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Part 53 - Life

Yoga is part of my life. My life is part yoga. This blog is about both.

· yoga,mind,joy,consistency

"Undisturbed calmness of mind is attained by cultivating friendliness toward the happy, compassion for the unhappy, delight in the virtuous, and indifference toward the wicked."

- Patanjali

Yesterday's post is, I believe, about the former, "... indifference toward the wicked." Not that crazy is necessarily wicked, but it carries some similar characteristics.

My goal with incorporating a daily yoga practice is into my life is more associated with the first three. I have found moments of undisturbed calmness.

Those moments are few. Those moments are lovely. Those moments are becoming more and more frequent.

Friendliness towards happiness is pretty easy. The hard part is to notice happiness when it's here. It seems we would recognize happy, but it slips by sometimes without notice. Mindfulness, being present, helps. Last week I spent a lot of time in the car. When I consciously moved myself to focus on the moment, I found the happy. I noticed the joy in my surroundings. Central Texas is striking and beautiful, when one takes a moment to notice.

I have a yoga instructor here in Nashville who takes several pauses throughout a practice to say, "Notice. Just notice." I hear her voice sometimes whilst driving. It helps.

Take a moment to just notice.

Compassion for the unhappy is a little more difficult. I think, after reflection, yesterday's post is a note-to-self to think on this idea. I still believe that we have zero responsibility to keep crazy in our lives, but I am pretty sure that we should find some compassion for crazy. It can not be fun to live inside a disturbed mind.

Delight in the virtuous, like friendliness towards happiness, seems like a no-brainer.

And yet ...

There are times when virtue is not, in the moment, easy to choose. Virtue sometimes demands difficult decisions. Ethical choices are not always easy, as much as we like to believe they should be. Approached in good faith, ethical decisions are much easier. Approached with an open heart and clear mind, ethical decisions are natural.

I've made yoga a part of my life. I've made a conscious decision to incorporate a daily practice. I'm trying to find joy in the moments. It's a journey.