This year, Diwali will occupy a smaller physical presence due to COVID-19. As a result, we can take a moment to deepen our internal experience with the holiday, so that it can have a greater presence in our hearts. “May You Make Room” is about the personal work we must do so the universe mirrors the highest versions of ourselves.
Diwali fills our hearts with light so we can serve as a force for good to continue the victory of good over evil. That light, of course, cannot exist without acknowledgment, acceptance, and experience of the darker parts of ourselves. This poem emphasizes the action of doing so symbolically and literally through the home, by experiencing all of the parts inside of the home.
For Diwali this year, I performed a custom version of a Laxmi Puja outdoors with a local friend by collecting coins and other objects symbolizing the areas of our lives we wanted to strengthen. I also recited this poem, “May You Make Room,” out loud. To close, we had a moment of silence to meditate. We opened ourselves to the abundance of the universe so it may ease inside ourselves during this challenging time. To bring gentle punctuation to the meditation moment, we discussed what our meditations felt like. Finally, we happily enjoyed some dessert and coffee to close the picnic-style Diwali celebration.
[Read Related: Lessons From Her White Sofa-Diwali, My Guyanese Grandmother, and the Modern Woman]
May You Make Room
May this year be a dream
Where Laxmi Mata herself bestows upon you wealth like you’ve never seen
A year full of many thousands of treasure chests brimming over with precious stones,
Excitedly waiting for you at your doorstep.
But on the days when life feels tight, short, impossible-
May you take deep breaths to exhale an ounce of stale air-
Just enough room for one more diamond to pour in, one more sparkle to make it into your being.
May fortune fall easily on you, like an impossible gold cloud that showers enough wealth for a lifetime, or two.
And on the days when you feel disjointed, discounted, dollar-less, drowned.
May you have a look around your every room-
And notice every single dish and every single painting and every vase, sheet, blanket dress and sock.
Pause and let them speak – one at a time.
If they remain silent, pause again to listen some more.
May they sing to you with a happy, high vibration, the kind that leaves you no other choice than to dance a little, to reach the corners of your mouth towards the sky a little.
And for the things that do not bring you that kind of joy,
May you use your hands in a new kind of prayer, the kind that moves things,
Ushers them away to their next place,
Making a home that can be a Temple too-
Where any divine form would be happy to rest, and share
Our world’s precious goods with you.
May you, in turn, can be just like Laxmi,
Sharing your wealth with others
Helping replenish dreams other than your own.
So keep your soul’s windows be wide open,
So that you wake up to the abundance singing to you from outside,
Destined to sit right in your lap,
Destined to join you on your journey.
Your wealth is already in your arena, entrusted in your custody, making its way to you.
May you picture a sweet pink lotus flower for every opening
You make in your heart and in your home
Every passageway you clear is a personal invitation.
Laxmi Mata is reaching out, singing your name,
Waiting for you to make some space for her.
She’ll join you when you’re dancing in your heart,
Watching you live your wildest dream-
The dream she herself pinned into your heart.
May you always make room for her.
May you always make room for her.
May you always, always, always make room for Laxmi.
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