be faithful and to trust, a human being will come close to another as if with an angel’s power of protection.”
In gratitude,
The WSSB Admin Team
PS The poem of the day is an excerpt from Luis Valdez's "Pensamiento Serpentino":
In Lak'ech
Tú eres mi otro yo. / You are my other me.
Si te hago daño a ti, / If I do harm to you,
Me hago daño a mi mismo. / I do harm to myself.
Si te amo y respeto, / If I love and respect you,
Me amo y respeto yo. / I love and respect myself.
PPS The thought of the day is by Luís Valdez and Domingo Martinez Paredes:
In Mayan tradition, there is a greeting that many people working with Mayan wisdom know of. It is the law of In Lak'ech Ala K'in, which means "I am another yourself" (a modern day interpretation). It also means "I am you, and you are me" (a traditional Mayan interpretation).
We have come to understand that this Mayan greeting is an honoring for each other. It is a statement of unity and oneness. In Lak'ech Ala K'in mirrors the same sentiment of other beautiful greetings such as Namaste for East India, Wiracocha for the Inca, and Mitakuye Oyasin for the Lakota. It doesn't matter which culture you come from. But when one of these sacred greetings is given, there is always an action of placing the hands over the heart.
The more I walk the Mayan path, the more I understand the depth that In Lak'ech Ala K'in teaches. This greeting has become more than a simple, honorable Maya greeting. It has evolved into a moral code, and a way to create a positive reality for all life. As we near 2012 with all its doom and gloom prophecies, we have a moral obligation to Spirit to live the code of In Lak'ech Ala K'in.
It is common knowledge these days that every action we take in our lives affects all living things. We understand that if we act negatively, our actions impact all life negatively. When we act positively, we affect all life in a positive manner. When we live the Mayan code of In Lak'ech Ala K'in, we know that every action we take is out of respect for all life, and we are living and giving from our hearts.
We can give our hearts in a positive manner every day by saying In Lak'ech Ala K'in to each other, to the trees, to the sky, to the birds, and to the stars. You can greet each sunrise by saying In Lak'ech Ala K'in. Each and every day we have together is sacred, so acknowledge this day by giving it your heart. Remember when you give in this way, you are also giving to yourself! You are not giving your energy away to something separate from yourself. You are giving to another part of yourself!