"It's not my experience that life wants us to become some sort of single-faceted center. Conditioned mind would like people to think that 'center' is sort of the equivalent of flatlining. You know — you're not emotional, you're completely rational — and, of course, what it turns out to look like is the completely socialized, conditioned adult: never out of control, never emotional, always stable and steady...
And that's not it! Life didn't design us, as far as I can tell, to be that sort of thing. If that were the case, then why would we have this whole range of possibilities?
So as we relax into life and trusting life to animate us perfectly, and as we find an increased willingness to see all of the karma that keeps us in this illusion of separation from life — as we get to the place of trusting that it can all arise, whatever is there, and we can see what leads towards suffering and what leads away from suffering, and we can make those choices to go away from suffering, then we get to have all of us, and get to enjoy all of us."
— Cheri Huber
from the 9/14/2010 Open Air with Cheri Huber podcast
Also, for an interesting take on why the violent/angry/screamy song "Suffocate" by nu-metal group Motograter is actually about love, compassion, and coming back to center, check out
spiritualmonkey's latest post,
Of Zen & Industrial Metal: The Cheri Huber v. Motograter Mash-Up.
For me center is an important place to keep in touch with because it's where I'm most healthy, but not necessarily the most useful or most alive. Center is the place I leave constantly; living life requires daily trips away from center. Center is a very conscious place and many of life's best things occur when I have forgotten myself.
The importance of center comes at the beginning or end of a task, event, day, week, job, relationship, etc. Once an outside influence is over or paused I strive to return to center to heal and recuperate so I can go back out and do it again, a little wiser, stronger, and slightly different. Not centering often enough, or well enough, leads to the feeling that I've been pulled away from myself, which is basically true. Without the consciousness brought by regular and purposeful return to center I really do meander away from the lessons I've learned about life and myself. The key things that make my identity fade because I haven't maintained, nourished, or grown them.