Welcome to..... Fall?!

It’s nearly fall. The equinox is next week. Does it feel as though it caught you a bit by surprise? Me too. How did a summer, that began as if time were standing still, seem to pass by so quickly?

As we began our efforts to contain the spread of the coronavirus by staying at home there was the notion that it might only be so for a short time. As the days passed and as we now realize, we were beginning a marathon and not a sprint. As summer arrived, there was a sense of impatience. We were unable to move about as we were used to doing, and felt hampered by our collective efforts to protect one another from illness. We felt stuck - and were willing to do just about anything to simply get.this.over.and.done! We waited, we fretted, and finally we acquiesced. With enough time spent pining for what didn’t - or couldn’t- happen, and so much uncertainty about how ultimately this story will unfold, maybe we have learned just how important it is to honor the space of the present.

Each visit to our mats transpires in much the same way. Right from the beginning, we are asked to pause. Before the movement, the very reason that we have come, we are asked to sit in stillness. In the quiet we are asked to listen. Mightn’t it be easier just to move? Wouldn’t it be simpler to find tranquility once we have tired the body? Yes, probably. But it also keeps us from acknowledging how we have arrived. In taking a seat and closing the eyes we are invited into the hollow of the present moment; the space in between that which has transpired and whatever is yet to come. And there, we can finally hear.

“Thank you for this moment.”

Wishing this time were over is not going to make it so. Nor does being present-minded take away the gravity of our collective situation or the deaths that have occurred as a result of this pandemic. This is not an excuse to ignore what happened yesterday, nor to wait and hope that someone else will do it tomorrow. This is an invitation to be more immediately and intimately aware of just how much we have to offer, right now. May the reflection of our past, knowing that we have the responsibility of shaping the future, guide us to make the most empowering choices for all in this present.