Treading Water
On the surface, people tend to think the benefit of yoga is increased flexibility and balance. To me, this is just icing on the cake. Yoga, more that anything else I do, helps me get to know myself deeply. This helps me be true to myself… “To thine own self be true, and it must follow, as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man” – William Shakespeare.
Clearly though, it isn’t the yogic actions that helps me know myself. That knowing only comes when I seek it — “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you” – Jesus. In other words, action is action and nothing more. The value lays in how we approach action… any action! (photo: me treading water at mono lake)
My shortcoming has often been allowing action to substitute for approach. Action for action’s sake is just treading water. “At least I’m doing something”, I tell myself. Nope! Better to stop treading water and just sink. Then at least I have a chance to discover deeper meaning. Chapter 32 says, One ought to know that it is time to stop. Knowing when to stop one can be free from danger. Perhaps the greatest danger is letting a more meaningful life slip through my fingers.
Then again, chapter 36 says, If you would have a thing laid aside, You must first set it up. Failures are prerequisites for success. Ceasing to tread water and just letting myself sink merely marks the transition from one to the other.
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