Spring - by Talia

Spring

It can seem like every day is the same thing, but when Spring comes, it seems like everything is new!

Someone probably thought I was crazy that day. I took off my socks and shoes and walked on the bare ground. I felt many things. Those green plastic studs in the ground are rather painful to walk on by the way, but if you see a blue covering over a sandy playground, it might be the most delightful spot to take off your shoes and play for a little!

It was a fun day! My first time walking along the Suseong Lake (수성못), and I even got to shoot some hoops with a friendly woman from the Philippines!

How long it had been since I had walked barefoot?! It seemed like forever! It seemed like the first time! What is something that you would love as another "first time"? A first kiss with someone? Your first time biting into a piece of chocolate or slice of pizza? How many "firsts" can you remember? It all becomes a memory and memories aren't perfectly precise, they are just impressions. Something your mind captures and stores into its own frame. Let's face it: your memory of something can be completely different from mine even if we experienced it together.

The other day I had PT with my Teacher and she showed me another meditation technique. She asked how I felt (I answered: 'calm and centered'). And then she said:

"Now drop that experience. If you keep that experience every time you practice your ego will keep seeking that same feeling."

This means you can get stuck in a memory or an expectation. Your ego has some desire to achieve something. It's not in the present, but in the past or the future. To be in the present is to practice Yoga. If we can be in the present, then everything can feel new!

Can you notice the sensations around your eyes now as you look at the screen? What do you feel? Does it feel new? There have been times during asana (yoga postures) when I feel "high" in my body like I've taken drugs. But now, if I just watch a certain place (even just my inhale and exhale), that feeling can come. It always feels different! It always feels new! Whatever feeling comes (or doesn't come), accepting it without anticipating or judging.

And that 'new' feeling when I walked barefoot? Well I remembered it was a very similar feeling that I had that very first day I was in Korea! It felt like home. Yes! It felt the same! But I was just trying to put it into a frame I already had in my mind. A frame that is nothing more than an impression!

Oh how the mind plays tricks! 

It's really not easy to see and I am so grateful to have my Teachers close by!