Harmony

When I say harmony, what do you think of?

I was listening to some podcasts and watching videos. They were talking mostly about balance and all that. Since my yogic practice, I see balance in a very different way. Before that, I would associate it with a yin and yang type of an illustrations or when two pans of a scale are equalized, which are very great symbols, but I think all those are missing some movement. If you try any balancing pose, you’ll feel all the micro movements in your body.

The same goes for harmony. Previously, I would think of a beautiful garden with all kinds of flowers, benches, some ivy run stone pillars on a sunny day. A very symmetric but static picture. Now, I think of harmony like that too. Of course, when we sing, we also harmonize. Instrument players also do this and yes, when you hear that perfect sound, you know it. My harmony has been expanding a bit further than that. There is also a lot of daily tuning involved.

Let me explain. The beginning of this year, I would start my morning the same way for months. Wake up at 5 am, high five in the mirror (it works! Thanks Mel Robbins), a little morning stretching, journaling, coffee and then I would go and begin with my practice. This was very good, and I felt amazing, until around august, when I opened my journal and felt this resistance. I did not want to write down anything. I just wanted to sit and be blank. So, I did and then the guilt came. I should have journalled since that is what I do every day. This is how it has been for months. The rest of the day I totally guilt tripped myself to a point where I opened my journal and wrote some stuff. It was exactly that. Stuff. Did not really make sense. I could feel it was not authentic at all.

I was grabbing coffee with a friend of mine later and told her about this. That I felt weird about skipping something that is beneficial for me. I felt the same way of skipping meditating sometimes. She had a great point. She said that you need to let go of any negative and positive habit that has served its purpose and allow yourself to rearrange the way I would still feel good. She is the greatest example of that. We come from very similar cultures and often share our thoughts on how our upbringing would crawl in the back of our minds and suddenly, something that we liked doing, turns into a chore. That is how I see a harmonious life, by being in tune with our inner and outer worlds and having the flexibility, space, and openness to adjust whenever necessary. But that then brings some discordant sounds as we keep fine tuning our frequencies. Why did I write this down? I have no idea, besides it helping to clear my mind. And I guess, if you are striving for a harmonious life, don’t have it hung as a nicely framed still, but a fluid and lively scenery with all that life. I wish you keep finding your balance.

Keep breathing.

Love

-              A