love is all we need

I love just how real Misty Pittman keeps it in this blog post. Read up and enjoy friends. xo, sharon

 

 

Late last December I was introduced to the notion of having one word that could guide me through 2013.  A word to explore, deconstruct, embody, grow into, challenge, and inspire me.  

I almost settled on the word TRUST, but fate led me to LOVE, and I settled in.

I think about this word daily.  I hold it close to my heart and ask it many questions.  I am surprised by it and, at times, disappointed in it.  I imagined that living a year of love would be easy peasy.  It's supposed to be glowing and sweet and comforting.  Everlasting.  Except, I'm learning that it's not.

There's the gripping panic that comes when love changes.  The confusion of love waxing and waning.  The desperation of attachment to keep everything we love just as it is, to keep it safe.  With love, there is bound to be fear.  

One aspect that I'm getting curious about is what effect falling out of love has on us.  When we are no longer enamored with a new beau.  When a hobby that was once joyful becomes tedious.  When friendships lose their sparkle.  When our dream career turns lackluster.  When the smell of a favorite meal makes us feel queasy.

Cue disappoint and boredom.  

My yoga practice is one example.  I have a huge love/dislike relationship with my practice.  I can go from daily down dogs to dreading my mat in the blink of an eye.  Sometimes I ceremoniously read Yoga Journal (tea, sunny spot, breeze), sometimes they pile up in the corner for months, nagging me as one other thing I need to do.  Things can get stale pretty quickly.  I try to revisit the things that drew me to the practice initially.  I might talk myself into only spending five minutes in, what used to be, my favorite go to pose.  Meh.  These things do nothing for me.

I'm learning that it's not about hanging on to the things that I once loved, it's about accepting where I am right now and then finding new ways to keep the love going.  We fall in love with what's new and exciting.  For me, that might mean practicing a pose I've never done before or studying a different aspect of yoga that I've never considered.  Sometimes it means changing location or intention.  When I get it right, when I find that thing that brings the practice back to life for me, I can get back to bliss.  

I'm learning to love these in between moments.  I'm making peace with the discomfort it brings, the feelings of confusion and questioning.  Because it's during these times when I know that something new is waiting to be discovered.  And I love that.  

Is there something in your world that has lost it's sparkle?  Something that you know is worth holding onto but no longer fulfills you? Can you find another way of being with it that encourages excitement?  Maybe it's finding a way to simply love the change and be open to a new phase.

I am a true believer that love is the magic cure to everything that ails us.