The Art of Living --------- A Ten Part Series by a Modern Day Yogi --------- Part 2 Being Blessed
The Art of Living
Part 2 - Being Blessed
Being blessed is something that we take for granted every day. Whenever we wake up and take a breath, we are
blessed. That breath is not guaranteed. It is such a small thing but without it,
we could not exist. In addition, there is no way to control if the
next breath will come. We could hold our breath for a period but soon
enough we must exhale. Each day I wake up and say thanks for another breath and
give thanks that I have the innate ability to start another day. Of course,
there are so many other things to be thankful for everyday. Appreciation for just another
breath is a great way to truly discover what a gift life is.
The breath that sustains our existence is also known as “prana” or life force. This is inherent in all living things. All share this breath of life. We cannot own it, or sell it to the highest bidder; it is not ours to give. What right do we have to determine when another being should be stripped of their life force? I believe that (with regular yoga practices) one can become more attuned to the life force within and then begin to appreciate that this is something very precious. We cannot hoard it to ourselves. Without any effort on our part, we are giving our life force away just as freely as the breath flows into us without our asking. This system of co-existence among all living beings is proof that we can always find a common place from which to appreciate others, the natural world and ourselves each day.
We are all living within a system that demands our cooperation. If we do not share and value that which gives us life we will someday find that our amazing blessing will slip away from us as quickly and as certainly as night becomes day. Once I heard a man say, “Can’t we all just get along”? It seems such a simple request. Yet everyday what we may witness instead are a few people in our world who are not willing or able to moderate their thoughts, desires or unkind actions against others. Everyday for just a moment we should remember what a blessing it is to share the breath of life with so many other beings around the world. In yoga, we learn to appreciate and use the breath to connect with nature and more importantly to connect with the source that manifest our life giving breath.
The breath that sustains our existence is also known as “prana” or life force. This is inherent in all living things. All share this breath of life. We cannot own it, or sell it to the highest bidder; it is not ours to give. What right do we have to determine when another being should be stripped of their life force? I believe that (with regular yoga practices) one can become more attuned to the life force within and then begin to appreciate that this is something very precious. We cannot hoard it to ourselves. Without any effort on our part, we are giving our life force away just as freely as the breath flows into us without our asking. This system of co-existence among all living beings is proof that we can always find a common place from which to appreciate others, the natural world and ourselves each day.
We are all living within a system that demands our cooperation. If we do not share and value that which gives us life we will someday find that our amazing blessing will slip away from us as quickly and as certainly as night becomes day. Once I heard a man say, “Can’t we all just get along”? It seems such a simple request. Yet everyday what we may witness instead are a few people in our world who are not willing or able to moderate their thoughts, desires or unkind actions against others. Everyday for just a moment we should remember what a blessing it is to share the breath of life with so many other beings around the world. In yoga, we learn to appreciate and use the breath to connect with nature and more importantly to connect with the source that manifest our life giving breath.
Namaste
Dee Williams
Comments
Post a Comment