.....observations on the path

Yogis,
They say it takes a month to create a habit. We have now had two. Have you noticed any new patterns? Previously untraveled paths that are now becoming more worn and familiar?  One that has developed for me over these past nine weeks is a weekly email that I send to my students.

It started out as a need to share the weekly schedule, details about Zoom, how to make payments etc, but like everything in life, it evolved. I began adding a new section which became titled ‘observations on the path’ to share some of the aware-nesses that had made themselves known over that previous week.

When we find time to be still and quiet the world reveals itself, and we have had plenty of both ingredients. Here are some things I noticed this week.

Smizing…. Once a week I go to a grocery store and I wear my mask (which by the way is now suddenly feeling more comfortable). Three things happen when you are masked. First you must enunciate more clearly, or you sound like one long mumble. Second, your volume must get turned up a notch. Add in the Plexiglass between you and the also masked cashier and your vocal cords get a real work out.  Finally, no one can see you smile.

I am not a big talker but am a big smiler. As I walk by staff in a store, I always look them in the eye and smile. For me it signals human connection, no matter what role we are playing in this life and is a thank you. So, at this time when I want more than ever to thank them for being there, they can’t see my smile.  

In come the eyes. I keep trying to smile with my eyes. It isn’t easy. Have you tried? There is much more effort and focus required and I don’t think it can be faked. I looked it up and it has a name. Smizing.

It is said that the eyes are the windows to the soul. The real you that often is hard for others to see. I am feeling like smizing requires us to be a bit more vulnerable. A bit more seen with a willingness to see more in others. I will keep practicing.

Wise Old Tree….. There is a tree down by the creek which I have probably passed a hundred times. I know I have looked at it and the way it’s roots float in air. How it reaches for the tree next to it. I can even recall taking pictures of it in the past. But this week it revealed another side.

Had this image always been there but I wasn’t open to see? Had the wind or rain caused a shift in the bark? All I know is this wise old tree tapped me on the shoulder and asked me to see and listen. And I did.

My Fox Family….. Walking Phoebe into the woods behind my house we come across one of the babies. It turns its head in our direction which happens to be stuck inside a clear plastic jar. Oh no! My mind spins. What am I supposed to do?

I, like you, have seen all those videos online of people coming to the rescue of wildlife. They make it look so easy. In real life I am alone, holding a dog on a leash with no idea of where mom fox is or what she would think of me approaching her baby. A trip to the emergency room for rabies shots did not feel appealing. I kept telling the baby, and Phoebe, to relax.

Phone calls made, neighbors arriving but the baby, with mom close behind took off. I kept checking long into the evening, slept with the window open to listen for noises and headed down again early the next morning where I found four kits playing. They allowed me to stay.

I am choosing to believe the jar had come off.

Be quiet and notice,
SARAH