A contemplation on practice & time
Last week there was a trend here to post something from 2016. I remembered that year my teacher Eddie Stern offered me the most wonderful opportunity to be part of this amazing film ‘On Yoga: The architecture of Peace’ by Michael O’Neill. I thought I'd share a clip from that and a clip from now (on Instagram @bibi.lorenzetti), along with Eddie's wise words and a personal reflection on change and practice.
In many ways the world 10 years ago was so different. Many of us would never have imagined many aspects of today's reality. A lot has happened to us as a global unit in the past 10 years.
If I boil it down to the smallness of my life and filter it through the lens of yoga practice I'll say this about the past 10 years...
Practice - any practice that leads to contemplation on all aspects of oneself - has the potential to deeply transform us. This transformation is not an external one, or one that leads us to be something/someone we weren't to begin with, but rather a quiet return to the goodness we innately hold.
Some things remain the same, but if you have practiced for some time you know nothing is the same. The practice itself may be the same structure, sequence, mantra, method...but everything else, including the experience of that practice and your relationship to it changes. If it doesn't you should consider looking at that.
A practice that leads you to compassion, to open yourself to the suffering of others, to doing your duty with great reverence and care, to relate with those you touch with skill, is the most radical thing we can offer ourselves and others at this time.
Standing here looking back, nothing is the same yet the devotion to what got me here remains unwaivering. That is thanks to all those who walk the path with me. The gift of Sangha or satsang that is embedded into practice is something we all need to hold near our hearts. We grow into the light together, we hold the darkness together. We breathe together.
Love, hold, care, feel the darkness, the pain, the suffering. remember love, remember hope ...stay close to your community and deeply care for another.
That is one thing we can do.
That is what comes to mind for me when I look back t 2016.
A blog Post from Bibi Lorenzetti