Author: aryask@gmail.com

At the English training center where I teach, I was asked to prepare a 5 minute presentation on any topic for an upcoming all-staff meeting. I said, "OK" and forgot about it. Later, my colleague asked what the topic might be and I told her maybe Yoga, on why I do it and how I practice. It's not something I'm necessarily an expert on, but it's something I enjoy. During the week, I considered other ideas that I would want to talk about. On the day of the presentation, something clicked and I decided on creativity, wrote down a few ideas and stories to share. As a developed nation, China is known to be a powerhouse in manufacturing and export. It's also known to not be creative, at least that…

Along the stream of images and experiences, I float like a leaf in the river. If there is anything I know, there ain't no rushing gravity. The river knows and I go where it flows. I use paper money, but I live on the currency of surrender. The present is sufficient. There is nothing to gain or overcome, there is no need to force an outcome or opinion, changing with the changeless changes, and everything is done before the mind can conceive it. So let go. The ocean smiles at you long before you're there. It's safe to be quiet. The river knows.

I was running along the main street, approaching a pack of kids and parents who were gathered by a daycare center. The kids were blowing colorful bubbles that floated around. As I dashed through the crowd, I began to reach for them and watch them pop. Ahead of me, a little girl kicked a ball that crossed my line of stride. Just as I was reaching for another bubble, she began to scurry after her ball and turned up right in front of me. In a split second, my amusement with bubbles switched to preventing a crash. I gently braced her shoulders and shifted my hips to veer the momentum, sending me flying onto the pavement outside the group. I tucked my chin, rolled along my back, and raised onto…

My constant work is to simplify life with patience and ease. I have nothing to prove, so I move freely. My opinions are like dust particles on the moon, reflecting the light I receive in orbital rhythms. And with every astroid that contacts the surface, my face rearranges. I have nowhere to be, feeling the fullness of now is everything to me. A playground wouldn't be a playground without structure and limits, so I write down my goals and make lists of things I appreciate. My decisions are not necessarily well planned or informed, but they are simple: choosing to be happy. I'm not out to be perfect, and am not racing against time. Death is a friend, there til the very end. My life's work is to bring out…

When you give up control and accept the way things are, you are then in control, not because you want it, but because it naturally arises. Find pockets in the day to just sit or stand and just breathe and let the body guide the breathing. Don't try to police/control your thoughts, just pay attention to the way you are being breathed. What if it was your very first breath? how might it be different? what if it was your final?