For when our nice, neat bows begin to unravel…
There is Avidya
I left the house on Monday morning with a knowing smile on my face. Over the weekend, I had tied several areas of my life into nice, neat bows. A few weekend work hours had me feeling on top of things. A great conversation with a loved one had left me feeling like we were on the same page. A Sunday hike had me feeling optimistic for the upcoming workout week.
And then my nice, neat bows unraveled into a sparkly pile on the floor. Unexpected events unfolded as soon as I got to work. A phone call (in the middle of the work mess) made it clear that my loved one had changed their mind. And when I most needed an after work hike, an unforecasted rain stopped me in my tracks. Seriously??!! It was disheartening. Can’t I just have one stinkin’ Monday where I feel like I’ve got it all taken care of?
And that is where yoga’s 5 kleshas come in. The kleshas are the 5 areas of thinking patterns that cause us to feel disheartened. The kleshas give us a way to name our frustrations. They give us the words to describe the root cause of our suffering.
I was frustrated because my nice, neat bows had unraveled. I was frustrated because of the avidya klesha. Avidya is the heavy shoulders klesha. It’s the thought pattern that makes us feel like we are supposed to have things under control. It’s the thought pattern that makes you feel like everyone else has their crap together but you. It’s the klesha of separateness. It makes us feel inadequate and alone.
But the kleshas don’t just give our frustrations words, they also give words to our healing. The avidya klesha tells us that feeling like we’ve “got it all taken care of” is an allusion. Avidya tells us to take a big breath of relief because it’s not on us. This is not our job.
You are NOT the bow tier.
You are the bow.
Yes, it’s true that some days we get unraveled. But some days are perfect rabbit-ear days! Some days are worn and tattered kind of days. And some are triple loop ribbon days. That’s just life. But none of that matters as much as this: Each and every day - no matter what - we are on top of a gift.
You are important not because of what you do, but because of what you are on top of.
So fellow bows… until next time,
Laura
