A couple of days ago I went for a grocery pickup. On my way back to the house, I spotted this sign hung from an unruly bougainvillea bush blooming exuberantly. Both served as a reminder of something important. Life unfolds even in the midst of suffering. Our suffering comes in many flavors. When gripped by a long bout of intense suffering we might forget what it was like before or might not be able to imagine what it will be like after. I recall this experience of being gripped by an overwhelming sense of despair when I was recovering from shattering my elbow two years ago. I experienced burning nerve pain throughout my arm 24 hours a day. There were moments of deep despair and depression as the days of shocking pain turned to weeks and then months. During that time, one of the things that kept me afloat was taking my attention to my breath and noticing the space between the inhale and the exhale. Doing this allowed me to take breaks from directly focusing on my pain. My mind would settle down for seconds at a time and give me a little rest. Each time I noticed became a little seed of hope that was watered by an awareness that was not constrained by pain.
As I drove home today, the bougainvillea and sign brought me back, kind of like noticing the breath. It snapped me back into something larger and beautiful. Our world has changed and it will not go back to how it was. All of us will have a scar from this experience. All of us are in need of healing, even those of us who have been fortunate to not have been directly affected by the virus. As we move forward, I wonder how we will do so. I wonder how we will reshape our social structures, our economy to reflect healthier patterns of living and making a living. I know I need to continue to water a tiny seed once again.
How about you? How are you nurturing your inner life so that even in this time you are sensing the ground under you and allowing your precious heart to root itself in soil rich in love and possibility?
I share my yoga practice in light of these questions. Yoga is a movement practice meant to help us draw nourishment from within. If you are looking for a little respite from worry and despair, join me Monday and Thursday for at 7PM (EST) and Friday at 12 Noon. All of the sessions are free of charge. The Friday class is a gift to the community from the Wolfsonian Museum in Collaboration with FIU. All three sessions are shared live via Zoom.
To participate, click on the links to register.
