Lately I have been wondering how I would build a house if I was one of those people stranded in an island, and how much work it would take to make it solid, protective of the elements. Then I got inspiration to paint the Gayatri mantra representation and I know it will probably be a process, a work of months.
I am usually in a hurry and want things done quickly, like when I painted the house I had just bought in 2004, and stopped all of life just for the purpose. I was eating fast food, not showering and just hurrying to get back to the job, to get it done. Until one day, as I was cleaning something I came accross my own image in the mirror, (not pretty, white paint on the face, hair for halloween, old dirty clothes, hands all roughed up) and I noticed it was probably time to stop, to take things a little easier.
Thinking about projects that take time made me poner about the yoga practice, which is, at least in my eyes, a long time, whole life, kind of process.
How many yoga teachers does it take to create one good yoga teacher? it is probably not a fix number and I am sure it changes, but I would say that, at least judging from my own journey and exploration, it is taking me north of 100 good teachers and north of 500 good friend/students/bloggers to even begin to scratch the surface of yoga.
I practiced outside today and could not bind in Mari - D, perhaps because I am not used to the early cool weather, and I noticed this tendency to rush, I should have been able to do it...
So today I am thinking about taking my time, this seems to be the theme of this year, maybe the purpose of my life? no matter how long it takes, but rather the awareness that is brought to every moment on the process, so that house in the stranded island can withhold the winds, that painting can be proudly display on the wall and emit an aura of what the mantra means to me, and my yoga practice can be the way I live life as the difference I want to make in the world.
I wonder how many of you share the feeling of wanting to rush too...
One of my many yoga teachers (I used to think the way to go was to find *one* yoga teacher, but since have seen the value in variety...though also in not being quite so fickle that I don't really get to know any of them) told a story about this businessman who goes to a Zen master and asks how many years it'll take to become enlightened. The Zen master says "thirty years." The businessman says "that's too long! Money is no object! You've got to tell me how to reach it sooner!" The Zen master says "seventy years."
ReplyDeletehi yfc, that is quite a story... makes a point too, of showing where 'not' to look for, like that teacher :-)
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