After a successful February trip to Tucson for some of the most spectacular gemstones for malas I've ever bought, packing the Toronto studio, getting the plans of both retreats to Ireland well in motion, prep for the Yoga Conference, did the move and organized the space in Guelph.. I got sick, oh so sick. During the push of a lifetime, there would be many gentle messages from beyond to s l o w d o w n and rest. My internal voice would say yes, of course, later. Until one day the rug gets pulled from underneath you super fast and super hard. If you feel little prompts to rest and rejuvenate, I recommend you listen in the whisper stage;) However, there is a preciousness that happens when we become really vulnerable and sick. It's an invitation to deep reflection. In the midst of all the change we experience in our bodies, lives and in the world, how many times in a day do we try to be still as a tree, observe our breathe and it's connection to the magnificent and constant seasons of life? There is beauty and struggle in all the seasons and beauty in the struggle too as the challenging times become our best teachers.
Several times I would reflect on Thay's (Thich Nhat Hanh) message, "no mud, no lotus". One cannot exist without the other. “Without suffering, there's no happiness. So we shouldn't discriminate against the mud. We have to learn how to embrace and cradle our own suffering and the suffering of the world, with a lot of tenderness.”
Today I feel the lotus opening and with it came Spring. I hope you are feeling it too both within and around you wherever this note finds you.