That line hit me too, Niki. There's something so profound about recognizing we've stepped into the role our own parents once lived and suddenly understanding their hearts in a whole new way.
There is so much here that is highly relevant to me personally. I appreciate the coincidence and the truth. The mat is the place for calming, centering, and meditative yoga practice. Beautifully written.
Cindy, I'm so glad this landed with you at just the right moment. Those coincidences—when the exact words we need appear exactly when we need them—always feel like a little gift, don't they? ❤️
As a brand new grandma, this was perfection: “feel everything, cling to nothing. Love deeply, hold lightly. Show up fully, then let go.” As my one and only granddaughter, my inclination is to hold tightly and not let go but how much more freeing it is to be present and love deeply and then let go. Watching my son and daughter-in-law navigate parenthood has been a blessing. Much gratitude ♥️
Ilona Goanos, Savira Gupta: First, I LOVE the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, the Chandogya Upanishad, the Bhagavad-Gita, the teachings of Shankara-charya (Advaita).
NOT SECOND: "Children are our greatest teachers. They haven’t yet learned to live anywhere but here, now. When my granddaughter laughs, she laughs with her whole body. When she discovers something new—a leaf, a shadow, the feeling of water on her hands—she is completely absorbed. There is no past, no future, only this miraculous present moment."
This is the spirit of the artist, Vincent van Gogh or Georges Seurat, depicted so truly and vividly by Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine, "Summer in the Park with Georges". SEE:
Loved this. This morning this was the first email I opened. Slightly disappointed it wasn't you Ilona but immediately flowed into the perfection of the piece, for this time for me, even though I'm not a mother or grandmother. The whole time I was reading it, I was thinking how many people I need to pass this on to. The yoga teacher in Maryland who took me under her wing in the early 80s. The local friend, a July born Cancer friend, who just yesterday talked in other words about 'feeling without clinging,' she who is about to become a great grandmother. And myself, with my 82 year old lover, with whom I've had the joy of true fascination with the deepest of connection without the outside trappings showing that connection, and how the secret of being free to explore and the true gift of holding lightly simultaneously can flow, if we let it. Thank you Ilona, and thank you Savira. Beautifully shared and it will live on inside of me.
So many beautiful take aways, including, “And now I stand on the other side of that story…”
That line hit me too, Niki. There's something so profound about recognizing we've stepped into the role our own parents once lived and suddenly understanding their hearts in a whole new way.
There is so much here that is highly relevant to me personally. I appreciate the coincidence and the truth. The mat is the place for calming, centering, and meditative yoga practice. Beautifully written.
Cindy, I'm so glad this landed with you at just the right moment. Those coincidences—when the exact words we need appear exactly when we need them—always feel like a little gift, don't they? ❤️
Great piece, very insightful, bravo!
As a brand new grandma, this was perfection: “feel everything, cling to nothing. Love deeply, hold lightly. Show up fully, then let go.” As my one and only granddaughter, my inclination is to hold tightly and not let go but how much more freeing it is to be present and love deeply and then let go. Watching my son and daughter-in-law navigate parenthood has been a blessing. Much gratitude ♥️
Ilona Goanos, Savira Gupta: First, I LOVE the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, the Chandogya Upanishad, the Bhagavad-Gita, the teachings of Shankara-charya (Advaita).
NOT SECOND: "Children are our greatest teachers. They haven’t yet learned to live anywhere but here, now. When my granddaughter laughs, she laughs with her whole body. When she discovers something new—a leaf, a shadow, the feeling of water on her hands—she is completely absorbed. There is no past, no future, only this miraculous present moment."
This is the spirit of the artist, Vincent van Gogh or Georges Seurat, depicted so truly and vividly by Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine, "Summer in the Park with Georges". SEE:
https://www.dailyartmagazine.com/sunday-la-grande-jatte-georges-seurat/
Children start life with the real spirituality which they teach us and which the best of us try to recapture.
As of January First, my youngest grandchild was 14.
As of the next day, Nancy and I were blessed with a beautiful newborn.
A child is the best gift of all.
A child is exactly perfect in the way Mother Nature makes her or him.
A child brings so much wonder, beauty, joy.
Loved this. This morning this was the first email I opened. Slightly disappointed it wasn't you Ilona but immediately flowed into the perfection of the piece, for this time for me, even though I'm not a mother or grandmother. The whole time I was reading it, I was thinking how many people I need to pass this on to. The yoga teacher in Maryland who took me under her wing in the early 80s. The local friend, a July born Cancer friend, who just yesterday talked in other words about 'feeling without clinging,' she who is about to become a great grandmother. And myself, with my 82 year old lover, with whom I've had the joy of true fascination with the deepest of connection without the outside trappings showing that connection, and how the secret of being free to explore and the true gift of holding lightly simultaneously can flow, if we let it. Thank you Ilona, and thank you Savira. Beautifully shared and it will live on inside of me.