Freeing your Soul’s Authenticity from Ego with Lalla’s Poetry - Part 3
This is the last of a three-part series on how Lalla’s poems can lead us to our authenticity, our soul or our personal essence. Lalla wrote in the fourteenth century but today more than ever they remain relevant. Each of us is unique, yet we humans share a sacred stillness within. In Part 1, I laid out a universal dilemma and shared how Lalla tackles it. Part 2 contains two gems of hers on meditation. Here I’ll share two more poems about finding your authentic self and bringing your gifts to the world.
Stay here to find your authentic self
Lalla inspires us to embark on the beautiful journey of authentic soul work. She calls us to that sacred place of freshness:
Ascetics wander shrine to shrine,
looking for what can only come
from visiting the soul.
Study the mystery you embody.
When you look from that,
the dub grass* looks fresher
a little ways off, and even more
green farther on. Stay here. (p. 62)
*dub grass is a perennial herb of India with medicinal properties
“Ascetics wander shrine to shrine, looking for what can only come
from visiting the soul.” Just like shoppers wander from store to store looking for fulfillment from external things. So it’s important, when you go to a spiritual workshop or receive a teaching to use what you gleaned to “study the mystery you embody,” that is your soul. “Stay here” with who you are now and see what treasures emerge. Take a little time to bask in the clear space, and see colors with fresh eyes from right here where you are now.
Offering our unique gifts to the world
And so we come to the last Lalla poem in the series. This one is about service and how others may benefit from the fruits of our practice. In the poem, Lalla invites us to surrender to the God within. But you can substitute your own word for God — the Mystery, Goddess, Creator, Unity, or some other signifier.
Whatever I do, the responsibility is mine,
but like one who plants an orchard,
what comes of what I do, the fruit,
will be for others.
I offer the actions of this life
to the God within,
and wherever I go, the way is blessed. (p. 48)
The responsibility for the orchard represents how responsibly we choose to live our lives, with as much truth and integrity to ourselves in community, as possible. In this way, expressing our authentic soul self is tantamount to us each expressing our uniqueness. We are the fruit. Offering our actions to the God within is not about negating who we are. Rather, it’s about being more fully authentic without being run by ego distortions. And as our egos soften, we naturally become less self-centered and more open to blessings and grace.
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All poems quoted from Naked Song by Lalla, translations by Coleman Barks.
