The Falcom Hears The Falconer
From the continued meltdown of the financial sector to the trillions spent on bailouts and stimulus packages, foreclosures, Ponzi schemes, death panels, incessant talk of healthcare reform, homegrown terrorists, H1N1 hype and the death of Michael Jackson, 2009 has felt like a very long meandering drive down a poorly maintained, winding mountain road in the dark. One word stands out in my mind...calamity. For a time it seemed that calamity indeed loomed around the next corner and as a culture we were holding our collective breath. I know millions of Americans faced real calamity in the loss of job and home, mounting bills, and limited options. This has been a tough year on many fronts. I don’t think this truth would be denied by many.
As the end of this interesting year draws to a close, the mantra, I’m still here, has been bubbling to the surface. This seems particularly important to me lately because I know that during particularly high periods of emotional stress or when faced with anxiety-provoking realities, it is all too easy to dissociate from the space of inner peace and fortitude. It is even harder to hold onto a sense of calm deliberation when we have a personal history of drama and being reactive. Personally, I think we have been slogging our way through a fairly intense chapter of collective angst that no amount of “positive thinking” could ameliorate. There has been unprecedented change in a very short stretch of time and for many of us the resultant landscape has changed substantially.
Whether you believe that the change we have experienced over the last 12 months (and more) is going to make us stronger or that it’s a sign of a slow but inevitable decline, is irrelevant to me because today, this very moment, in every breath, I’m still here. This may sound simple but the essential quality that I know and embrace as seminally John, hasn’t changed as a result of all the external turmoil. I think we often forget this simple truth. As a result, we begin to feel lost or adrift in the turmoil. In repeating this mantra, I’m still here, to myself over the last weeks and months, I have found space to exhale and relax into the potential of what lies ahead. The alternative is to lose oneself in the drama, curling back into a place of greater fear and anxiety. I think the benefit of staying present during such difficult times is somewhat obvious. On one hand, we can better marshal the energy necessary to address obstacles and challenges. Perhaps more importantly, we increase the likelihood that we will stay present through the gorgeous sunsets spent with a partner, laughter of a child or aimless play of a beloved pet.
Yoga taught me the mantra, I’m still here. To stand on my hands, meditate for hours, balance on one foot, flow continuously for an hour or stay in a headstand for 5 minutes required that I believe in myself and tap into that bottomless well of inner calm and integrity. Despite what at times, seems like struggle or turmoil, I’m still here in each breath and every moment. Noting that the external may have shifted, while reconnecting with that timeless, limitless, spaceless quality of consciousness is why we are here. Yoga reminds me that even amongst the stressful periods, there is always the potential for creative play.
As the end of this interesting year draws to a close, the mantra, I’m still here, has been bubbling to the surface. This seems particularly important to me lately because I know that during particularly high periods of emotional stress or when faced with anxiety-provoking realities, it is all too easy to dissociate from the space of inner peace and fortitude. It is even harder to hold onto a sense of calm deliberation when we have a personal history of drama and being reactive. Personally, I think we have been slogging our way through a fairly intense chapter of collective angst that no amount of “positive thinking” could ameliorate. There has been unprecedented change in a very short stretch of time and for many of us the resultant landscape has changed substantially.
Whether you believe that the change we have experienced over the last 12 months (and more) is going to make us stronger or that it’s a sign of a slow but inevitable decline, is irrelevant to me because today, this very moment, in every breath, I’m still here. This may sound simple but the essential quality that I know and embrace as seminally John, hasn’t changed as a result of all the external turmoil. I think we often forget this simple truth. As a result, we begin to feel lost or adrift in the turmoil. In repeating this mantra, I’m still here, to myself over the last weeks and months, I have found space to exhale and relax into the potential of what lies ahead. The alternative is to lose oneself in the drama, curling back into a place of greater fear and anxiety. I think the benefit of staying present during such difficult times is somewhat obvious. On one hand, we can better marshal the energy necessary to address obstacles and challenges. Perhaps more importantly, we increase the likelihood that we will stay present through the gorgeous sunsets spent with a partner, laughter of a child or aimless play of a beloved pet.
Yoga taught me the mantra, I’m still here. To stand on my hands, meditate for hours, balance on one foot, flow continuously for an hour or stay in a headstand for 5 minutes required that I believe in myself and tap into that bottomless well of inner calm and integrity. Despite what at times, seems like struggle or turmoil, I’m still here in each breath and every moment. Noting that the external may have shifted, while reconnecting with that timeless, limitless, spaceless quality of consciousness is why we are here. Yoga reminds me that even amongst the stressful periods, there is always the potential for creative play.