Here it is, March 31st – the last day of an extraordinary month in human history. So much calamity, fear, and suffering, and also so many opportunities for ingenuity, generosity and discipline to arise.
We are bathed in a lot of quiet right now, something that most people like me who live in New York City are not used to. Yet, in some ways, as yoga practitioners, we’ve been preparing ourselves for this moment. It’s almost like we’ve been forced to go on that silent meditation retreat that we’ve long wished we had the time in our busy lives to carve out for and do. Now, many of us have that time.
For this month’s theme in my yoga classes, I went back to one of my favorites that I’ve shared in the past. Little did I know back at the beginning of this month when I chose my theme that it would end up being so apropos to this particular moment.
Many years ago I listened to Bill Moyers interviewing Pema Chödrön. I never forgot what she said:
The best spiritual instruction is when you wake up in the morning and say “I wonder what’s going to happen today,” … and carry that kind of curiosity through your life.
The goal of practicing yoga and meditation is to try to keep the mind open and spacious, and keep it from becoming clouded over. One of the best ways to do that is remain curious. It will help free the mind to consider possibilities, rather than get bogged down in limited thinking.
And I don’t know where or when this thought came to me, but someone once said:
Revel in not knowing.
Unknown
Yes, not knowing can be scary. And, it can be liberating as well.
Most of us are facing a lot of questions that cannot be answered at this time. And since we don’t have a playbook for this moment, most of us are flying by the seat of our pants.
But what if we gave ourselves the space and the OK to not know. Might we be able to even dare ourselves in reveling in not knowing? In this way, life can become thrilling, not threatening, as Pema Chödrön likes saying.
Don’t think you’re alone in your fears. To that, Pema says:
There is a common misunderstanding among the human beings who have ever been born on earth that the best way to live is to try to avoid pain and just try to get comfortable. You see this even in insects and animals and birds. All of us are the same. A much more interesting, kind and joyful approach to life is to begin to develop our curiosity, not caring whether the object of our curiosity is bitter or sweet. …
So, working with the unknown right now involves cultivating the capacity to remain curious for longer periods of time. It involves being more fully in the present moment by returning to the feeling of the breath over and over again. It involves becoming your own best yoga teacher by cultivating a regular daily personal routine. It doesn’t have to be long. Just do a few sun salutations, maybe a shoulder stand or head stand, and savasana.
I hope that your yoga and meditation practices heretofore have prepared you for this moment.
May your mind be curious, …
May your mind be open and freer, …
May you somehow seize this moment, …
For the benefit of all beings everywhere.
Aloha with Metta,
Paui Keoni Chun
