Ordinarily EXTRAORDINARY
I found an old friend in my book of poems this past week. Maybe you heard me share it in class.
Ordinary Life by Karolyn Kinane
“My ordinary life will sometimes tell
Me that I need to rush through dinner, or
Fill empty space with words to numb my mind
With movies, facebook, junk food, or more wine.
And yet my ordinary life of snow,
Soup, fire, grass, sun, rabbit, cat, book, and sleep
Needs space in which to happen and be felt.
In breath, the being and the doing merge.
Like a Japanese tea ceremony,
A preparation and event itself,
All the moment needs in my attention
For each gesture to be graceful, to brew
A tea both delicate and bold, just as
Wholesome in the making as in the taking.”
Sometimes I read things like this and I find affirmation for what I didn’t even know I thought I already knew. (Go ahead and read that again, maybe it will make sense the second time) 😊 And other times, my knowledge is challenged to expand and allow something new to be considered. This week, this poem shouted, “YOUR LIFE IS EXTRAORDINARY”. This was both an affirmation and something new!
I know I have an amazing life. I have a beautiful family, a loving husband, phenomenal business partners and I get to teach and do a lot of yoga! But this is MY ordinary. As such, my ordinary life sometimes tells me that I need to rush, multitask, or deny myself even a simple nicety. I can really be my own worst enemy. But when I pause at the end class for a savasana, or to hold space for you to rest in yours, I remember that every moment is an event in it of itself! I’m watching a beautiful moment as I witness your savasana, your practice. I take a breath and the “being and doing merge.” When I allow myself to embrace this truth, to witness its simple power, and allow myself to just BE in that moment, there is no doing. These words, this community, this practice… reminded me that I have a pretty awesome life. This practice makes each moment an extraordinary event in an extraordinary life. Please do not miss understand me, I have challenges, relationships that are down-right hard, painful stories from my past and all that goes with living a human life. But all-in-all, my ordinary life is EXTRAORDINARY.
May you breathe deeply, move freely, labor lovingly and live vibrantly.
Namaste,
Kimberlyn
