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    9-11 (and personal choice)

    ByElizabeth

    Secretary Hilda Solis sent workers at the Department of Labor an email invitation yesterday to do some volunteer activity today to honor those who lost their lives in the tragedy of 9-11.  She did not remind us of terror or enmity or need for war.

    It resonated with what my teacher John Friend, who often discusses the need to serve as part of our practice, counsels in times of distress.  He admits that it is not, as the t-shirt would have it, “all good.”  We can choose, though, how to respond to violence, to suffering, to meanness, to evil.  We can, he urges, seek to respond from “the highest.”  We personally have the choice to try to bring light when we encounter darkness.

    I do not always succeed, particularly with the small things, but I continue to try, and I deeply appreciate all the teachings and reminders I get.

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    Eco-Tourism v. Eco-Travel

    ByElizabeth

    Last night I dreamed that I was taking a group of yoga students to the Galapagos.  I was already on my way, and the dream information did not include the decision-making process that started the venture.  Instead of being excited, though, I was feeling anxious and guilty about bringing my inherently destructive presence (the one that eats, defecates, urinates, bathes, wears sunblock, requires built shelters, and, to travel, uses fossil fuels) to a place that we value for its uniqueness in nature and relatively pristine qualities.  I woke thinking it was absurd to have had that dream; couldn’t I have enjoyed myself just a little without feeling overwhelmed by questions, doubts, and guilt?  Why on earth did my unconscious serve this dream up for me?  Is it going to make me live a less environmentally conflicted life (that won’t even begin to happen until I move into a much smaller dwelling unit, my house being my biggest infringement on the environment)?  Probably not.

    For Christmas this year, I’ll be doing my own version of eco-travel — going to New York City.  I’ll be taking the train both from DC to NYC and, on the day I go out to visit my parents, from the City to the Island.  To get around NY, I’ll walk or take public transporation.  I’ll eat mostly vegetarian/vegan food, some local and organic.  I’ll drink tap not bottled water (which is easy to do in NY).   I’ll have my bamboo utensils, cloth napkin and carry cup for the meals I don’t eat in a restaurant and my own carry bag.  I’ll have handkerchiefs instead of paper tissues.  I won’t have the hotel wash the linens until I leave.  Oh yes, I’ll be consuming and enjoying.  I’ll be eating and looking at art and seeing theater and/or music and/or dance and will inevitably do some shopping.

    Where is your balance?  Are you comfortable with it?

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    Indian “Pony” Ride

    ByElizabeth

    The Indian equivalent of the pony ride, is, not surprisingly, the elephant ride.

    This elephant, who is now 37 years old, became the giver of rides for tourists and birthday parties after having been rescued from malnourishment and the back-breaking labor of years of hauling lumber.  I was lucky enough to be able to get lots of hugging from her before people gathered for their rides.  She especially liked to be scratched behind her ears.

    Though the ride was rather tame–or perhaps because tame (i.e. gentle)–I rather enjoyed moving with this gracious being. A horse might now seem small (though likely feistier).

    Indian pony ride

     

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    A Guest at William Penn House

    ByElizabeth

    When I arrived at the William Penn House to teach yoga tonight, there were a couple of suitcases in the room. I asked one of the interns to help me move them. A guest came to help as one of the suitcases was his. I invited him to join us for yoga class. He expressed interest though declined this visit because he had a plane to catch. He stayed to chat while I was making the room ready.

    The conversation started with snow and New York State and then Quaker peace activities–the latter hardly surprising for someone staying at William Penn House. The guest was older than me and had been an activist for a long time. I thought he would certainly know my Dad who has been doing peace-related volunteer work in New York for 50 years give or take a few. Yes, he knew my Dad and so I will send regards.

    The guest said on parting that he thought all workshops for activists should start with some type of movement practice such as yoga. I agreed. Not only does it help bring the group together, but it invites all the participants to be stronger, healthier, and more flexible to better carry out their purpose.

    My students began to arrive–the first, who came in the middle of the conversation, expressing the opinion that the guest would have been a great addition to the class. The guest went on his way, saying he would be thinking about yoga as he waited in the airport for his flight. And I brought the sense of deepened community and purpose from this chance encounter into my teaching.

    Photo of marker outside the Friends Committee on National Legislation

    Peace and light, E — Posted with WordPress for BlackBerry.

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    “There Are More Things in Heaven and Earth, Horatio…” (and DCLAW)

    ByElizabeth

    Last night, at the invitation of my massage therapist, I attended the third DC Ladies Arm Wrestling tournament at the American Legion Hall on Capitol Hill.  For those of you who know me–or suspect from reading my blog that you know me to some degree–going to the American Legion Hall for an evening of betting on arm-wrestling might seem just a teensy-weensy bit out of character, perhaps even something beyond anything I could have “dreamt of in my philosophy.”  Not so into wrestling or costumes or betting or bad beer or anything loud.  I am, though, completely into norm-bending, outrageous manifestations of spirit, of which this certainly and rollickingly is one.

     

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