“We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures.”
-Thornton Wilder
Treasuring something is just one aspect of love. We can only treasure if we slow down, see things as they are, and let ourselves really feel what’s going on within and around us. Treasuring is acceptance, cherishing and protecting something dear to you, and keeping the highest spiritual perspective.
I honestly have such a hard time with that sometimes. Especially since becoming a mom, I’ve often gotten overwhelmed at the sheer amount of things I felt I needed to do, but never seemed to have the time and energy to do.
It took me a while to realize that not all of it had to be done right this moment.
In October, I chose ‘shift’ as the word of the month. It was a reminder that it only takes a moment to shift your mindset. On each busy day that seemed too full, I wanted to remember that sometimes it only takes a few deep breaths, permission to do a yoga pose or two, or allowing myself to do a fun, lighthearted yoga practice so that I could get out of a funk.
In November, I focused on the word ‘connect’ as the word of the month. Once I knew I could shift, then that small step taken became an invitation to connect: to myself, to others, and to the situation around me. How funny that, at the end of the month, I fell into a moment of stress and ended up flipping my lid at my daughter. I could have taken that as a failure to connect, and it was a momentary misstep. But I used it to connect to my body and mind, to realize that I was so tired and pushing myself and her to do too much. I took the opportunity to connect with her by apologizing. I also saw the hidden invitation to reconnect to my yoga practice in a moment when I felt like crap and wondered how I’d gotten so out of balance.
So, looking back on the past two months, I decided that an appropriate word of the month to follow ‘shift’ and ‘connect’ is ‘treasure.’ Because you can really only treasure something after you’ve shifted and connected. So, after my imperfect attempts to shift and connect in the last two months, I’m going to slow down even more during a time of year when people tend to zip around getting everything done in the name of the holidays. I’m going to slow down and do simple yoga, rather than let my yoga practice fall completely by the wayside just because December is busy and we all tend to wait for January 1st to resolve to make better choices.
Would you like to slow down with me? I’m not saying to scratch things off your to-do list, even though that might also be helpful. I’m inviting you to find brief moments of time to slow down, even if your days are still busy. Slow down, shift your mindset, connect, and treasure all that has brought us to this moment. How can we do this? Write down a few things that you treasure (perhaps somewhat like a gratitude practice). Think of these things a few times a day, whether you're engaged in a task or are able to take a moment to pause for a few breaths or for a few yoga poses. Think of these things you treasure when you wake up and when you go to sleep. Recall them when you get dressed for the day and when you’re on the toilet (seriously! Why not??). You get the idea. Just bring yourself back again and again to what you treasure throughout the day.
The nice thing about doing this is that you begin to notice the little treasures in your day: something that made you laugh, a really delicious meal, a walk with a friend, a text from someone you love, holiday decorations lighting up the community, a smile or a hug from your kid. Treasuring is an action as well as a thing that we discover within us or around us when we slow down, shift our mindset, and connect. The picture above makes me think of this; there I am, as a new mom about 5 years ago treasuring my little baby girl!
Happy December, Yoga Mamas! I hope you try this. It seems so simple, but the challenge is in remembering to do it. The reward is so much more satisfaction in your day, your relationships, and your yoga practice. Jai Ma!
P.S. this post is about a week late! But that doesn’t mean that when December ends, we should forget all about this practice. Why not let it carry over into January?