.......witness

Yogis,
I experienced a new clarity but not sure I can put it into words. I am going to give it a whirl anyway.

While at the beach for our vacation I decided to get up early the first day to go see the sunrise. Alarm set for 5:50. Quick brushing of the teeth, Phoebe fed, clothes thrown on and we are out the door by 6:05. Sunrise was at 6:25. We began our run.

As soon as we start toward the ocean, we enter a thick dense fog. Uh oh.  The closer we get, the foggier it becomes. We crest the dune to an eerie scene. Only one other person sits in the distance quietly on a lifeguard stand, shrouded in fog. As we sit in the sand, the sky slowly lightens but no clear evidence of the sun’s ascent. My hair wet from the air.

It became a habit. Each day the alarm rang at 5:50 and we made our way down. The next day less foggy with small portions of the sun showing through the breaks. The following day low clouds along the horizon line with a pink streaked sky I spotted from two blocks away. The day after that crystal clear. Different people. Different birds. Every sunrise unique. Every one special.

On the fourth day as I stood welcoming in the new day, I experienced a moment where instead of watching the sunrise, I was her witness.

I have always announced that ‘I am going to see the sunrise’ which puts the emphasis on me. Me as the center and an action that I am taking. What I noticed that morning while being serenaded by the waves was that the sun rises every morning whether I am there or not. She lifts slightly differently each morning even when I am snuggled under the covers or sitting at the table drinking my tea. Whether it is raining out or there is a snowstorm. She happens.

That day I felt different. Instead of watching her, I felt that I was her witness. Can you feel any shift? It is quite subtle.

To bear witness to her is to stop my ‘doing’ and be present to the life force that is happening in front of me at that moment. The sun as the doer and I as the receiver. Acknowledging her awesome ‘sun-ness’.

We can choose to be the witness at any moment. Instead of looking at the flower…pause, let go of thought, and receive the beauty she is already shining your way. Look up to the sky and watch the way a cloud floats across the blue sky, shape shifting as she moves. When you see your next star, bear witness to the miracle of stars lighting our night sky.

On the yoga path we practice being in touch with the ‘you’. The self. The observer inside who doesn’t think, judge, worry……or ever change. It is this ‘you’ that can bear witness, and in so doing, creates a bond between the seer and the seen.

On that day, the sun was seen,
SARAH