Day 148 – Today’s reading is the stuff that makes me love Mary Oliver. Very zen, full of opposing partners of life: life and death, winter and spring, sunshine and rain, action and inaction–what Rolf calls the “transitory nature of our own existence.” So many things, ’tis true, are “temporary and eternal…going on since the beginning of time.” We often do not reflect so much on this. According to Rolf, “Disconnected from nature, caught up in the world of work and the vagaries of daily life, I miss nature’s subtle messages, the daily variations in earth and sky that signal the slow turning of the seasons [and]…when we are disconnected from this intelligence we slowly drift out of balance.”
It is yoga (yes, Rolf) that brings us from disconnection and fear to connection with ourselves. And love–let us not forget love! Rolf explains: “Our bodies contain the wisdom of the forest, the beauty of a sunrise, the peace of a summer evening. It is this force, this power, this energy that we find on our mats.” He describes it as being in the “presence of millions of miracles.”
Lately, like the good witch that I am (hahah), I’ve been trying to get outside more and into Nature, although this week not so much with our incredibly busy sports schedules (Harrison is on 3 teams) and the “flu” hitting. Nonetheless, Fred and I have plenty of camping trips planned to hike and rough it over the coming months. It’s been hard with achy joints to settle into much of a physical practice and I am unable to run like I used to so enjoy or bounce around on the porch. Hiking in the woods, dancing by a drum circle fire, even poi in the drive way can be challenging and I have often not even had energy to do so. This disconnection is difficult. Rolf likens the disconnection to a “city dweller rushing through the crowded streets, who forgets he ever knew the wisdom of the forest.” We, too, “can forget we ever knew the wisdom of our yoga.”
Daily yoga practice and/or outdoor activities are crucial. Both help us connect to love and the “presence of millions of miracles” within and without.
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