Word Up

Last week I went to yoga class.  On the way there, I was driving and talking on the phone.  I was talking to a friend about a lot of things.  I was talking really fast and apparently really loud.  (This is not a surprise to some of you.)  It was a frantic conversation filled with exclamations (!) And attitude (“Homey don’t play that sister!”) You get the point…I was energized…frantic…fired up…manic?

Anyway, I get to yoga and I’m talking on the phone outside of the yoga studio.  I hang up and walk in the studio and immediately I’m overwhelmed by the quiet.  I’m calmed by the energy in the space. I sign in and then I say to the owner of the studio, “Wow…it’s so calm in here”…as I stand up straight and make a sign on my chest that represents calm to me.  (To everyone else it represents nothing, just Sue making a weird sign with her hand to her heart.)

This is what this beautiful, centered, calm yogi says to me…she says, “Are you the one that was on the phone?” and I say, “Yes” and she says, “You NEED yoga”.

So there you have it.  I felt like I was slapped and hugged at the same time.

That’s one of the truest things I’ve heard lately.  She was calling me out on my hyped up, overstressed, narcissistic behavior.  She was telling me what I know but need to be reminded of which is…I need to be responsible for the energy I bring to each situation.

By the way,  someone told me Oprah had that sign in her Harpo studio offices. And if Oprah loves it enough to hang up a sign, chances are I’m loving it too.

My friend on the phone had frenetic energy and so did I.  We know we feed off the energy of the people we are with.  Who started it?  I don’t know but I have to “Be the change I wish to see in the world”, right?  (That’s Gandhi)

I realize I can bring calm to a space and to people or I can bring chaos.  It’s my choice.  I choose calm.  But then sometimes I don’t. That’s when I thank God for people who remind me.

I looked for a Bible verse to put in here about being calm and I couldn’t find what I wanted.  I wanted to find the perfect words from Jesus to fit my needs.   Then I read a book I’ve been assigned for Holy Yoga training and the author talks about the dangers of “using” the Holy Bible only to serve the “individualized personal Trinity of my Holy Wants, my Holy Needs, and my Holy Feelings.”¹

Ugh.  Slapped and hugged again.

Sometimes hearing what we need to hear can sting a little.

To hear audio click on this link sue blog – word up