The wonder of life

Everything we do and say has an impact on ourselves and those around us. You already knew that, right?

For some this feels paralyzing, and I absolutely understand. If it is all important, it is hard not to feel terrified to move. But here’s the thing: stillness is also an action, a choice we make that affects us and those around us.

And not everything we do needs to be revolutionary. In fact, Emergent Strategy teaches us that small is everything, that small is the reflection of the large, that we all can see only fractions of the whole, and that it is enough, that it is perfect. In short: that the tiny thing we might have thought is too insignificant to even bother with doing in fact is all there is, forever, in perpetuity.

I find this tremendously freeing. I also know that this is yoga.

Yoga teaches me daily that the smallest adjustments — to my attention, the way I hold my hands or my feet, the intensity of my gaze, even just twisting my lips into the tiniest of smiles — have an effect on my whole body, mind, and mood.

It is the same with life off the mat. The tiniest interaction, the attitude with which I approach it, it all matters. In fact: it is all that matters. The wonder of life is in the details. I sometimes forget it but I always know it is true.

Originally published at https://www.yogatheworld.org on December 15, 2023.