Wise Word of the Week #1

We are very fortunate to live in the age we do, as the amount of wisdom available to us at the click of a button is incredible. I think we could all greatly benefit from a little shot of it everyday. Just a little line, quote or poem, to help us start the day on a nice footing.

"Your task is not to seek for love,
but merely to seek and find all the
barriers within yourself that you
have built against it" - Rumi

This poem always make me think of the classic break-up line "it's not you, it's me". And whilst that is often used as an excuse, it is probably more true than the user is willing to admit.

I firmly believe that it is through our interactions with other individuals that we get one of our biggest opportunities to grow. We learn from them, we get triggered by them, but most importantly we get a chance to observe our own behaviors and reactions and change them to the better. And the key to the whole things is adopting the attitude that "it all starts with me".

Wanna read more about this? I found a great article by Lisa Firestone, Ph.D. whilst googling the break-up line: http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/compassion-matters/201012/it-s-not-you-its-me-the-truth-behind-the-excuse. I love her idea of people unilaterally disarming (in short: not being reactive and lashing out even when one is provoked) and what a better world we would have if that was the case.

Finally, a little word on the picture! It's a photo of a homemade dried COUPLE (get it?!) of figs made by my landlordess. You take two figs, slice them almost all the way through, and then put them together facing each other, sprinkle with fennel seeds and then put out to be sun-dried by the hot summer sun. Utter deliciousness

Please, walk with me

I'm on a path. It's not a straight path. More like one of those paths where you take one step forwards and then a few back and then skip ahead a few steps just to find yourself back on square one a moment later. But for some reason I can't seem to kick back, relax and stop trying. I want to reach that foggy mist in the distance, because I just know that there's something mighty and worthy at the end of the path and, in the mean time, I'm thoroughly enjoying the walk, stroll, trot...

Yoga, in its broader form, presents us with an eight-limbed path. Over the past two years, I've started taking this on-board as a guide, or a map, of how to live and ultimately how to get in touch with who we really are and what really matters. I'm creatively, but respectfully, adapting the ancient yogic guidebook to suit my general level of yogicness. You see I'm still struggling with just getting my head around understanding some of the latter limbs, for example; dhyana or meditative absorption. How does one get absorbed in meditation? Hopefully I will find out and be able to tell you about it... Or actually, probably not. Because that's one of the things that are so great about yoga, it doesn't preach, it's simply experiential. It just tells you to try for yourself and see what happens.

Anyway, this hugely gratifying walk of mine is taking me past some truly amazing literature, inspirational people, some interesting ideas or alternative ways of looking at life. Or sometimes just some simply delicious recipes or beautiful sunsets. And I want to share it.