It's been a long time, far too long, since I've been to any yoga class, let alone our friend and teacher, Arup Sen. I'll be missing his class again today, because it is the only time I can see a friend I haven't seen for a while, but I will also feel his influence.
Arup is one of the most spiritual people I have ever met.
My husband told me how one time, he was walking down the street and saw, from a distance, a man attaching a chain to his bicycle wheel. He told me, after, that even from that distance, everything about this man, his body language, everything, showed the concentration and focus of a man chaining his bicycle. As if, were you to read the thought bubble above his head, it would read 'I am attaching the chain to my bicycle now.' When he got closer he realised that was Arup, about to teach the yoga class.
Among the things that Arup does, he builds bicycle wheels. He can teach you how, for free, or he can build one for you. He used to charge £10, years ago, but he now charges £20. Or a discount rate of £35, for two. I guess it's his idea of a get rich quick scheme.
I have a lot of goals in life, but my main one is to quiet my mind. I want a mind like a nice clean white room, with a view of the sea.
I want to simplify my life: less clutter. Less friends. Just keep the good ones. Less clothes. Simple clothes. It's funny how, while some of the food at the Aqua Nueva brunch (aqua nueva: new wave) was quite complex to prepare, the presentation was so clean. And while I don't normally eat meat, especially pork, there was something so beautiful about the simplest dishes at the brunch: a perfect fresh crusty roll. A slice of good Spanish ham. Perfect green olives. Soft, fresh almonds. Crisp cold champagne, on ice.
I want to celebrate being alive, being here now, with the people I love. And not wanting any more than that. I want to be present, in everything I do. And above all, I strive to be kind to everyone around me. It's a simple plan, but hey: it's time, for me, to get back to basics.
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4 comments:
absolutely beautiful post. poignant.
to quiet the mind- yes, oh yes. what you say here, i can very much relate to.
when you return to your yoga practice, wonderful things are bound to happen- in body, mind and spirit.
xo
Unclutter the mind. So true. I was just at an art exhibit of a female, Beat artist. She was into Eastern spiritualism and she painted her face like a monkey with a halo of distractions around her. I guess in Indian philosophy, monkeys have very cluttered minds. I don't know how that translates since I was born in the Year of the Monkey, but my multi-tasking to the degree that it irritates my husband seems to be a description of monkey mind too.
Beautiful post. I love your simple plan. And you have also reminded me to get back into the yoga studio. xxx
really nice sentiments here, i can go along with that.
that is a very good goal. It is one of my goals too - less clutter, less 'friends', less clothes and just simple ones. Having too much stuff can be so overwhelming. It weighs you down. Why do that? Especially in the blogosphere you get that a lot - I love looking at beautiful clothes and photos but sometimes you realize that some of those girls only wear one thing once, twice maybe. I guess thay end up with soo many things in their closets. I couldn't do that. Being able to style one item of clothing in many different ways - that's much more creative and environmentally friendly too. Kasia xx
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