State of the Garden
The roses–they are budding. Not just the roses, and not just in my garden.
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Green
The haze of pink on the flowering trees is turning to green, and the maples and oaks are starting to leaf. I love the pale green of new leaves before they have gotten dusty from smog and heat. I hope this time we will get the promised rain (last storm we only got a fourth of what was forecast).Another green: in the garden, my spinach is coming up, as is the new chard, kale, cilantro, and salad greens. I have been eating the romaine that seeded in the fall and the chard plants that weathered winter. Delicious!
Some Excellent Questions
I went to the first day of a weekend workshop with Amy Matthews, co-director of the Breathing Project, at Willow Street Yoga. As always when I go up to Willow Street, it is always good to see friends from the shared practice and study of yoga.
The workshop is providing much to peak my curiosity to explore in my practice and to refine and improve my teaching. I liked that when talking about teaching, Amy Matthews said that her goal is to empower her students to keep themselves safe.
As students, we are ultimately responsible for taking care of ourselves as we practice. If we do not assume that responsibility, we cannot experience fully what we are trying to know/learn.
“Opening to Grace” (and beginner’s mind)
I took this picture the other day when I was walking to work. I have seen TV cameras set up at this spot dozens of times to film news interviews. I have seen tourists galore photographing each other. I’ve seen a couple of photo shoots of brides and grooms dressed in their wedding clothes. I’ve seen the fountain full of ducks or gulls. I’ve seen it empty of water, with rain pelting on it to eliminate any reflection, in a blizzard, iced over, full of algae, as a play spot for dogs who like to swim, in fog, in beating down sun, with cherry blossoms floating on the water, and with waves from a strong wind. Although (or more likely because) I’ve walked past this view hundreds of times in the 25 years I have lived on Capitol Hill and the 18 I have worked for the Department of Labor, I have never taken out my camera and photographed this incredibly photogenic spot.When I took the photograph on this day when the reflection just happened to be perfect, it led me to see the spot the way tourists see it: full of freshness and wonder, beauty, and excitement to be in this place that represents a certain mind-blowing type of power. Reflecting on the act of taking the photo from my perspective as a resident, led me to think about the Anusara alignment principle of “opening to grace.”
One of the many aspects of “opening to grace” is having a “beginner’s mind.” What does it mean to have a beginner’s mind on or off the mat? I think it means being open to new insight, to a sense of joyous discovery, to a feeling of fresh intoxication and wonder, no matter how many times we have done or seen something before. How many times have you done lunge or downward facing dog? Eaten a green bean or a potato chip? Petted a dog? Turned on a light switch? Filled a glass with potable water out of the tap? If it is the “same old, same old,” then you will lose the desire to practice and the possibility of growing. But most of what we do, especially as we get older, is a repeat of something we have done before. Grasping at new experience as a cure for boredom or jadedness will only make us unhappy. If we can see each day with newly opened eyes, then we can find fulfillment in each moment and be better able to grow. We will be open to ever deepening refinement and exploration within the space of our existence.
- Asana, Pranayama, and Yoga Practice | Food for the Mind (Yoga Philosophy, etc) | Meditation | Photos
Watching the Clouds Dissipate
Tonight (technically very early tomorrow morning), will be the first full lunar eclipse on the winter solstice in 350 years. Part of me wants the sky to be clear so that I can witness this extraordinary event. The other part yearns for a cloudy forecast so I can stay warm in my bed at 3 a.m. without feeling that it would be my own inaction that led me to miss the eclipse.
I think we all feel this way about our practice sometimes. We want to have the great openings that come from a deep and steady practice, but it would be oh so nice if they came without effort. And an excuse not to practice that comes from somewhere out of our control makes it so much easier to accept not getting the benefits.
Unlike a cloud cover blocking our view of the moon, though, there aren’t many things that actually prevent practicing, although they might change what kind of practices we can do at a particular time in our lives.
