Postcards from Equanimity #012
Dear reader, namaste from the bardo.
I have been here since the beginning of the year, contemplating my exit periodically and then retreating back in. What is the bardo? I will write about it soon. (Feel free to google it in the meantime).
I must confess, I have lived with curiosity and concern about whether you'd even read this post months after I broke my writing string. Afterall a writer writes to be read. Still, I send this in full faith that you will do exactly what you should as I am doing what I must.
What moved my spirit to finally send this missive was a small breakthrough. Against my base nature, yesterday I found myself at the beach at sunrise. There were clouds at the horizon with Weather Underground app confirming an offshore thunderstorm. So it took some time for the sun to rise above the dissipating clouds. Then I saw a sunrise, which I wanted to share with you. May it bring you joy.
Heading back from the beach, I stopped to chat with a yogi who was teaching a class on the beach. She said she is there a few days a week. She had kind eyes, and a lovely smile, and invited me to join. "I have some extra towels if you want to join and practice."
Practice.
Click, a lock opens.
We think of yoga as a practice, as we do for medicine. Maybe the same is true for some arts, and care therapies, e.g. massage. In some sense anything we consider hard skills, e.g. science and quantitative initiatives, are executed while soft skills, e.g. providing care, making one off things, manipulating our bodies, are practiced.
And then I thought... life.
Life is a practice too.
On any given day, we are performing tasks as part of our day, be they physical or emotional, that we have done before or are doing for the first time. We may not do them as we did before or we may not do them as well the first time as we will after some iterations.
Hence, practice.
We aim to do meaningful things again and again so we may get better, and then we do them still, should they become positive habits in our lives. But while we are in a practice, we must be kind to ourselves. The best athlete can have a subpar day, the best scientist can make a mistake, and some days the best yogi can't do surya namaskar as well as before or after.
And all that is ok. What matters is that we keep perspective and keep coming back to the good things. They may be hard, they may ask more of us and seem to be without end, but we must take heart and keep on keeping on. Our lives, moving toward what matters, and away from what holds us back, are a practice.
P.S. Have you ever seen a Liz and Mollie comic? They are experts at 'a picture is worth a 1000 words'. I am sharing two of their creations that get the message home: each day can be different but there is still progress, even when we don't feel it. You may have to zoom in on your mobile device; it is a high res photo.
I must practice restraint and stop here. :-) I have some new things in the hopper that I am excited to share with you, in due time, soon.
I hope your Monday was great. Wish you the best of Tuesdays and an amazing week ahead.
From the bottom of my heart, namaste.