This is the time of year when collectively we are reminded to give thanks. But for yogis and really anyone on a path of awareness, everyday is Thanksgiving. Not a day goes by that we are not aware of our blessings, freedoms, and incredibly good fortune. Expressing gratitude is something we’re able to do at anytime. Because most of us live in North America, Australia or Western Europe, there is really never a time when we can’t find something to be grateful for. And the added benefit…happy mind. It’s impossible not to be happy when feeling grateful. It automatically lifts the mind out of any funk.
Good thing, because my mind has been a bit funky lately. Once again, I’ve rooted myself up from the safety of the familiar and launched into the world of possibility, as I like to think of it (although it feels like a world of uncertainty and uneasiness). I’ve rented out my condo indefinitely and I spent the past few weeks staying with some wonderfully generous friends. Tomorrow I move in with different wonderfully generous friends, where I will stay put until the end of March. At least that’s the plan now. Who knows after March. I’m working full time in Anaheim until then, teaching Senior yoga, and volunteering with Project Angel Food. Hmm, I’m kind of happy. So I will just continue to remain open to all possibilities. Moving up north in the spring, staying here, or going somewhere else. I’ve decided it really doesn’t matter. The less attached I am to any of it, the happier I am.
I just finished reading Highest Duty, My Search for What Really Matters, by Captain Sully Sullenberger, the pilot who landed the plane in the Hudson earlier this year. It’s one of the most inspirational books I’ve ever read. An ordinary man (in his eyes), living such a richly meaningful life, and performing an extraordinary deed. One of his most inspiring stories was he and his wife’s unsuccessful attempt to summit Mt Whitney. He spoke of how humbling the mountain was. How it showed him the insignificance of the daily life stuff. Yet inspired him to live life "with passion and purpose, and by doing so reminds others of what is possible."
He closed that chapter with a Hopi Indian poem:
"There is a river flowing now so very fast,
It is so great and swift that there are those who will be afraid.
They will try to hold on to the shore.
They will feel they are torn apart and will suffer greatly
Know the river has its destination.
The elders say we must let go of the shore, push off into the middle of the river,
Keep our eyes open and our heads above water"
May we all have the courage to leave the shore and live our lives in the middle of the river.
