Back in January a good friend put me on to an author named Margaret Wheatley, who had recently been a guest on the CBC radio programme Tapestry. What hooked me in was the author asking, “the real question now is: as things get worse and worse, what is right action? What do we do? Then the question is: who do I choose to be? Where can I still give service? Where can I live a meaningful life?” Continue reading “At this time, who will you choose to be?”
“Expectation is premeditated disappointment.”
The adjective “pithy” is defined as: precisely meaningful; forceful and brief. And the quote above, from Margaret Wheatley’s book So Far From Home: Lost and Found in Our Brave New World, is a primo example of a pithy observation if there ever was one. Continue reading
In the last blog I mentioned how, closer to its origins, yoga is more a “philosophy” than the “activity” it has generally become in the Western world. Also in contrast to its Eastern origins, we may be more likely to see our yoga practice as a segmented, part of our day yet somehow separate from it, rather than an inclusive element of our lifestyle.
It is not an uncommon occurrence to see someone who lives a loaded, attention-deficit life, rushing in to their yoga class, Continue reading “Yoga Beyond the Mat: The Niyamas”
The yoga we practice in the Western world is, overall, primarily focused on postures. However, before its introduction to the West, yoga was something much broader—more a philosophy than an activity.
Patanjali was an Indian sage responsible for compiling the Yoga Sutras sometime prior to 400 CE. Within the Sutras, Patanjali detailed the Eight Limbs of Yoga. The first four limbs, one of which is asana (yoga postures), are more concrete and tangible actions, while the Continue reading “Yoga Beyond the Mat: The Yamas”
“The longest journey sometimes is between your mind and your heart.”
These words, belonging to Native American activist Tom B.K. Goldtooth, speak to what can sometimes be a great divide, a deep and wide valley to cross as we seek to balance and reconcile two essential elements of our being as humans. Continue reading
As I drive along the rural road approaching my laneway, I typically drive slowly if for no other reason than physically slowing down helps to mentally slow down as I arrive home. On this particular day, with snow and some ice on the road, I was going a little slower than usual as I came upon the gate that marks the laneway entrance. But I must have still needed to use some brake and as I started to make the turn as I found myself in a slow skid and heading toward the right side gatepost. Continue reading “Gaining control by giving up control”
“The easiest and least expensive upgrade is gratitude.”
I feel a bit sheepish inaugurating this blog with a quotation of my own devising, but gratitude has been muchly on my mind. Phones, devices, and technology are symptomatic of our tendency to want the latest and greatest. And it extends to so many aspects of our lives… Continue reading
