Gathering as the art of practicing peace

When we gather, we are practicing the art of spreading peace and love in the world. Just as I practice yoga in my not very graceful way together we practice living peacefully with each other and this beautiful planet we call home. Sometimes more gracefully than others.

There are many styles of yoga to practice: Inyegar, Hatha, Vinyasa, Yin Yoga, Yinki Yoga and the list goes on as do the energies that I experience when I practice yoga.  Somedays, I can do Sarvangasana (shoulder stand) and Utthita Parsvakonasana (Extended Side Angle Pose).  Other days I struggle to do Virabhadrasana II (Warrior II Pose).

Even when I can't do all the poses, I still believe I am "practicing yoga." Sometimes we forget that when we "practice peace," we aren't engaged in the repetition of something we've perfected, but rather on a journey to learn how to create the peace and positive energy we want to see in this world.  Sometimes, we miss the mark completely and fall out of the pose. Sometimes, the stars align and what we experience is so magical, so breath taking, so right, that when we go back to struggling with Tadasana (Mountain pose), we feel we have failed. Perhaps that lesson, that the basics matter, that each day is a new day in which to live our lives is equally applicable to gathering.

Each day I practice yoga, my body is different, my mind is different. Some days I have trouble quieting my monkey mind, other days I am so deep into the moment that my breath and my body encompass my entire world.  Most days fall somewhere in between and despite some less than stellar practices, I return again and again to my yoga mat as it is the practice of yoga and peace that create change in me and around me just as all of us return again and again to a meadow in the woods and practice creating peace.

"The future is not some place we are going to, but one we are creating.
The paths are not to be found, but made, and the activity of making them,
changes both the maker and the destination.”  ~~ John Scharr