The Nobility of Retreat*
Folks, howdy.
Here we are again,
Sharing a blog moment or two,
A fast turnaround from last week’s.
In my world, this week was speedy and dense and intense.
First, a trip to NYC,
As only a one-day trip to NYC can be—hot and crazy and quick and enchanting,
Shimmering with heat and with that particularly huge city intensity
Of Everybody being Everywhere in the Same Moment.
Then a deliciously full workday yesterday, teaching and coaching.
Rich and good.
And……
I’m tired.
I’m really tired.
I feel well-used, that good kind of post-showing-up-crash.
And into my crash comes a whisper of Swami Kripalu’s powerful teaching,
The nobility of retreat
How much energy have I spent in my life doing?
How much esteem have I sucked from my professional accomplishments?
How much effort do I expend daily, consistently,
Showing up,
Showing up,
Showing
Up.
Practicing showing up.
Showing up again.
And now—
The nobility of retreat
Beckons me.
Let’s ponder:
Nobility = having admirable personal qualities, high moral principles, a high character
Retreat = to move back, to withdraw, to change one’s attitude or plans
Hum.
To make a higher decision.
To do something differently.
To do nothing.
To lean away from:
The habitual activity,
The daily movement,
The ongoing interactions,
The being present with others.
To stop.
To rest.
To know that
In the stopping,
In the resting,
There is
Renewal.
In the stopping,
In the resting,
There is Grace.
There is energy.
In the stopping,
In the resting,
There is profound, blessed value.
~~~
I was born into a family of worker-bees.
My folks worked together in my father’s corner grocery store.
My mom, six days a week—
My dad, six-and-a-half.
I grew up in the store because
They were always there.
In my life,
I learned to keep doing.
To keep working.
To keep going.
Now I am practicing something else—
I’m practicing napping.
I’m practicing
Cuddling with Nik the Dog throughout the day.
I’m practicing
Unplugging (God help me!) during the day,
From phone and the Overvoice of the Internet.
I am imperfectly practicing.
And you?
Is it hard to rest? To walk away from engagement?
What does the nobility of retreat mean to you?
How might you specifically practice it?
What obstacles block you from it?
~~~
Interestingly, at Kripalu, I have taught the Practice of Being Present quite a lot.
We call it Riding the Waves—it is one of our core methodologies.
Yet, now, something is changing about my understanding of that practice.
As our world deconstructs before our eyes, we are getting more and more exhausted.
I certainly am!
I’m realizing the importance of this teaching, The Nobility of Retreat.
Being present, yes—while, having the capacity to back away, to unplug, to renew—big yes.
The two practices must go hand in hand.
~~~
OMG this song!
A friend sent it on—I had for no reason, resistance to hearing it.
When I finally allowed myself,
OMG. This is a good, good song, folks.
Bob Sima is a minister and a musician, and his work is, “intentional, conscious, medicine music.”
I found it deeply touching—check it out here:
~~~
Some of Bob’s lyrics
No mud, no lotus, haven’t you noticed
The patterns of pain in your past.
The things that broke you, they also awoke you
To the questions you needed to ask.
The sleepless nights, and the dizzying heights
And the dreams some of which came true.
Until the breaks, heartaches, perfect mistakes
Created this version of you……
~~~
Relaxing into,
Rather than pushing through.
Softening around,
Rather than constricting against.
Going with the flow state,
Rather than generating the flow state.
Allowing life to take us,
Rather than directing the show.
Practice—imperfect practice—
Is perfection.
Dear Folks,
No matter what this moment
Offers us,
May we find our way
Forward,
Into
And
Through.
May all beings benefit from our shared time.
Truly,
Aruni
~~~
*The Nobility of Retreat—core teaching by Swami Kripalu