Mark Nepo

And that became a teacher for me that, oh, this is what it's like to be a spirit in a body over a lifetime on earth.

Throughout our life, we, through the life of experience and gravity and wonder and suffering and beauty and erosion,

Our outer life flakes off and we become more and more light till the spirit leaves the body.

And so nobody likes the flaking off.

A year ago, I had major back surgery.

I had fusion surgery.

So I have those titanium screws in my back and it's been a blessing.

You had that too?

And I felt it was so difficult.

Since my cancer journey, it was the most difficult thing I've been in.

And the surgery has been a tremendous success.

I'm so blessed.

I'm thankful that I... And that was a flaking off.

and i'm brighter for it so there's just again it's not to deify suffering it's like everyone has to deal with gravity this is part of gravity this is part but the opposite of the outer world has the force of gravity and the inner world has the emanation of spirit and these two fort we live subject to these two amazing forces in the world

yeah so i think that saying yes to life is again is not being obedient often we need to say no to situations and relationships and patterns in order to say yes to life saying yes to life and i come back down to means leaning in when pain and worry and fear push us away

It means holding nothing back when we hesitate.

It means loving again after we've been burned by love.

It means never, and you may be familiar with Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah song.

So he talks about a broken hallelujah there.

And saying yes to life, this coincides with what I think the real meaning of the story of Job is.