It’s not about vengeance after all

When I started looking deeper into the philosophies behind my yoga and meditation practice, I learned about Karma. The real and true meaning of the energy.

Karma is defined by Dictonary.com as:

the sum of a person’s actions in this and previous states of existence, viewed as deciding their fate in future existences. Destiny or fate, following as effect from cause.

Karma can be immediate or take a long time to percolate. However, it is always neutral — just as destiny is neither good nor evil. It simply is. Karma doesn’t seek justice on…

As I have gotten older, I find myself occasionally pondering my past. I don’t live there, but now and again during moments of self-reflection — some history pops up.

And as with most Humans, I see All. The. Things. I did ‘wrong’. All the places and moments when I could have and should have done better, been kinder, caused less heartbreak. I realize I am not being led to these memories to beat myself up over any of them. I am being led there to learn how to forgive the most important Human in the equation: Myself.

We can all…

Slowness: prompt

I am retired now. I have been for about five months. The running joke with all the retired folks I know is that every day is Saturday. And as such, we have thrown away calendars and other timekeepers. We just let Life flow around us, through us, past us.

And that is pretty much the truth. Although most days I am aware of what the day/date is. But the point is this — I don’t have to be. …

For a very long time, one of my least favorite asanas was Warrior II. And while I didn’t love any of the other warriors — this one, in particular, made me groan audibly whenever one of my instructors asked my body to take the shape.

In yoga — we are asked to look hard at the asanas our body or mind dislikes. Something about being in these poses trigger our discomfort and they serve as potent reminders of the places we need to release, to heal, to grow.

The Warrior series grounds us, anchors us to Earth. They are poses…

Biblical story: prompt

Abe opened the door to find three people holding briefcases staring back at him.

They introduced themselves as representatives from child protective services. Isaac’s teacher had reported the rope burns on his wrists, apparently from his hiking trip into the mountains, with Dad.

Sarah listened as Abe explained to the social workers that God had commanded him to offer Isaac as a sacrifice.

Shortly thereafter, Sarah initiated divorce proceedings. She took Isaac and moved away. Abe was charged with child endangerment, however, due to the deterioration of his mental health, he was committed to an asylum rather than being jailed.

…

Closure. It’s something that we all think will make us feel better. It will help us deal with rejection or sit with grief when a relationship is lost.

But Life doesn’t always allow us to tie up our losses in neat little bundles that can be ‘put away’. Wrapped up in pretty paper with a ribbon and stowed away in the back of our memories. Done and dusted.

Whenever we are wounded — we seek a way out, a way past the pain. The deeper the cut, the more we struggle. …

September 2017:

I baked the man a cake. Not just any cake. A birthday cake. A lemon one. In a bundt cake pan — which I also had to purchase. Because the man I was seeing back in 2017 said he liked lemon cakes and a bundt cake was the first thing that came to mind. Once the thought was there — it wouldn’t leave.

I searched online for a recipe that didn’t sound too complicated or too horrible, because lemon is not a flavor I would ever eat on purpose, under normal circumstances. I don’t even put lemons (or…