Down to Earth?
-
-
-
One Love
There are several heart-shaped holes in the sidewalks on my usual haunts. A number have gotten progressively more heart-shaped over a period of months. Who are the good fairies who are chipping away at things to remind us of the heart if we are just paying attention?
-
-
Lightening Long Branch Creek with Willow Street Yogins
I woke and dressed myself as early as if it were a work day to take the metro and then the bus to the little playground/park where we entered the creek. It was already promising today’s humid heat in the sun, but it was pleasant in the shade. The group was a good size. Large enough to get some work done, but small enough to stay easily connected. We divided the work — path or creek — based on who wore which shoes, which allocated the cleaning well.
It was a beautiful way to appreciate off the mat the Anusara axioms, “look for the good,” and “respond from the highest.” As you can see from the pictures, Long Branch Creek is a lovely sanctuary of greenery and running water. It is evidently not fresh, but it is still giving its all. We could see the beauty, but also recognize that the creek could more powerfully share the energy of nature if it was not so dirty. Rather than complain that the creek was dirty and dangerous and stay away from it, we were invited to appreciate both what it is and what it could be and got our feet wet and ourselves dirty to be with the creek. I wish it weren’t necessary, and I will be looking for more ways to try and contribute less waste, but I think in the meantime, it would be right to do this more often.
-
beauty is where you find it
We have a choice. We can emphasize what we don’t think enhances life (for example, an over-sized, gas-guzzling, suburban SUV with city plates) or we can focus on an exquisite reflection of beauty. That we see what optimally would better be changed or shifted to be more fully aligned with nature or that we speak of it does not mean that we are not seeing beauty or embracing the whole of life with love.
-
Train Ride Home from Teachers’ Gathering (Cary, NC to Washington, DC)
preparing a capable vessel
to remember, to recognize,
to dance with, to love
the shimmer, the
vibration, the very
pulse of being.
-
In Case You Were Wondering How Uma and Sully Are Settling In
They are still not fully settled in to their new surroundings, but they are doing well. A pair of mockingbirds decided to set up shop in my backyard this morning. The cats are mesmerized.
-
High Desert Light
One of the things I like best about going west for a retreat is being able to relish with ease the time before and at sunrise. At home, I sometimes sleep through dawn once the days get long. The light is just extraordinary at the ending and the beginning of the day, revealing the openings in space and time.
-
Azalea Walk at the National Arboretum (and Sadhana)
As it is every year, the Azalea Walk at the National Arboretum fills me with joy and wonder. “Was it really this splendid last year?” one of my companions asked. “I go every year,” she said, “but I forget how gorgeous it is!” She comes back each year to remember the beauty and the awe. So, too, it can be with our practice. We stop going to class or practicing our meditation or asana for a while because we get too busy. Then we come back, and we ask ourselves how we could have forgotten the joy and beauty a steady practice brings us, and we are inspired to commit again.
