A few weeks ago I went to visit a friend of mine. She had this tiny adorable female cocker spaniel named Journey. I loved the dog, and I was intrigued by the name. Most people’s dogs I meet I wouldn’t remember their names, but “Journey” was such a unique name for a dog that I couldn’t quite forget this one.
I remembered Journey today in Bikram yoga class, because the theme for today was “journeys”. The teacher wanted us to concentrate on our setups. She said to view the each posture as a journey and the setup is where we pack our bags. The point was not to rush into the posture leaving your “bags” home. She brought up different journeys that life hands us and whether or not we needed a destination because, of course, we all KNOW it’s about the journey.
I reflected back in starting my Bikram journey two years ago this month. For most beginners it’s about the postures and trying to do them the best you can despite the heat. For me, in those early days, it was never about how well I was doing the postures. In fact, most days I didn’t even remember doing them. It was all about calming down in rough situations I had no control over. It was all about the persistence of going back day after day even though it was downright awful in that hot room. It was all about giving up control to something higher than me.
It is only now, two years later, I find myself actually paying attention to the postures and putting more effort into how well I do them. It’s taken two years for the physical to finally catch up to and begin to mesh with the spiritual. It’s been a truly life changing journey.
Having a dog is a journey of a different kind. I, too, once had a tiny female cocker spaniel. We had her for 14 years. She was the third kid. She taught my children much about caring and responsibility. She taught us about that unconditional love that we saw in those big brown eyes starting up at us. She taught us about trust as she put her whole care into our hands.
So many journeys in our lives are about loving unconditionally, trusting, letting go, and accepting. In a way, these are common destinations among these many journeys we travel. What journeys in your life are constantly teaching you these things? Look for them throughout your day.
And so, as another day goes by, Journey is a great name for a dog, and …I have written.
Here is Journey. Is she just the cutest and so “zenful” herself? 🙂
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