Worry and Distraction
Rest. This is the experience I worked to create and offer for all those who entered my workshop at the middle and high school conference where I spent the last 2 weeks. Rest.
When I’m not present to myself, I can not experience this. And neither could the young people who came into this yoga workshop.
I offered them this cup and gave them some time to fill it with whatever they needed to pour out and hold in a container outside their own mind. On the opposite side of the sheet were the words, “I am held by Love,” a reminder that whatever was on the front in that cup was held by the truth of Love, too. Both, and.
Most people took their sheet with them, but a few left them behind. Every sheet I found after the classes had one thing in common in that cup: the word “politics.” Every person who wrote this was someone between the age of 11 and 17. Why aren’t we doing better, I thought? Why have we given this generation this worry to hold in their young minds?
The theme of the conference was “Holy Love, Wholly Loved.” The message of their belovedness was repeated over and over again through the days they were in attendance. Every workshop director, speaker, skit, game and Tshirt held this common repeated message: “You are wholly loved by Holy Love.”
And still, the message of the world’s discord circled in their young minds. Why aren’t we doing better? And how can we?
What if these teens received as many messages of hope as they do of discord? How might they rest into the presence of peace? How might their imaginations rest into creative possibility?
And what about you, friend? What would you fill the cup with today? Whatever it is, may you also find yourself held by love. And perhaps, may we retreat into a more peace-filled imagination.
Just three days left for the summer solstice sale! I’d love to share this magic with you. Reach out if you want to know more or sign up here: Retreat to Portugal!
I’ll have a new yoga practice for you next week friends. Til then, be well and breathe in the abundance of summer.