Finding a way to relax in the face of the many messes life presents
I go to get tea for a friend who has come over, and I notice there is a sticky mess that has spread over the pull-out shelf of the cabinet underneath the jumble of cracker and chip bags, the teas and the nuts, the Nutella and jam jars. A bottle of maple syrup, a gift from a recent guest, has apparently spilled, and dried and stuck.
I spend 45 minutes trying to clean it, then give up in favor of making my friend tea and myself coffee and sitting down to enjoy the beautiful croissants she has brought from a new bakery that has opened nearby. I take a deep breath and determine to go back to the mess later, to put it out of my mind, to let the anger dissipate at the other people who live in my house, at my son and his frequent guests, at the others who stuffed things in, who bypassed the cleanup of the goo or just didn't take the time to notice.
I am reminded in this moment, in my annoyance and anger, of a colleague, a young man I worked with years back in Chicago. He told a story about spilled syrup in his kitchen, and how it took him hours and hours to clean it up. I shudder at the memory, at the heartbreak I felt for him at hearing the story because even just usual spills were hard for him, let alone a bottle of sticky syrup. He had physical disabilities, including severe shortness of limbs, as a result of being born to a mother who'd been prescribed the sedative Thalidomide during pregnancy. His arms were extremely short, his hands so close to his shoulders that his dexterity was severely limited. Syrup, spilled all over his kitchen cabinet, was a serious hardship.
As I recall this, gratitude replaces the anger I feel, gratitude that I have the capacity to clean up this spill, if not the interest. It will take me a little while and it will get done, and I will move on to the other things I have to do, like write this blog and tell you about my upcoming sound baths.
The connection between this spill and my sound healing sessions might seem specious, but there is a logic that occurred to me, a lesson I thought of with this event and the memory it sparked from long ago, remembering how much harder it was for someone else, and how I have to remind myself always to take a deep breath and keep the bigger picture in mind.
Take a deep breath and keep the bigger picture in mind.
There is a lot afoot in this country. Upcoming elections have consumed most people's minds, the feelings we have about one or another candidate, the assurance we feel about our own logic. And yet the Universe will march on one way or the other. People are suffering mightily here and elsewhere for decisions made even by the politicians we support or supported. And there is a helplessness to all of this, to wars being waged and babies being harmed by clueless capitalistic endeavors intended to help.
I am caught endlessly in the duality of reality, of how incapable we are of controlling things such that the outcome works out well for every single human world round. But we can take time out for reflection, to lie back and let ourselves be bathed in sounds that release us from the business of our thoughts and attention. We can find a space inside ourselves for relaxing our minds and bodies, for finding a peace that exists within us so that we can face the messes of life with a greater calm and resolve.
Join me TONIGHT, Friday, Nov. 1st
for a relaxing sound bath in the lovely
Windsor Terrace yoga studio of YogaSole.
6 PM - 7 PM
RSVP to yogasole.com
Next week, I will be offering sound at YogaSole's new Sunset Park location.
Friday, Nov. 8th, 6 PM - 7 PM
Tix at yogasole.com
I am so excited about the debut of a sound meditation duo with bassist Ari Folman-Cohen we are dubbing "Deeper Roots."
If you are near, or want to head up for a nice weekend in the Catskills, join us at the beautiful Rooted flower shop in Tannersville on Saturday, November 16th at 7 PM!!
Scan the QR code on this flyer (drawn up by my son Oscar Thompson:) or go to moonlightmeadowflowerfarm.com to reserve your spot!!!
This late afternoon sound bath at the very cool Shirley Project Space will take place amidst the torn-paper renderings of nature by Colleen Ho.
Join us for this discussion of art and sound, followed by a meditation that mirrors the visual reflections of Colleen's ethereal works.
Come to Jaya for a beautiful night of Yin Yoga with Katie Cavanagh + Sacred Bloom sound, Saturday, Nov. 23rd at 6 pm.
RSVP at Jayayogacenter.com
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