A friend photographed me as I was about to ring the bell because he was surprised I would choose to make an extra noise.
But it was a quiet, clear-toned bell, and it is said that ringing a temple bell invites the gods and warns away the demons.
Who goes past oblivious and uncaring? Who goes past preoccupied? Who takes a brief glance and continues on? Who stops to watch? Who discusses and invites? Who makes a special pilgrimage? Who is inspired to create by the creative offering?
Photos from last week of Doug Aiken’s Song\1 at the Hirshhorn.
It is a gloriously cool and breezy morning of the type that is common for New England and very rare for DC, especially heading into Independence Day weekend. I had a longer and earlier walk than I usually do. I have an early morning meeting at the Internal Revenue Service.
As I walked down Constitution Avenue past the museums and federal buildings, I wondered how many of the hundreds of millions of people whose lives are impacted by the IRS ever think of it as a building with real, live human beings working inside of it.
It can be tremendously difficult to see a broader perspective when faced with things that cause us burden, obligation, or challenge. One of the key reasons to practice yoga, and in Anusara yoga to practice (it is indeed a practice we have to work on) opening to grace, is to recognize our humanity and the light in all things so that life feels more beautiful even when we are struggling.
A number of years ago I had a conversation with a cherished friend and co-worker who is no longer in this body. I was explaining to her the yoga practice of samtosha (contentment), which is one of the five niyamas that make up the second limb of the eight-limbed path of yoga set forth in Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras. My friend said it felt like a great revelation to think of contentment as a practice. She had thought of it as a state you were either lucky enough to have — or not.
Many states or characteristics or attitudes that we tend to think of as only being innate characteristics or good fortune can be cultivated.
Wearing an exhortation on a t-shirt might not necessarily be my style, but I do agree kindness is worthy of cultivation when it does not happen spontaneously.
Peace and light, E — Posted with WordPress for BlackBerry.
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
You look so pretty in this picture. Thank you for sharing so many images from your trip. Stay healthy and enjoy yourself.