Pantry items, lost things in the freezer, long-store vegetables, fresh greens and herbs from the garden)
My boss with whom I’ve worked for over 20 years and who has an unfortunate tendency to get agitated (gentle understatement here) at the workplace has just discovered Thich Nhat Hanh. My boss was intrigued by Thich Nhat Hanh’s suggestion that when you find yourself getting angry, “don’t.” Knowing that he is still going to have to take action in response to the things that tick him off (and, as I would add, that not getting angry is distinct from disengaging, failing to act, or being apathetic), my boss still invited us to say to him when we see him getting worked up, “remember Thich Nhat Hanh.” I liked that. I like that he recognizes a need to change and grow and is starting to take steps after years of appearing not to be aware of the impact of his tendencies on himself and his co-workers.
One of the best ways I know to shift our reactiveness is to develop a steady meditation practice. If you don’t already have one, I invite you to begin to develop a daily meditation practice, which could include conscious breathing or visualizations. If your practice is only sporadic, notice how much better it is when your meditation is part of your daily routine.
A work colleague of mine graciously said to me that he did not know how I got through certain meetings without yelling, he did not know if he could do it. I replied that lots of yoga helped. “Maybe I should get back to transcendental meditation,” he said, “but I found it did not really help; I should find something, though.”
I said that I tried to think of the challenges at work as just part of the dance that yields such rich abundance for me. The discussion carried on, and we not only resolved the minor problem that had led to the phone call, but also felt a deeper connection that will make it easier in the future to resolve work issues that we mutually encounter.
What I like best about the myth of Nataraja is that the dance is not for the purpose of creating the world or with any particular design, but for the sheer bliss of dancing — anantatandava. The dance makes possible both destruction and creation, but it is not its reason. When we engage in the dance of our own lives, yoga invites us just to dance fully with wonder at the rich diversity of experience. We make choices and seek to be more aligned, but ultimately we are just dancing.
Today I had the honor of leading an online practice for some of the staff at the Latin American Youth Center to give them some support for their incredible service.
This was from a walk a few days ago.
