Renewal

Staring at the gates of spring while yet in February is like Oliver asking for more gruel. Remember the pitiful lines from the musical? “Please Sir, can I have some more?’ It ain’t gonna happen, and it is both foolish and brave to ask for what we do not have but long for, be it porridge, grass, or freedom.

Important questions arise from silly meanderings of wishing for spring renewal, and wanting more porridge. How do we dance instead of sogg through these last, lock-down weeks of winter? How to move through months of sudden and extreme shifts without losing our core? How to be bold enough to stand up and ask for what the soul needs, despite what the world says we cannot be/have/do. These are difficult terms of battle. It is battle with the world, and more importantly it is within self. It is the unconscious sparring of ego with soul. The ego is horrified by the loss of work, lack of money, death of a known way of living….The soul, not so much. These two giants are often in unconscious conflict, especially when we wrestle through our nights. The soul says, “Bring it on!” The ego cries out, “No, no. I can’t do that.” And they pretzel-twist into endless configurations of love and hate.

Observing and appreciating the ego’s earnest, longing love affair with the soul makes our interior colors deeper and richer. Conscious observation of these two in their Tango Danse offers space and time for balancing: fear with bravery, confinement with freedom, contempt with compassion.

So, here we stand, staring at spring’s locked gates. Perhaps we are more conscious of our struggle, our underlying wish for days to be different? Now, in that small space between, we begin to breathe joy into the cold and ice, melting hard-hearts, allowing silliness and color to come dance now, not to wait on warmth, and tender buds.

Asana: Choose the pose that brings you renewal, that returns you to yourself, bolder, brighter, happier. Step into consciously selecting a gift for body/mind/heart.