.....until it becomes a burden

Yogis,

One of the items on my ‘things I love about winter list’ is how deserted the beach is when we go there for walks.  Phoebe can be off leash, chasing birds and stretching out her legs without a soul in site.  Sometimes I bring a ball to throw for her.

She is part retriever and therefore does ‘part’ of the retrieving process.  She runs like the wind to go get it, skidding ungracefully in the sand and diving in to scoop up the prize. Then when she is supposed to bring it back, she doesn’t.  She carries it around and stays a comfortable distance away. I will eventually get it from her each time and then we repeat the process. 

She loves when we bring the ball. The ball brings her joy……until it doesn’t. The longer we walk the more tired her mouth becomes from carrying it. She will lay down, dropping it but keeping a close paw on it just in case. Every pile of seaweed and shells that she desperately wants to sink her nose in requires placing the ball in a spot where she can both sniff and keep watch.  I eventually sense that I should take the ball and put it in my pocket to set her free. The ball has become a burden.

Are we any different?  We acquire many ‘balls’ that bring us joy…...until they too become a burden. The big house. The nice cars, with equally nice payments.  Jewelry, clothes, electronics. They make us feel so good when they first arrive. But then we must house them, clean them, pay for them and keep one close paw on them in case anyone tries to take them. They, like the ball, at times become a burden.

When I first met my teacher she asked a group of us “How would you be if suddenly everything was gone?” I ponder this often and my deepest self knows I would be fine. Yet as I work to clear out my own home I find myself holding something up that I no longer need but still place it back where it was due to some memory, or potential some day in the future possible use. Sigh. Attachments.

It got me thinking. Wouldn’t it be nice if we each had someone who would sometimes notice and put it all in their pocket for a while so we could run free? Untethered, with nothing binding us to one spot.  Free to follow our heart and run like the wind…..

How would you be if suddenly everything was gone? 

Softening my grip, 
SARAH