It was not the kind of night to go across town to run an errand, but it was one that could not wait until after I cam back from vacation (picking up my passport from the company that processes visas for India). I did not really feel the need to go shopping in Georgetown and would have rather gone straight home, but the rain was getting heavier and heavier and traffic was abominable. A taxi would have been a pointless exercise in watching the meter while we barely moved.
So I checked out “Fashion’s Night Out” in the stores near the bus stop. I had a great time visiting with the DC Roller Girls, who were at the Lush store in Georgetown. When the sales people start describing the products to me–they are always very enthusiastic–I often find myself telling them that I know what I need to know about Lush; I first shopped at Lush when it was a single store in Covent Garden.
When it was evident that the rain was not going to let up, and I’d had enough of window shopping from inside, I caught the Circulator bus and enjoyed myself taking photographs. When there is little choice about going out in the rain, it is best, as my teachers remind me and the practices inspire me, to find the beauty and the delight.
We are no more nor
Less caught than is the moon
Caught by tree branches.
Though it was cold and windy, and I had lots of indoor things to do, I bundled up and went for a decent walk.
This morning, when I was walking to work, a young mother stood on the sidewalk talking with a friend. Her daughter, who was perhaps a little over a year and new to walking, lit up with a huge smile when I came within range. She dropped her mother’s hand and ran over to me, holding out a flower petal. That her hand was slightly grubby and the petal crumpled only made it more adorable.
Nearly eleven hours later, as I get ready to leave the office and head up to Takoma to teach a restorative yoga class, I find myself recalling the offering, with such innocence and joy, of the flower petal.
What we want to do with our practice and teaching is to have it be, at least on one level, such a spontaneous, delighted, and innocent offering that any perceived obstructions or interference with a sense of grace (such as a long hard work-day and attendant fatigue) dissolve. We can melt into the knowledge that practicing and making offering is just the right thing to bring us back to our own fullness (purna).
What we choose as the particulars of the practice, of course, will be tempered by our physical and mental condition.
Peace and light, E — Posted with WordPress for BlackBerry.
