I am a firm believer that if you believe in something positive, then it will be a positive truth for you. I also think that everyone should own a cat so they can expel the fear that cats are awful sneaky pets - but that's my truth :) I think every Spring I look for some grandiose transition into something new: a school year completing, a new dedication to fitness once the snow was off the sidewalks, an ability to breathe deeply again, etc. This is proving to be true for me this year also, as I transition out of my "year" of service, and into something new. Every where I go I am getting the questions of where exactly I will be going, and what I will be doing. This year, more than ever, being as deeply formative and challenging as it is/was has inspired me to truly follow my passion for working with underrepresented students of color. This can play out in a few different arenas and positions, and I have been enjoying the adventure of discerning what that would look like for me.
Along with the slight pressure to buckle something down, I also received some news that made me cling a little closer to my roots. Throughout all of this change, an increase in my workload, there has been one continuous presence that was a huge support to me throughout this specific spring roller coaster: my community yoga class. 10- weeks of teacher training for 2 awesome yogis, revealed itself as an incredibly beneficial weekly ashtanga practice for me. This was an intermediate class bringing together young professionals like myself, my coworker and her friends, as well as just random people from around the community. All shapes, sizes and ages. We came together in community and serenity every Tuesday- honoring the humanity of each other at our practices. I have ben practicing yoga for about 5 years now, and this class was just so inspiring to me. Our teacher had a lot to do with that for sure, and it ended up being something I looked forward to every week.
One particular exercise we did before one practice when attendance was down was to sit in a circle, turned to our left, so we were all facing the back of the person in front of us. We were asked to place our left hand over our heart, and our right hand on the back of the person in front of us behind where their heart is. Close your eyes- and send energy to the person in front of you.
In that moment I felt many things: peace, content, joy, vulnerable... It was like a ring of love and pure positivity with basically a group of strangers.
I believe there's a real lesson in that: When do we offer our hearts energy to others, truly? How much do we disconnect and send some own positivity to ourselves- thanking our heart and body for everything it does for us?
As some days for me are harder than others, what brings me back to the world is closing my eyes, focusing on sending my breath to my heart and thinking "thank you". Any trials and tribulations that happen in transitionary times are sure to come in times when they aren't welcome. When we aren't in a very stable emotional, mental, physical, or financial state where we can deal with anything that comes our way. As I trust that everything in my life will turn out just how it's supposed to be, I remember what a man at our local YMCA mentioned to me while I was waiting there: "you know what- I'm blessed. I'm really blessed because if something isn't meant to happen for me it won't, and if it is meant to then it will. You just have to trust that it will- and remember how blessed you are."
As I currently travel up to my alma mater, about to witness thousands of transitioning beings at 3 or more graduations, and as I begin to transition out of my AmeriCorps year with St Vincent de Paul, I am sending 3 things to all people I may see over my weekend trip, to myself, to those hurting in poverty- who have may not felt content many years; and to any heart that may need a breather: Shanti Shanti Shanti - Peace, Peace, Peace.
Namaste,
Mary
P.S.
My bib from my first 10K on May 3rd and a random selfie! :P
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