Wow! Here it is already January 7 and I feel like I'm just getting started with my thinking and planning my life for this new year. Perhaps by the end of January I'll at least have a pretty good idea how the first few months will go. It seems my mind is a lot more flexible than my body! One thing has risen in importance: The yogic ten points for living. I will be concentrating on one each month and the one for January is the first yama (abstinence) of non-violence (ahimsa). It might be more accurate to call it non-harming. To me, that puts a different slant on it. It is easy for me to try to avoid killing - even the bugs - as a way of instilling a strong sense of non-violence, but non-harming seems to me to broaden the principle and puts a whole new light on it. Can I really learn to avoid harming - people, animals, plants, all of nature, and especially - myself! Can I truly be kind and avoid harming EVERYONE and EVERYTHING? I doubt it. So, my plan is to rethink my days - even as I live them - and try to notice when I am harming. They say it only takes 30 days to form a new habit. We'll see. I may find myself still harming on February 1. Wish me luck!
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