I thought I'd lost this ring I'd been wearing nearly every day for 3 1/2 months. I bought it in Surrey, British Columbia during a Sheng Zhen Gong teacher training in July. The combination of the words and the way the ring felt on my right index finger was just perfect. Comforting. And great reminders.
Seeing these words each day was like a meditation, or affirmation of faith, hope, and love. And it sure seemed to be working some magic, by helping me have faith, remain hopeful, to give and receive love freely, and also to make love-based rather than fear-based choices. It generally just had a really good affect.
And when I traveled from Austin to Seattle at the beginning of November, I didn't have this ring with me, and even thought I may have lost it. I still felt like I was wearing it though. I could feel it physically even though it wasn't there. And I could feel its messages, its power, even though the ring was nowhere to be found. I had a couple of other rings with me, but couldn't put them on that same finger; it was already occupied by this phantom ring. And that was fine with me.
It did occur to me that I might find the ring upon returning to Austin, but I had this feeling like I'd left it on a bathroom counter-top at the Acupuncture school. Or maybe it was in one of my bags or a pocket. So I searched for it a bit when I returned to Austin, but didn't find it.
A few days passed, and just yesterday I was thinking about writing this blog entry about "losing faith, hope, and love." I was noticing that although I really loved that ring, I wasn't terribly bummed out about losing it. It seemed to have done the trick, ingraining those words into my consciousness, into my being. Maybe I lost the faith, hope and/or love a few times during those days without the ring, but not any more so than what could happen with it.
I was even feeling good about the possibility that someone may have found it somewhere, someone who needed it just as much as I had needed it right when it came into my life. I kind of liked the thought of this ring getting lost by the next person only to be found again by somebody else.
I was having these thoughts as I walked back up to my room after a shower. And as soon as I finished getting dressed, I headed back towards the stairs, but first I grabbed my long-sleeved zip-up Sheng Zhen shirt with pockets. It was a chilly morning. And that's where I found it. My ring was in one of those pockets. Just waiting for me to come home, giving me some time on my own to realize I don't need it. And how beautiful that it returned to me just as soon as I was happy about the thought of it being with someone else, thinking about how good it would be for that other person. The meaning-maker in me really likes how the timing all worked out on this one.
And I love it that I found this Faith, Hope, Love ring for the first time during a Sheng Zhen training, and for the second time in a Sheng Zhen pocket; Sheng Zhen Gong certainly has brought more faith, hope, and love into my life, both through the movements and the contemplations.
So as I sit here typing this, I'm happy to look down periodically to see this ring shining back at me. But I know in my heart that I don't need this ring, or anything else really. I know what's most important. And although these external reminders are nice and can be helpful, they're not necessary. Turning inward in times that I forget, or lose these qualities, is all I need. Today in Master Li's Heaven Earth Gong workshop he explained one of the movements that involves imagining that you're looking at the moon, asking it your questions. He said that when you ask the moon, you're really asking your heart. And the answers will always come.
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