Ohigan Ceremony (Mar. 21)
When I walk to work, one of the routes goes by a cemetary. This picture was taken just after March 21 (the first day of spring). I was captivated by the fact that every grave had beautiful, fresh flowers. According to a friend, March 21 is ‘Ohigan Ceremony’ - the day when, according to the tradition here, the ancestors come to visit. I do not know if every cemetary is filled with flowers like this one was, but this got me thinking. When these people were alive, what were their goals, aspirations and desires? Did they meet them? What regrets did they have before moving on? If they could, what would they do differently? If they were to communicate with their loved ones, what would they say was important?
Recently, when I was teaching botany to a group of students, we discussed seeds. We talked about how every seed is produced with the full potential to become a complete plant. All it needs is the right circumstances to complete its task. However, an acorn can only grow into an oak tree and be the best it can as an oak tree. Similarly, everyone one of us is born with the potential to become the ‘best we can be’ – I wonder how many of us ponder upon what this might be?
Potential energy, in physics, is ‘stored energy’ or the ‘ability to do work’ by any object. When this ‘stored energy’ is used to do the work, it turns into kinetic energy, moving the object out of static state. For example, when a rubber band is twisted – it builds up potential energy. When the rubber band is released and it untwists, the potential energy becomes kinetic energy. If human beings, like the seed, are born with all the potential to be, then what happens to this potential? Is it a form of energy as some believe? Is it something that needs a trigger to release itself or does it happen naturally as we grow? If human energy were to follow the laws the physics, then the potential energy would need some sort of trigger to release it to do work. For some people, this is not difficult. They are able to tap into their potential and use it to spring forward into an energetic life, filled with adventure. Some people need a little ‘nudge’ and then they are off and running. However, there some people who I shall call ‘the observers’. They watch others spring into action, but do not seem to find the trigger to get their own lives moving.
I often wonder why some people are able to naturally release their potential, while others have such a hard time. If we are all born with the same potential, then I would think that we are also equipped with the trigger. From my understanding, when we feel ‘out of sorts’ or just not connected to the things around us, it is the universe’s or our higher self’s way of letting us know that we are not living up to our potential. We can acknowledge this and find a way to move out of our comfort zone, towards our soul’s longing or ignore it. If we ignore it, it eventually fades into the background. Then, my question is: Looking at the picture of the graveyard – how many songs remained unsung, journeys never travelled or adventures never experienced? Would you not, rather be the one who forged ahead and lived a full life? A purposeful, adventurous and challenging life? What is gained by being safe all the time?
“The potential of the average person is like a huge ocean unsailed, a new continent unexplored, a world of possibilities waiting to be released and channeled toward some great good.” -Brian Tracy
“The only way to discover the limits of the possible is to go beyond them into the impossible.” -Arthur C Clarke
