One Endless Saturday #pandemic #hearthfire #fear #joy #freedom

On By Alethea KehasIn A New Earth, Reflections, yoga
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Photo Credit: <a href="http://Image by Sergei Tokmakov from Pixabay” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”>Pixabay

Through no choice of our own, we are all being called to pull inward, to the comfort of the hearth fire. To our homes. At night I dream of old homes and new. Of fireplaces in rooms they have never been before. Reality is teased into new forms and one wonders what is real.

No doubt I am not the only one who is losing track of dates and even minutes. Each day feels like a Saturday, wrapped inside of itself like the planet in the distant sky. There is comfort to staying within. Avoidance, though, does not always equal protection.

The further we retreat inside, the more we are beckoned by what resides within the shadows. As we walk the familiar hallways of our “homes,” the eye is pulled to see what it has easily overlooked due to the hustle of distraction.

Never before, in my lifetime, have I felt the collective pull into the present moment. Each breath feels like a gift. Each inhale an opportunity to receive or let go. As I healer, I have come to know the feel of fear and how it likes to wrap the chest like armor. I will protect you, it whispers promise.

Fear lies. The promise of protection becomes a trap when it is held for too long. The breath shortens and becomes shallow. Instead of coursing on the wave of life throughout the body, it pounds for freedom off the walls of the chest.

I cannot help but think often of the breath during these days that feel like one endless cycle of rebirth. Within the endless minute I notice how long my body holds air before it lets go. How much life it is willing to take inside, and how much it is willing to let go.

We may cling to the belief that there is little we can now control, but this too is a false whisper belonging to fear. Never before, perhaps, have most of us been given a greater opportunity to take hold of the reins and ride into wild freedom, or pull tightly into restraint.

By freedom, I do not intend to imply a reckless abandonment of judgement. True freedom is a personal ride to find one’s own natural rhythm among the outer rhythm of life. When the outer slows down its hustle, the opportunity to find the cadence within is opened, its dance tantalizingly electric.

The outer eyes collapse into the inner and life is explored in new ways. Dormant seeds begin to find the light you bring to them, and new growth starts to take hold and even flourish. When the outer world as we knows it collapses into a new fold, so too must we.

Even though the dance may at first feel awkward, Joy’s hand is always there ready to be grasped. My own inner journey during this long stretch of Saturdays, has found me exploring virtual yoga. Instead of grasping the familiar of avoidance, I found it was time to let go resistance and find a new home teaching remotely, through a screen.

This new gift of collapsing space to find connection through a screen brought some frustration until I acknowledged the vice of Fear attempt to trap. And there was Joy on the other side. Waiting for to laugh we me at the missteps. Waiting to take my hand and waltz into this new land. Joy never promises the dance will be easy, but it always lead with the light of truth.

 

14 thoughts on “One Endless Saturday #pandemic #hearthfire #fear #joy #freedom”

  2. Pingback: But is this a choice? – The Light Behind the Story

  3. My husband and I are treating this time like a spiritual retreat and eager to see what we will learn on this one. Doubtless you are aware of the astrology–Pluto, Saturn, Jupiter all in Capricorn… which is an echo from the time of the American revolution and one other revolutionary aspect I’ve forgotten. this is a revolution in consciousness rather than a war sort of one.

    I’ve an interesting piece on Fear in my blog, Tasha’s Perspective.

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    1. I only have a vague understanding of astrology, but I do find it fascinating and like to read about it. It does feel like a revolution of consciousness. Can you send me the link to the post you are referring to? Thank you. I think I spiritual retreat is a lovely approach.

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  5. I’d be pleased to send you a copy of my book, Up To My Neck In Lemons, it’s a collection of essays, poetry and recipes. You can look it up on Amazon, and my other book, Heartwings Love Notes for a Joyous life. I’d love it if you reviewed either or both on your blog. Who were your Yoga teacher’s teachers? Mine studied with Iengar, and taught well. You live in Australia, I believe? How is it there with the virus? I have not heard.

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    1. I’d be happy to take a look at your books for my blog. Please send me a copy of both, or whichever one you want featured if you want me to do a book feature. Or, if you want both, we can do an author interview. I studied with local teachers, but am hoping to do further hours in energy medicine yoga. I’m in the states, in New Hampshire.

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