Our Busy, Busy Lives

noreply@blogger.com (Blog Administrator) — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 16:19:00 +0000

"The days are long and the years are short," a wise friend once told me. It was 9pm on a Tuesday and stifled yawns as we watched our daughters practice basketball. Later, I drove home and we ate, plowed through the homework, checked email, made lunches, and fell into bed exhausted.

Everyday we build a mountain and then climb it step-by-step diligently checking off each tedious accomplishment. With eyes constantly focused on the summit you might wonder "what is the goal here?"

The goal is control. We mistakenly believe that if we just work long enough and hard enough, putting one clumsy foot in front of the other on the loose path of life- that one day we will reach the top.

At the top we create our own utopian narrative. For me, it's a clean house, a happy, well-adjusted family with athletic children who love school. A beautiful husband who adores me, healthy friends and family who I see often, a blooming garden, time to hike, bike, read, and travel in a peaceful world. Ahhh...the illusion of control.

Yoga is a powerful tool for cutting through illusion. Only through practice can we begin to see the narrative for what it is- an illusive tapestry loosely woven of our desires. By its very nature, the fabric is frayed. My house can't stay clean forever even if I don't live in it!

Yoga means determined effort and it is with this effort we begin to glimpse our grasping for control. When I finish practicing yoga, I never feel like I can check it off my 'to do' list, nor would I want to. Instead, I see the list for what it is a feeble attempt to control my life when all I really need to do is sink one sturdy boot into the loose soil and look over my shoulder at the view.

Peaceful Hills Yoga

Our Busy, Busy Lives