You are in exactly the right place, at exactly the right time.
This is an invitation that I often give at the start of a yoga class. The invitation is to allow us all to let go of thinking that we need to be somewhere else, doing something else, fixing or changing. Those thoughts of somewhere or something else, versus where we are in this moment, are a huge distraction from what is actually happening in this moment.
A big part of yoga is in training the mind to pay attention. Sometimes it’s paying attention to our bodies – that persistent ache in the back or random twinge in the knee. Sometimes the paying attention is more about the breath, just breathing on purpose to affect our physical or mental state. (Breathing is a great way to connect to the parasympathetic nervous system and switch on our relaxation response!)
Sometimes, if we are paying attention, we can make a small shift to adjust how we are sitting or moving to reduce the discomfort of our bodies. There is potential that we can also pay attention to our habitual mental habit patterns (samskara). In noticing our habits of reaction, we can invite a moment of stillness to notice what we might do and then consciously choose something else.
One of my favorite teachers, Jon Kabat-Zinn has said, “You are here. When it comes right down to it, wherever you go, there you are. Whatever you wind up doing, that’s what you’ve wound up doing. Whatever you are thinking about right now, that’s what’s on your mind. Like it or not, this moment is all we really have to work with. If we hope to go anywhere or develop ourselves in any way, we can only step from where we are standing. If we don’t really know where we are standing… We may only go in circles…” from Wherever You Go, There You Are: Mindfulness Meditation In Everyday Life. (you might also like this interview https://experiencelife.com/article/being-present-jon-kabat-zinn/.)
The invitation is to be present for our lives. To really pay attention, even when it is not comfortable, even when there is great suffering.
This moment in the world is big. There is a great suffering and discomfort. There is an invitation to sit still, to really pay attention to what is happening so that we can be clear and intentional about how we want to be, act, move, and breathe.
In this moment, I wish you light. Both the light of awareness and the feeling of lightness that comes with being present in the moment.