Friday, February 19, 2010

growth


I thought of making this a wordless post, allowing the reader to take away whatever intrepretations/metaphors  s/he saw fit. But looking at the published post, it just seemed so...empty. So I thought I'd explain a little of what the above image signifies to me.

I was at yoga this evening when this picture, taken in March 2007, popped into my head. All at once, I realized I needed to post today, and that this image would serve as my inspiration. Moving into standing seperate leg stretching pose, I thought about how growth often starts so small that most of us don't even realize it's happening. For instance, that tiny bit of green above - those seedlings may seem insignificant, but they contain such immense potential, and so much mystery.  They might become fragrant flowers or giant oak trees, heriloom tomatoes or four-leaf clovers. (Yes, one of those is the correct answer. And yes, I do realize Emerson said it better. Or at least more poetically.) Couple that with the fact that they're emerging from dirt, the initial evidence of a largely invisible process, and, well - it's pure magic.

Touching my forehead to the ground in that hot, sweaty room tonight, it occurred to me that humans are much the same way. When I started yoga, I couldn't even touch my toes. Now, a little over a year-and-a-half later, I can grab under my heels, feet together, without bending my legs. I wouldn't exactly say I'm back-bending with the best of them, but I'm back-bending. Regularly. And it's happened without me having to think about it - an invisible process, taken one millimeter at a time, that has transformed my life. I just keep showing up.

I could go on writing. But the words aren't coming all that easily, and I think the nub and crux of what's on my mind is here. For now, though, it's time to let my subconscious do the processing, see what gets generated (germinated?). Especially since that last line in the above paragraph, "keep showing up," has got my brain spinning in an entirely new direction.....

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