on eleanor, practice, suffering, believing, & ritual

yesterday afternoon i listened to a podcast of allida black speaking about eleanor roosevelt. i think i have a new heroin. eleanor roosevelt was indeed an amazing woman--she fought ferociously for human rights, wrote her own newspaper column, replied to 300,000 letters that she recieved in a 3-month period, taught herself 5 languages, and recieved multiple death threats from such groups as the kkk. this woman did whatever it took to take action in an effort to make her world just that much better. we have no excuses.

my yoga practice this morning was especially revealing and cleansing. perhaps it was the new playlist on my ipod. perhaps it was revisiting postures i haven't practiced in a while. perhaps it was my sincerity. this morning i needed to go to that place where my soul resides. i needed to call it forth, so that i could find the confidence to move forward in life. i read about abhyasa, a sanskrit word that means "constant practice," "continuous effort," "discipline." i was reminded of my commitment to practice a life full of joy and action, and that i will certainly run into hard times as i do so, but this is part of the journey.

then, just to hammer the point home, in my daily reading i read about a group of men who continued on their journey teaching people what they believed...they ran into hardships and prayed not that those hardships would be removed, but that they might endure the hardships with patience and strength. i thought of grace, and how this story will help me to live life more gracefully. they continued on their journey not knowing beforehand if they would have food to eat or a place to sleep. another reminder that i need to let go of fears, and move forward.

i ate my usual breakfast: oatmeal + agave, cinnamon, & ghee.

i ate it with my lavendar and a burning candle for my meal sadhana.

it's been a very good morning.

thanks to ritual.

photos by me. july 2009. dining table.