In the matter of 10 minutes yesterday, I went from the peace of savasana to referring to a guy as a “freaking idiot” as I watched him nose his car in front of mine and take a coveted parking space (okay, I said it only to my husband and the word I used was a little stronger). Not the energy I intended to bring out of yoga.
And while my reactiveness was short lived, I’m starting to realize…how we see the world is so influenced by how we decide to see the world.
I think of people who have been so wronged and yet, so courageous—Nelson Mandela, Dalai Lama--on my short list—and despite suffering exile, imprisonment-- they continue to see and create beauty around them. Who doesn’t want that kind of energy?
So my parking space response is not what I aspire to. Awareness of how I frame the world feels like an important first step:
What’s in my lens right now: mitochondrial Eve (mt. Eve). The concept of connectedness. A huge reframe.
I learned about mt. Eve several months ago—I was fascinated. For the uninitiated: scientists in the late 80’s traced the DNA of every single living person to a single human being. WOW. Consider the implications.
Buddhists have been telling us this for always—we are all connected.
And now science echoes this thought. Some 200,000 years ago (give or take) there lived one woman -- not the first woman,--but one woman who started the lineage that is modern humanity: mitochondrial Eve. Our exponential GRAND mother.
And the ultimate reframe: if we are all connected…truly related…from mt. Eve…how does that affect how we treat others. AND how we treat ourselves. Can we all create the kind of light in the world that I see in Dalai Lama’s face? The possibilities are infinite.
That thought just blew me away—so I looked to mt. Eve to find joy on my canvas this week.
I had grand plans for art that was complex and layered, but this piece screamed for simplicity and pure celebration. I resisted the temptation to overwork it and instead let it stand. Simple. Interconnectedness.
And that’s what I’ve been saying. How in a flash things can become complicated—how the silliness of someone stealing a parking spot can steal you…but only if you let it.
It’s in those moments when we choose to reframe our experience that we can change the energy of our being. It’s how Mandela could invite his jailers to his inauguration or the man that sought his death sentence to be his dinner guest. He shared their humanity. He felt connected. It’s just that simple.
So here we are on the verge of a new year. In my life, in my art, in my relationships, I hope to take risks. To laugh more. To take a breath when I go astray. To continue to reframe. To connect.
For this new year, I wish you peace and joy in your world. And that in moments when you are challenged – that you think twice before relinquishing that peace. Decide how you frame your world and and know even in the smallest changes, you create ripples through the universe.
And I wish for us all that we take the time to notice the beauty that surrounds—the Mandelas and Dalai Lamas and all the sweet people that make us smile— and remember we all come from mt. Eve. We share the same potential. And the freewill to use it.
Namaste’
And while my reactiveness was short lived, I’m starting to realize…how we see the world is so influenced by how we decide to see the world.
I think of people who have been so wronged and yet, so courageous—Nelson Mandela, Dalai Lama--on my short list—and despite suffering exile, imprisonment-- they continue to see and create beauty around them. Who doesn’t want that kind of energy?
So my parking space response is not what I aspire to. Awareness of how I frame the world feels like an important first step:
What’s in my lens right now: mitochondrial Eve (mt. Eve). The concept of connectedness. A huge reframe.
I learned about mt. Eve several months ago—I was fascinated. For the uninitiated: scientists in the late 80’s traced the DNA of every single living person to a single human being. WOW. Consider the implications.
Buddhists have been telling us this for always—we are all connected.
And now science echoes this thought. Some 200,000 years ago (give or take) there lived one woman -- not the first woman,--but one woman who started the lineage that is modern humanity: mitochondrial Eve. Our exponential GRAND mother.
And the ultimate reframe: if we are all connected…truly related…from mt. Eve…how does that affect how we treat others. AND how we treat ourselves. Can we all create the kind of light in the world that I see in Dalai Lama’s face? The possibilities are infinite.
That thought just blew me away—so I looked to mt. Eve to find joy on my canvas this week.
I had grand plans for art that was complex and layered, but this piece screamed for simplicity and pure celebration. I resisted the temptation to overwork it and instead let it stand. Simple. Interconnectedness.
And that’s what I’ve been saying. How in a flash things can become complicated—how the silliness of someone stealing a parking spot can steal you…but only if you let it.
It’s in those moments when we choose to reframe our experience that we can change the energy of our being. It’s how Mandela could invite his jailers to his inauguration or the man that sought his death sentence to be his dinner guest. He shared their humanity. He felt connected. It’s just that simple.
So here we are on the verge of a new year. In my life, in my art, in my relationships, I hope to take risks. To laugh more. To take a breath when I go astray. To continue to reframe. To connect.
For this new year, I wish you peace and joy in your world. And that in moments when you are challenged – that you think twice before relinquishing that peace. Decide how you frame your world and and know even in the smallest changes, you create ripples through the universe.
And I wish for us all that we take the time to notice the beauty that surrounds—the Mandelas and Dalai Lamas and all the sweet people that make us smile— and remember we all come from mt. Eve. We share the same potential. And the freewill to use it.
Namaste’
