Hi everyone. I hope you had a good weekend. Yesterday we celebrated Valentine’s Day. Maribel and I went to the beach and saw the sunrise. It was wonderful to hold hands and feel the ocean breeze on our faces. Although we had a great day, I feel conflicted about these holidays. Often they lead to people comparing and wishing for something they may not see themselves having at the present moment. Our economic system loves these comparisons because the most direct form of therapy we attend to when we feel sad is shopping. Sales jump when theirs angst. But the economic jump often is connected to a mental health dive–suffering of all sorts just spreads.
Ok. I don’t want to be the Debbie Downer of Valentines, but my point is that, hey, we can celebrate love in all of its forms. And even when we do, we can still feel the ache of wanting greater intimacy, and we can also move toward greater ease within ourselves as we accept those aches with kindness and care.
I’m sharing this last Thursday’s yoga class. I was so hungry I kept confusing my toes for my heels. I have no interest in perfection. The session was playful and flowy with a solid grounding in gratitude. Take a peek. Practice along. What you don’t hear are the conversations before and after the session. That’s where a lot of the magic of these sessions arise. Community is really the balm we all long for.