Yoga philosophy tells us that the primary cause of suffering is our identification with the mind and/or the body. There’s evidence of that on every flyer, every other television-commercial, every anti-aging campaign, and filling rows upon rows of dietary and weight-loss quick fixes …. this utter inability to see the beauty of wisdom that can evolve with our age. Why do we do that?! Create a context that determines wrinkles are to be hidden at all cost?
Two things we can absolutely count on with utter confidence and security: 1) We will age 2) We will die. And our culture has determined that both of these are taboo topics of conversation, best kept swept under the carpet and locked behind closed doors. Perhaps if we all started doing the inner work, started connecting with our true state of being, our unchanging essence, we would stop chasing an illusion and find real inner peace.
Consider . . . to what part of your identity are you most attached? In other words, what insult would most ‘hit home’ for you? A comment about your looks, your weight? An affront against your intelligence, your skills as a mother, father, caregiver? What is it that defines you, for therein lies the ego. Can you sit with a vision of you, stripped naked of these names and traits and identities and realize that right here, right now, exactly the way that things are, you are perfect in every way?
My goal is to live like a dog. They harbor no resentments, no fears, no uncertainties. They don’t obsess for days over insurance premiums or wills or retirement packages, fooling themselves into thinking they can control the future. Mansion or dog house, they’re happy. A collar from Burberry or Walmart doesn’t define them, fat owner or thin, they aren’t embarrassed. Sure, burgers over kibble is a natural preference, but they happily accept what comes their way. In fact, on close analysis, it seems the spiritual guru I have long sought has been here the whole time.
Eryn Kirkwood, MA,RYT, is the owner and director of Barrhaven Yoga. You can find her writing here and here. This article has been reposted with permission. You can find the original here.