Softly softly, catchy monkey.
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"Softly softly catchy monkey"
Simplicity
One of the most beautiful words and meanings- ever. And yet why is it we feel compelled to do do do so much stuff? What are we afraid of? really?
This thought came up or me this last weekend as I had a bit of time in London, a place where even when it's asleep, it's dreams are chaotic and mad.
In our activities, there were lots of dichotomies going on; I was reading a book my friend had lent me, "Momo" by Michael Ende, the same guy that wrote "The never ending story" in which time is the highest form of currency.
The attic
Ironically I was helping to clear out an attic, in order to sell up and move, to create a simpler way of life. There were a lot of memories flying all over the place stirring feelings up for the people around me.
It was a cacophony of activity and emotions alongside words such as "let's take our time" and in my mind the image of the tortoise in the story comes up. The tortoise, Casiopiea, is from another dimension and has her own "well" of time inside her and moves apparently very slowly but gets Momo out of trouble with her special pace a few times...
Equanimity
I can't help thinking how many metaphors were imbued in our weekend, how many things to knock one or all of us off balance, we all sought out our own private time to find our strength, meditation, sleep, yoga, Occasionally a bit of chocolate, and these things gave us the strength we needed to do what we could in the time we had, without making ourselves ill or unhappy from over working.
And now, back home its clearer to see that the steadier and gentler we were the more efficient we became. When the huffing and sighing came in, it was time to stop.
Dive in? or test the waters first?
I'm aware that the full moon does nuts things to people, there are a whole load of planets finding their way into the background of our lives, so these were in the mix too, but when I think about it, there is a spring invigoration going on, and it now feels like the time to respond.
But instead of diving in with no thought of saving energy for later, how about going steady, gently and un-stressfully into this next phase of the year? With our lives and all the noise of things to do, this seems like the kindest way to move forward, as Momo learned from Caseopiea: "Less haste more speed".
Or as I've given the title of this blog, "Softly softly catchy monkey", which is a proverb advocating caution or guile as a means to achieve a goal, recorded in a diary by the man who invented the scouts; Robert Baden-Powell (from his travels in Africa).
Needless to say that with this new wave of spring energy, you will be discovering a bit more about your local teachers, as I have sifted through my archives to bring you a taste of the yoga teacher superpowers that are right on your doorstep. The next few blogs will be about them.