Philosophy | 4 0 2

January 30, 2013

Day 67: What’s so great about quiet?

My yoga teacher recently told our class about a conversation she had while learning to teach yoga years ago. One of the other students in teacher training asked her if she had any trouble quieting her mind while meditating. She responded that she had no trouble at all and that her mind was perfectly quiet as soon as she sat down.

In retelling the story, she laughed and said that at the time, she had no idea what she was talking about. What felt like a quiet mind was actually another form of absence; she ignored her racing thoughts and focused on something else instead (like being quiet). When she finally recognized all the thoughts and worries zig-zagging behind her eyelids, the noise was almost too loud for her to be able to sit still and feign attention.

Meditation is hard. And frustrating.

So why do we try? What’s so great about quiet?

A couple of years ago, a research study was done using “magic mushrooms” as therapy for people with post-traumatic stress disorder. The mushrooms succeeded in helping the patients feel reconnected to the beauty and sacredness of life. Their altered mindsets lasted long after the mushrooms’ effects had worn off. At the end of the article, the researcher pointed out that the great meditators of the world report the same experiences during meditation: connectedness, peace, reverence, calm.

I might inadvertently be making an argument for taking mushrooms, but what I’m trying to get at is that if we can succeed in being focused, quiet, patient and present, even for a second, we can be content. And if we’re able to be content using our own body and breath, the world is completely open to us. Stress becomes manageable, arguments fade and our relationships improve.

There are no adverse effects to meditation. None. For that reason alone, it seems worth the effort.

January 25, 2013

Day 62: Recorded Bodies

After a three-hour rehearsal yesterday evening, some of my dance friends and I had a little self-image discussion. It stemmed out of the fact that none of us wanted to watch the rehearsal video of ourselves, just in case we didn’t look as good as we felt. We didn’t want to see what we don’t like about our bodies laid bare in a recording.

One of the things I love about dance (modern dance, in particular) is the wide variety of incredible bodies on any given stage. Wiry men and muscular women, short legs, long arms, wide hips, narrow torsos… It’s striking to think that the people who can fling their limbs around with control and pick each other up without batting an eye experience such discomfort and self-consciousness.

But I understand it. For years, I wished my shoulder blades were set farther back so my shoulders didn’t curve slightly forward. Or, that I was just a little shorter so my center of gravity could be closer to the ground. But if I had a different body, I would have someone else’s quirks, someone else’s unique differences and someone else’s wishes. I might as well just have mine.

Dancers train their bodies to be beautiful and strange, ugly and emotional. It takes sweat to power through the uncomfortable movements until they feel natural and good. It takes commitment to show up every day and learn something new. It takes drive to put on those short-shorts, stand in front of a mirror and see the potential for interesting movement, not pale legs and drooping arms.

But sometimes it’s hard. And sometimes nobody wants to watch the video.

Since we all struggle from time to time, I think we all get a pass. We all get to watch the proverbial video and see the structure and intention of the choreography, not our funny bodies. And if we don’t see the choreography, we’ll work harder and try again. We’ll try harder and harder because we love what we do, not because we don’t like ourselves.

January 24, 2013

Day 61: Airport Haiku

I arrived at LAX yesterday with a little over 24 straight hours of awake-time under my belt. With only three hours of sleep the night before, I was pretty much toast. In an effort to stay awake long enough to catch my final flight, I sat down with a soy chai and did some haiku-writing. Believe it or not, below are the most coherent fruits of my labor. (I realize these aren’t real haiku by Japanese standards; I just stuck with a 5-7-5 system.)

Advice from The Tow Truck Driver
Endangered species
should never be hit with cars.
Hit people instead.

The Couple
How can you sleep like
that, he asked. It’s easy when
you’re quiet, she said.

Necessary Evil
Underwater brain;
stay awake or miss the flight.
Where is the Starbucks?

Gate 52A
Ladies with grey hair
discuss the nearest restroom.
This way. No, that way.

Electricity
Sleek white computer
lies silent on the blue floor.
Charger is lost.

Sleepless
Floating, spinning room.
At sea in the terminal.
Falling slowly down.

Sure Way to Get The Flu
Chapped lips. May I use
your chapstick? Yes, says pilot.
Germs make you stronger.

Hair Treatment
Sweet miso dressing
flies off the plastic lid. It’s
in my hair again.

Airport Golf Cart
Blue-shirted man says,
Can I give you a ride? No,
I say and regret.

The Long Time
Haiku writing can
only keep a girl awake
for a little while.

Bad Timing
Warm and spicy chai.
Caffeine kicked in on the plane,
which wasn’t the plan.

Questions
How much wood could a
woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck
could chuck wood? Don’t know.

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January 22, 2013

Day 59: Ch-Ch-Changes

At some point every single day, I think about global warming and how our climate is changing. It’s a scary and interesting phenomenon, and the planet’s transition—both naturally and through human intervention—is becoming more and more apparent.

Traveling through this extremely beautiful Australian climate has made me even more aware of the changes happening around the world.

Parts of Australia are in a drought this year. Ciara and I witnessed the results of the lack of rain as we drove north through north Queensland and saw dry creeks, brown fields and fire warnings mixed in with the lush natural tropics of the area. And we were in the wettest part of the continent—during the rainiest season of the year. Nearly every public bathroom we visited displayed a sign just above the sink with a plea for water conservation. (Granted, when we arrived at our final destination, at a hostel just south of Cairns, it was absolutely pelting rain. But the pelting may have been due to the incoming cyclone.)

Last weekend, she and I went on a sailing trip around the Whitsunday Islands and snorkeled through parts of the Great Barrier Reef. It was extraordinary. I especially enjoyed floating over the reef with my head submerged, watching an amazing world unfold underneath me while listening to the electric snapping sounds of the Rainbow Parrot Fish munching on coral. (I imagined the snapping sounds were coming from the electric, deadly jellyfish I’d heard so much about, but my fears were dissuaded when I witnessed the scraping and scratching of the coral. Fish are loud eaters.)

The beautiful and noisy reef I just met is swiftly disappearing, along with the other wildlife who are part of it.

I feel lucky to have been able to swim up close to the reef and briefly experience the water animal kingdom. And my sense of luck is paired with an understanding that the reef will not always look as it did when I saw it. It will die and disappear, much as many other species of plants and animals have died and disappeared.

With you as my digital witness, I hereby promise to do everything I can to move myself onto the positive side of the climate change equation. I pledge to be more aware of my natural environment and will act as its steward, not its enemy.

After all the natural gifts I’ve received on this trip, it seems like the least I can do.

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January 12, 2013

Day 49: Strings and Sneakers

I cannot believe I forgot about this video. Thank you very much to my Philadelphia dance friend, Molly, who recently re-posted it on Facebook.

As an addendum to the addendum about why we should all dance, I highly recommend you take three and a half minutes to watch this video of Yo-Yo Ma and Lil Buck. It will goose-bump your arms and make your eyes the size of saucers. Yo-Yo Ma plays his cello like a sad and lovely heart, and Lil Buck’s softness and body control is unmatched. Once you’ve watched it, download The Cello Suites by Yo-Yo Ma and glide around your living room. You’ll have fun, I promise.

Did you not click on the link yet? Here it is again. The duet really gets started around 30 seconds in.

And just in case you were wondering (I knew it!), I leave for Australia today! Since I’ll be traveling non-stop for somewhere between the next 24 to 36 hours (I’m very confused by the time changes), I’m posting a guest blog by my mother tomorrow. It’s not cheating because I made the rules.

Category: Philosophy