Chanukah 2016
What is your cup of tea? That's an easy question for most of us to answer. It's chocolate over vanilla, sports above sedan, vacations in Montana instead of Morocco and living room walls in green mist rather than sunflower yellow! We blissfully travel through life's experiences making observations, forming opinions and casting our personal votes on everything from architecture and anarchy, to the archetypes we identify within the personalities we encounter.
Sometimes the array of conclusions we amass simplifies life. We don't have to fret over decisions or worry about uncomfortable outcomes. In fact, we can become so good at carving out views that seeing with fresh eyes not only becomes a thing of the past, we are downright opposed to new ideas that come our way. Fried caterpillar? No thanks, I'm good. Upside down roller coaster? Not my thing! Learn the Rachenitsa while at a resort in front of other tourists? Not me -- not my cup of tea!
But there IS a difference between danger and disdain. Have you ever reacted to the prospect of thinking differently or having an experience of something that's outside your realm of normal as though it presented a clear and present threat? What might happen if we all used these moments and just said: YES!!
This year we invite you to question the tastes, opinions and ideas you've been collecting. Ask if your thoughts about people or concepts are those of an open heart and mind, or do you tend to keep yourself locked inside the cell of judgment? When was the last time you tried something you've been resistant to experience? Have you recently engaged with people who hold views or have life experiences outside of your own?
In this season of light and in the year that follows, we encourage you travel to somewhere new -- take a different route, not merely geographically but mentally. May we all light up our lives, and our communities, by looking for the playful opportunities that present themselves when we are willing to seek the cups of tea we've previously been unwilling to taste.
Sometimes the array of conclusions we amass simplifies life. We don't have to fret over decisions or worry about uncomfortable outcomes. In fact, we can become so good at carving out views that seeing with fresh eyes not only becomes a thing of the past, we are downright opposed to new ideas that come our way. Fried caterpillar? No thanks, I'm good. Upside down roller coaster? Not my thing! Learn the Rachenitsa while at a resort in front of other tourists? Not me -- not my cup of tea!
But there IS a difference between danger and disdain. Have you ever reacted to the prospect of thinking differently or having an experience of something that's outside your realm of normal as though it presented a clear and present threat? What might happen if we all used these moments and just said: YES!!
This year we invite you to question the tastes, opinions and ideas you've been collecting. Ask if your thoughts about people or concepts are those of an open heart and mind, or do you tend to keep yourself locked inside the cell of judgment? When was the last time you tried something you've been resistant to experience? Have you recently engaged with people who hold views or have life experiences outside of your own?
In this season of light and in the year that follows, we encourage you travel to somewhere new -- take a different route, not merely geographically but mentally. May we all light up our lives, and our communities, by looking for the playful opportunities that present themselves when we are willing to seek the cups of tea we've previously been unwilling to taste.
posted by Yoga Mama at 8:47 AM
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