Take the bird's-eye view

Reading from Wednesday, December 11, 2013 yoga class

From the book "The way of the happy woman" by Sara Avant Stover

"While sometimes people confuse equanimity with dullness or apathy, that's actually quite the opposite of what it means.  Other words for equanimity includes steadiness, evenness of mind, and composure.  Equanimity requires dynamic spaciousness--not getting entangled in the things we want (pleasure, praise, recognition, gain) or in the things we don't want (pain, blame, loss).  It means feeling deeply without getting swept away by emotion or circumstance.  In each moment, you can choose to feel and reside in your emotions without acting out or repressing them.  You can stamp your feet and raise your voice when you're angry without blaming or judging the person you're with.  This trains you to respond rather than to react, and it takes discernment and skill.

At the end of a yoga class many years ago, my teacher instructed us to experience the present moment from the part of ourselves that hadn't changed at all since we were small children.  As you read these words, sense that place within yourself too.  For me it was a part of me that didn't care what kind of day I had had or how I looked or felt.  It was something much vaster, much freer.  It was awareness itself, and it has been with me during each moment of my life. 

From connecting with that open, aware part of myself, whenever I get pigeonholed into narrow thinking, I remember to take a bird's-eye view, to see the bigger picture, just as an eagle would see the patterns of a city's streets rather than a traffic jam.  When we develop the capacity to rest more in our spacious awareness that in our needs, wants, and momentary obsessions, a real heartiness of spirit emerges.  We're not as prone to getting knocked down when things don't go our way."