“The greatest discovery of all time is that a person can change his future by merely changing his attitude.”
~ Oprah Winfrey
Two years ago, I would have woken up and frowned at the overcast day. Today, I’m a different person. In almost all situations in life, there is a bright side. I now look at the clouds, and know that usually with a little patience, if I sit long enough, there’s a good chance that something beautiful will arise from them. I love clear days and cloudy days all the same now.
Last night I was participating in an on-line forum, and hoped to give some helpful advice to a gal who was super stressed out, near her breaking point. Her father is very ill, work is overwhelming, and she’s trying to complete her degree on top of it. First, isn’t it a miracle that we have virtual support groups, places we can go when our immediate friends and family can’t be of assistance!
My advice to her was to take care of herself, to get outside and connect with nature. And then I thought … Well, that might be kinda tough if she lives up in New Jersey. But, that’s not really true is it?
Spencer is in Montana, in the cold snow right now, and totally digging it!! She too can bundle up, and take just a 10 minute walk in the fresh air to hear the birds sing in the morning. If not that, she can take a short break, to look through her window, admiring all that is beautiful in life.
It begins with attitude: Taking time out from our hectic lives, to realize the gift we are given, which is today, this very moment.
As we begin our series here talking about the yogic code of ethics – the yamas and niyamas – Deborah Adele writes:
“On my morning coffee mug is inscribed the following saying:
Things to do today:
1. Stop the Arms Race
2. Floss
It gives me reason to chuckle, because not only does it keep me tuned to both the lofty ideals of my life as well as the practical components, but it also speaks to the essence of the Yamas & Niyamas. These ten guidelines sit as both a vision of the possibilities of human existence, as well as providing the practical guidance to make skillful moment to moment choices in our daily lives.”
“Gaining the skill to choose our attitude, to choose what we think, and to choose what we do, may be the grandest adventure we can take as a human being.”
“In the film Last Holiday, Georgia Byrd played by Queen Latifah, discovers she has only three weeks to live. She decides to make her dream life of possibilities into reality. In an amazing shift of character from a timid woman stuck in her perceived realities of life, she suddenly bursts forth boldly and claims the life she has always wanted for herself.”
It doesn’t need to take a death sentence for us to change.
We have the choice to burst forth boldly and claim our lives IN THIS VERY MOMENT.
And yoga’s ten guidelines, the Yamas& Niyamas, can support that very leap into the life that we
seek. Under their guidance, the turbulence and drama that are often a familiar part of our life begin to disappear.
The result of a skillfully lived life is nothing less than joy. Not the kind that comes when things are going our way and disappears just as quickly, but the kind that bubbles up from within. The kind of joy that comes from our own sense of mastery in life that no matter what life brings, we are ready.”
This is what the study of yoga has taught me. The vinyasas and downward-facing dogs are surely part of it. But most importantly, yoga has helped me shift my attitude towards life. And for that, I am eternally grateful for yoga’s gift.
Namaste!
If you enjoyed this post, you can find the beginning of this series,
Exploring the Yamas and Niyamas: The Yogic Code of Ethics, here:
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