Hangul Day in Korea - by Talia

Hangul Day  (a day honoring the Korean alphabet) was just last week. Many of us were fortunate to have a day off of work. I was so sleepy, I just wanted to snuggle in bed forever. I found a romantic movie to watch but every few minutes I paused and thought about messaging friends. I watched my actions. Am I lonely?

Yes. A person came to mind - someone who can make me feel both so loved and so lonely. But, in fact, I am the one who fabricates how I feel - she is just around; she doesn't do anything. 

A thought came up that I don't feel very supported. I realized that that wasn't actually true. My Teachers allow me to experience on my own; to make mistakes and watch. I have freedom to be. But then a quick sentence came into my head, "but that's hard and that's effort". I bent down to grab my shoes - suddenly my lower back pinches. Ouch!

It became really painful to stand and sit. I shrugged it off and went out to read under a pavilion by the river. Not 20 minutes later, an elderly man approached. He said hello and then spoke in Korean, gesturing to his family with packets of food. I shoved my book away, mumbled okay and took off. The man called out his thanks and I instantly regretted my anger. 

I carefully sat down on the lawn and watched thoughts coming up. I had been completely identified with the thought of feeling "hurt" and alone: "I am hurt" rather than "The body is hurt. The back has pain". 

Wongjanim's* words come up:

"You have suffering because you think I ≠ You (I am not You)."

Then Megan's* words:

"But you are not alone. Even outside a tree is there. You don't understand yet that you and the tree are the same, so you feel lonely."

There I was at the river: a source of Life. I inhaled in and exhaled into the world; finding a deep connection instead of that loneliness. I looked at my phone: coincidentally a call was coming through from Megan and Wongjanim. I stood up to go help out, and noticed how my back condition had improved. I am not my body. I am not my pain. I am not my thoughts. 

From the book I was reading ("Yoga: The Science of the Soul" by Osho):

When you forget your body, you are comfortable.

 

A solo bicycle trip from Daegu to Cheongdo from the week before