I left the house on Monday morning with a meaningful smile on my face. Over the weekend, I got several areas of my life in order. A few hours of work over the weekend made me feel like everything was in order. I had a great conversation with a loved one and felt like we were on the same page. A hike on Sunday left me feeling positive about the training week ahead.
And then my lovely bow came undone and turned into a pile of glitter on the floor. As soon as I got to work, something unexpected happened. A phone call in the midst of work chaos revealed that a loved one had changed their mind. And then, when I wanted to go hiking after work, I got stranded by unforecasted rain. Really??!! I was disappointed. Can’t we just have one bad Monday where we feel like we’ve done everything right?
This is where the yogic five destructive emotions come in. Destructive emotions are the five thought patterns that bring us down. They give us a way to put our frustrations into words. They give us the words to describe the root causes of our suffering.
I was frustrated because my neat ribbon had come undone. I was frustrated because of avidya klesha. Avidya is the klesha of burden. It is the thought pattern that makes us feel that we have to control things. It is the thought pattern that makes us feel that everyone else is doing well except us. It is the klesha of separation. It makes us feel inadequate and alone.
But the kleshas don’t just give words to our frustrations, they also give us words of healing. Avidya klesha tells us that feeling that “everything is OK” is an illusion. Avidya tells us to take a breather because it’s not our fault. This is not our job.
You are not the bow conductor.
You are a bow.
Yes, it’s true that some days our hair is a mess. But there are also perfect rabbit ear days. Some days it’s frayed and ragged. And some days it’s triple loop bow days. That’s life. But more importantly, every day, we are living in a gift.
You matter not because of what you do, but because of what you excel at.
Well, until next time.
Laura
