11th Teaspoon - What We Collect

At the bottom of the ocean is the collector sea urchin. They come in all shapes and sizes, but what they all have in common is their ability to “collect” items with their spines. They collect shells that enhances their beauty. Here’s the thing, they also have the ability to collect the garbage like a bottle cap. Poor sea urchin. It can’t remove the bottle cap on its own. In order to be free from the garbage, it would need the power of the ocean, or maybe the help of other sea creatures that can pull it off for it. In the end, whether the collector urchin has shells or garbage attached to it, it is still that beautiful urchin underneath. It always has been, and always will be regardless of what is attached to it.

We are like the collector sea urchin. We collect identifiers based on our attachments. Whether we collect material possessions to show what we think we are, or collect beauty regiments to show how we would like to be seen (hey, don’t get me wrong, I have a whole moisture regimen and wear eyeliner), or collect friends and “followers” to show how popular we are,…oh the list goes on. In yoga it is called aparigraha - non-attachment. When we attach ourselves to these identifiers that we have collected, we begin to lose sight of who we really are, which is that which is connected to the energy source (call it God, Consciousness, Divine, One…whatever). Basically, we are energy/spiritual beings that are having this human experience. I understand getting caught up with this identification - it is what the ego is all about (but that is a much longer topic for another day).

Plain and simple is this….it doesn’t matter what you collected - that is not the source of who you are. And like the collector sea urchin, sometimes we need help from others and/or a spiritual practice (like meditation, yoga, church) to help remind us that we are part of something greater that goes beyond what we have identified with. May you be able to connect to your higher self…beyond what you have collected!