Generous Wisdom | Spacious Heart
Wise Heart Practices of Movement, Metaphor, Meditation & Meaning
When I am lonely, and mired in hopelessness, lift me.
When I am angry, and aflame with incredulity and indignation, cool me.
When I am spinning with joy and ease, nudge me.
When I am drowsy with contentment and bliss, wake me.
When I am overcome with grief and sorrow, uncover me.
When I am laden with powerlessness and loss, energize me.
Lord God, you are all in all. Help me to remember you always.
Amen.
In an email interview, Yoga International asked David Swenson, “What does it mean to you to be a yogi in the modern world?” Enjoy his response:
“The definition of a yogi that I most like is this: ‘A yogi is one who leaves a place just a little nicer than when they arrived!’ I like this statement for its simplicity and down-to-earth recognition of yoga being something that benefits not only the one practicing it but also the world around them.”
He elaborates on this, and then adds,
“If we wish to ask ourselves if we are a yogi, I think the question could be this one: ‘Is the world a better place by our presence in it?“‘
What I love most about this definition of a yogi is that, in essence, one does not necessarily have to maintain a formal or traditional yoga practice to be one. Because my Roman Catholic Grandmother made the world a better place for her having been in it, indeed, she is a yogi! If my eighty-three-year-old neighbor pretends to chase my two-year-old around the yard and elicits screams of delight and giggles, he, indeed, is a yogi! (Even if he doesn’t like it!)
Are you a yogi? Can you be one?
To read David Swenson’s entire interview and others, please visit ashtanga.net.
Lord of miracles,
Open my eyes that I might see
the beauty and goodness of your world,
and open my eyes to the ways we have marred its beauty.
Open my eyes to the beauty and goodness of all your people,
and open my eyes to all the ways we exploit, wound, and kill each other.
Open my eyes to my own sinfulness,
that I may repent and live your life of compassion
and forgiveness a bit more deeply.
Open my eyes to the needs of the people around me.
Open my eyes to all the ways you come to me today.
Open my eyes to all the signs of love and kindness
others give to me today.
Open my eyes to all the signs of your coming in this Advent season.
Open my eyes to all the ways
I can be a sign of your coming in my work today.
Open my life, Lord, to this wonderful, graced world,
and the signs of your coming kingdom.
Open my eyes always, Lord, to your presence around me and in me.
Amen.
~Reposted from livingwithchrist.us.
(A prayer for today from an Orthodox Hymn to Saint Nicholas.)
Generous Wisdom | Spacious Heart 