tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-701398972654566371.post6918807914621500209..comments2008-02-18T15:29:32.808-05:00Johnny Gillespienoreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-701398972654566371.post-84292230013635136552008-02-18T15:29:00.000-05:002008-02-18T15:29:00.000-05:00Hi, Johnny - you - uninspired?! was thinking about this kind of blah feeling after coming out of a long period of sickness for our family. It left me with the illusion that I needed to regain control of our lives by shrinking my world - by clearing the decks, so to speak, so that the challenges of being sick, of having sick kids, of feeling like I and they weren't fulfilling our obligations would be minimized. Then I began thinking about a chapter in Pema Chodron's book The Wisdom of No Escape, in which she talks about needing to embrace the difficulty of sadness and the power and vision of the Great Eastern Sun in order "to make a proper cup of tea." This led me to think about the idea of the Chinese yin yang (and, of course, how that connects to a balanced yoga practice...) - in which there is the circle, a symbol of unity, and the pairing of opposites (light and dark, activity and passivity), the tension between which promotes growth and progress. In short, I came to realize, the way to clarity is not to eliminate challenge, but to recognize it as an equal and essential part of the process. For there to be balance, there must be challenge and calm, doing and resting, or in Chodron's words, samsara and nirvana.Jennifer Collisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16595760244024368719noreply@blogger.com