State of the Garden

I just came back from a wonderful week in Santa Fe, studying therapeutics with John Friend.  It was most wonderful to be among friends with a shared passion for nurturing and healing through yoga, all of whom are deeply committed to continuing intense study. It was also delightful to be in a beautiful place, away from the cares of the day to day.

Although I have many friends from around the country I have met on previous study trips, I found that I spent the most time outside of class with fellow teachers from Willow Street.  It was not because I know them best and it was expedient for me as a person who is by nature introverted to stick with people I know better, but rather because when we are home, we all are fully engaged in our daily lives and do not have much time to see each other.  That we need to go away together to be free to see people close to us is a mindset that I am working to shift.  If I have time to go away for a week, then I should be able to make time to see someone for lunch or tea.  How do we make this shift?  Part of it is just a conscious recognition that we need each day to pause and reflect, to make time to connect to our own spirit and to our home community.  Living this way will not diminish the joy of going away, but it will make us more grounded and rested at home, while we are working.  We will work better, be happier on a day to day basis, and be better able to serve.  Yes, this is another aspect of enriching life by simplifying.