Freedom

This week marks the seventh week of life changing as we knew it. Like everyone else in the world, I have been riding the roller coaster of emotions associated with the pandemic social distancing. For sure, I miss the freedom to “do” whatever I want, to “go” wherever I want and to “see” those I love whenever I want. Yet, I have also discovered new freedoms that I have never experienced before:

• freedom to do things differently without the pressure to perform…the house, the yard, my hair, dinner…well, they all have a carefree quality about them that I LOVE.

• freedom to not fill every moment with activity and thoughts and instead allowing open space for creativity, sitting outside by the fire, gazing out the window at the changing season, petting Wrigley and the cats and just being….

• freedom to come into each weekend with no plans to “go” or “see”, with no FOMO (Fear of Missing Out), no expectations and therefore no disappointments.

• freedom to experience myself, my family and the world differently, to see with new eyes and to listen and to hear so much more in the quiet spaces.

In the confinement of staying home, I never thought I would find so much space and freedom,

even as I am still on the roller coaster of emotions.The physical and spiritual practices of Yoga are what keep me rooted, strong, open hearted and observant. If you haven’t joined me yet in my virtual on-line studio, come by for a visit, all the details on class times and the links to join can be found under the yoga tab above.

Imagine

Imagine with me for a moment--

don't worry, I'm not saying it's real.

Imagine, if you can, that there has been

not a calamity, but a great awakening.

Pretend, just for a moment,

that we all so loved our threatened earth

that we stopped going on cruises,

limited international flights,

worked on cherishing the places

where we already are.

In this pretty fantasy, everyone who possibly can

stops commuting. Spends the extra time

with their kids or pets or garden.

We have the revelation that everyone

needs health care, sick leave, steady work.

lt occurs to us that health care workers

are heroes. Also teachers.

Not to mention the artists of all kinds

who teach us resilience and joy.

Imagine, if you will,

that we turned to our neighbors

in mutual aid, trading eggs for milk,

checking in on those who are elderly

or alone. Imagine that each of us

felt suddenly called to wonder

In this moment, what does the world

need from me? What are my gifts?

Yes, I know it's just a fantasy.

The world could never change

so radically overnight.

But imagine.

~  Lynn Ungar

Blessing in the Chaos

By Jan L. Richardson

To all that is chaotic in you,

let there come silence.

Let there be a calming

of the clamoring,

a stilling of the voices that

have laid their claim on you...

Let there be an opening

into the quiet that lies beneath

the chaos, where you find

the peace you did not think possible

and see what shimmers

within the storm.

Strong Souls

Ours is not the task of fixing the entire world all at once, but of stretching out to mend the part of the world that is within our reach. Any small, calm thing that one soul can do to help another soul, to assist some portion of this poor suffering world, will help immensely. It is not given to us to know which acts or by whom, will cause the critical mass to tip toward an enduring good.

What is needed for dramatic change is an accumulation of acts, adding, adding to, adding more, continuing. We know that it does not take everyone on earth to bring justice and peace, but only a small, determined group who will not give up during the first, second, or hundredth gale.

One of the most calming and powerful actions you can do to intervene in a stormy world is to stand up and show your soul. Soul on deck shines like gold in dark times. The light of the soul throws sparks, can send up flares, builds signal fires, causes proper matters to catch fire. To display the lantern of soul in shadowy times like these - to be fierce and to show mercy toward others; both are acts of immense bravery and greatest necessity.

Struggling souls catch light from other souls who are fully lit and willing to show it. If you would help to calm the tumult, this is one of the strongest things you can do.

~ Clarissa Pinkola Estes