Peace

The word santosha in Sanskrit can be translated as contentment; I have enough. I have enough friends, food, clothing, or what have you. I am enough.

It is one of the niyamas, or ways of living, as described by Master Patanjali in the ancient Yoga sutras. In my understanding, there is a sense of fullness to santosha—a knowing that we are full and clean and knowing, like a moon at night. Purna, wholeness.

It can be difficult to tune in with feelings of enough-ness and fullness in the holidays—specifically at a time when there's a tendency to compare our experience with everyone and anyone else's.


 There is a pressure that can come with the idea of Christmas, and our expectations of what it's supposed to be. And that can make it hard to be in your own truth and soul and perfection.

But santosha is a realization, rather than an insight, just as enlightenment is spoken of as an awakening to a truth that already is. Santosha is something that already exists, rather than something you have to grapple to understand, or magic into existence.

So hum means I am that. It looks like this:
सो ऽहम्
...and can sound wonderful and feel very calming if you repeat it out loud a few times, then let it go inside.

So maybe just for a moment or two, we can take it as a given that we are enough.

Maybe we can allow ourselves to let go of the small self that criticizes our experience and open up to something larger and more loving; to rest our sorrow even for a second; and take it as a given that we are enough.

I sometimes think there will be day when we sit back and laugh and wonder at the fact that actually, we were perfect all along; either in this life or somewhere else entirely. That we were, and are, enough. Just right. Divine. A-okay.

Wishing you so much peace, today and always.