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10 May 2010

life is a vinyasa





1. I am of the nature to grow old. There is no way to escape growing old.

The forever changing images that I see in the mirror each morning remind me of the first of Buddha’s Five Remembrances. Today this soul’s present incarnation has been on this planet for over 55 years.

My photographs are also constant reminders of my mortality. Every birthday reminds me that I now have less time ahead of me than I have behind me. That knowledge makes each day more precious than the last. I will not die an unlived life.

"eat mangoes naked
lick the juice off your arms
discover your own goodness
smile when you feel like it
be delicious
be rare eccentric original
smile when you feel like it
paint your soul"
---SARK


What happened to the 16 year old? What happened to the 20 year old? They are still here but the package has changed, the ribbons are torn and frayed and the wrapping paper yellowed and weakened in spots.

I see these old photos and am reminded that I almost died at my own hand when I was 16. I never thought I would live to be at the party where my friend grabbed me with gusto around the waist. I could have left this earth a long time ago in more ways than one. I tried my damnedest for years to do just that. But I am still here, those girls are still around somewhere inside my head.

Those photos are also a reminder of the me I lost but found again once I got back on the yoga path. Life is a circle.


"The Ouroboros often represents self-reflexivity or cyclicality, especially in the sense of something constantly re-creating itself, the eternal return, and other things perceived as cycles that begin anew as soon as they end. It can also represent the idea of primordial unity related to something existing in or persisting from the beginning with such force or qualities it cannot be extinguished."



The photos bring home the truth of the Five Remembrances and the truth of impermanence and they remind me to THINK. Birthdays are contemplations on what I would like to plant in this final season of my life.

What will it be?

What do I plan to do with this one wild and precious life?


2. I am of the nature to have ill health. There is no way to escape ill health.

Every day I wake up with pain. My freaky femurs that Paul Grilley uses as examples of extreme internal hip rotation are beginning to ache. My hair is thinning and I can see my scalp. My eyes have the beginnings of cataracts. But I thank the Universe for my physical yoga practice because without it I probably could barely move.

I thank the Universe for my yoga and meditation practice that allows me to know the truth of Buddha’s Fourth Foundation of Mindfulness: mindfulness of the dharma, of the true nature of reality that nothing is permanent, that each moment is constantly changing. Asana practice offers a great window into impermanence because our practice changes every time we step on the mat, from day to day, moment to moment. Is your practice changing as you change? And if not, why not? Get real.


3. I am of the nature to die. There is no way to escape death.

4. All that is dear to me and everyone I love are of the nature to change. There is no way to escape being separated from them.


These remembrances are the hardest lessons to learn. Thoughts of death of those near and dear to us and of our own death strike the most fear in our hearts. It is said that our only fear is the fear of death, all our other fears arise from that primal one.

We know things change but we put so much effort and energy into trying to live life as if that were not so. This is what Patanjali wrote about in chapter 2 of the Yoga Sutra-s: he described the qualities necessary to change the mind effectively and gradually from a state of distraction to one of attention, one of the qualities being avidya which is literally “not seeing.” This willful denial of reality, this willful not seeing the truth of impermanence perpetuates our suffering and misery. We so want things to never change – our hair, our skin, our supple spines, the people in our lives – that clinging to things that are by their very nature impermanent causes our suffering.

The suffering of change is what gives us the most gut wrenching pain in our lives. It is not our physical pain, but the pain of pain.

But when this truth of reality sunk deep into my bones it was liberation. I am not responsible for anyone’s happiness, I am only responsible for my own. No one is responsible for my happiness, I am only responsible for my own.

It’s a law of physics that energy can neither be created nor destroyed. We are energy bodies, filled with chi, prana, Life Force, whatever you want to call it. This body is merely the vessel that will eventually crack open and fall apart like an old terracotta pot. But the essence of me will live on. What is born dies but what is never born can never die. We truly are billion year old carbon.

We shall not cease from exploration.
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time.
-T.S. Eliot



5. My actions are my only true belongings. I cannot escape the consequences of my actions. My actions are the ground upon which I stand.

Like everyone else, my life is composed of losses and gains. My losses have been due to neglect, poor judgment, ego, recklessness, selfishness. My gains have been through hard work, grit, determination, and intuition. Other gains have simply come through the blessings of the Universe. Karma. I’ve been graced with a fortunate birth despite going through things back in the day that would have killed a weaker person. I should never have become this old. The cards were stacked against me. Or were they? I truly am a survivor.

The Five Remembrances keep me awake to the human condition. My spirituality has brought me closer to Spirit, have helped open a heart that was closed for so long, and has taught me to have gratitude for whatever comes my way. My dharma wheel is turning and it tells me to embrace the inevitability of life’s changes.

Life is a constant series of movements that change from one form to another -- just like asanas. I have reached a deep sentient awareness that nothing is truly lost in the end. We meet who we are meant to meet in this life and people come and go and return again in a constant dance and flow -- like a vinyasa. We meet ourselves and each other over and over again in this spanda until we find our way home.

What will you do with your one wild and precious life?


15 comments:

Anonymous said...

Happy birthday Linda. And what fabulous reminisces to have at this time! Really great photos.

I've been thinking about the younger versions of me lately. Especially since yesterday (Mother's Day) my mother handed me a high school report card from year 9 - "I found this as I was cleaning up".

And that was interesting because it was the year (or the year after) this. And that's interesting because according to teacher comments, I seemed to lose interest in my schoolwork in the second half of the year.

Where is that young girl who went through high school as a bit of an emotional disaster zone? I don't remember what she thought about, what filled her time. She is part of me and yet a shell or snake skin I've outgrown. Or have I?

Aurobindo said...

Thanks for reminding us about these eternal truths that we all seem to forget.

And wish you a happy birthday !

Random Thoughts said...

Have a FABULOUS birthday Linda. This one really touched my heart.

charlotte bell said...

Beautiful reflections of the truth, Linda. Thank you for bringing the wisdom of the Buddha down to earth (like a good Taurus). Happy Birthday, fellow Taurus!

charlotte bell said...

Check out a story I wrote in 2004 that expresses similar sentiments. I've posted it on Hugger Mugger Yoga Products blog at http://blog.huggermugger.com/?p=113. Feel free to comment, of course!

Mary said...

You really are beautiful - Happy Birthday and thank you for sharing, as always - you always make me think or simply just smile when I visit your blog.

Brenda P. said...

A wonderful, heartfelt birthday reflection. I love the pictures of the younger (but very familiar-looking in face and mannerism)you. I'm sorry she was having such a rough time of it at that point...

Happy Birthday, and many Happy Returns (in more ways than one)!

Tiffany Hutchings said...

What a beautiful post - with some important reminders. And what gorgeous photos! Thank you for sharing.

Wishing you many blessings on your birthday.

Anonymous said...

Hope you had a very Happy Birthday yesterday! Thank's for sharing such wise words.

roseanne said...

you are such an inspiration! everything about this post and the wisdom with which you approach aging and evolving helps me put my own life in perspective.

thank you for existing! xoxo

Fernanda R. Lima said...

Hey dear friend, happy birthday!! I'm late i know.
But i have to tell you. You are such an incredible human being. This post should be part of a book. You rock girl. Thanks for sharing your wonderful thoughts.

Harih Om

Emma said...

happy belated birthday!

as a side note.. i met SARK once and she is like a ball of loving, happy joy. the type to hug on site. wonderful person!

Bob Weisenberg said...

This is very beautiful.

Flying Yogini said...

lots of goodness in here… hope you have a wonderful birthday and glad to see you blogging again. we are only as old as we fee. The creaks, wrinkles and the gray hairs that fall on my yoga mat are signs of aging, they are also signs of a life lived. celebrate big!

Anonymous said...

Linda: What a perfectly given name! Thanks for sharing beauty on your birthday.