Yes, though it is Thanksgiving week, there is class this Tuesday. It’s a great opportunity to support your own well being, while helping others. Please come join us this or any other Tuesday.
The other day I found myself wondering how and whether my life would have been different if at 20 I had been introduced to the writings of Abhinavagupta instead of those of Derrida.
It is always interesting to contemplate “what might have beens,” as long as it does not invite regret or disappointment. I might have continued as a philosopher instead of shifting to law or have practiced yoga with greater intensity earlier on if I had been reading Abhinavagupta instead of Derrida, but who is to know what really could or would have happened if things had been different. We need to act as though we can shift and change, but we must at the same time accept that we are ultimately not in charge.
Peace and light, E — Posted with WordPress for BlackBerry.
As I have walked around town enjoying the spring surge of blossoming trees, I found myself remembering that our most famous cherry blossoms were a gift from the Japanese, which remembrance sent a deeper yearning to help send healing.
At one sunny, pink-blossomed drenched moment yesterday, I found myself asking how could one’s heart not reach out to a people who brought us such beauty. I then thought that this country had no problem incarcerating “those” people on “our” soil and bombing their country when the arrival of the gift of our famous cherry trees was still in living memory. At that time, “they” had become our country’s enemies because of the actions and statements of those in power. The gift had become irrelevant in the context of war.
The peril in both thoughts is that they distance us from opening and relating to the essential identity and humanity in all of the individuals we meet of various nationalities and alliances–whether in a time of gift-giving or in a time when we cannot abide the actions or ideas of those in power.
Peace and light, E — Posted with WordPress for BlackBerry.
I have been pining for a great adventure that would crack open my heart and remind me of the exalted.
A look at the sky as I did errands in the middle of my work day reminded me that all we need to find that ecstatic sense of awe is to be open to it right where we are.
The sadhana is to stay filled with awe as we do our work and chores, no matter how prosaic or stressful. Easier said than done, but worth every bit of effort (tapas).
