Self-Acceptance: Coming Home to Friends
A friend of mine passed away a few weeks ago and I’ve been thinking about him a lot. Quish was an eccentric and entertaining person and full of self-acceptance. We shared a love of books, Ireland, Jamieson’s, and stories. He used to carry a wad of crumpled up Post-it notes that he referred to as his Blackberry. He once said his next house pet would be an Asian elephant because he needed something that would out-live him. (He was holding out for an apartment-sized elephant). Quish lived with authenticity, curiosity, and imagination. He wasn’t much into the “healthy lifestyle,” but nonetheless he was awake in the world.
Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about what it is that I’m trying to teach. Like many teachers, the source of my inspiration often comes from my failures and the things I struggle with. Yoga is a fascinating, complex, multifaceted way of looking at and being in the world. I think it’s a great path and I share it because it brings me joy and helps me in my own life. If I had to distill the practice into one sentence it would be that we need to get off the merry-go-round of habit and wake up without losing our desire to fully engage with life—living with enthusiasm, effort and discipline.
Yoga, for me, is finding a middle ground—exploring the edges of our potential while recognizing that we are not going anywhere. We already have the capacity to do and to be everything we need to do and be. Like the characters in The Wizard of Oz, we realize at the end of our journey that what we’ve been seeking is what we already have. We just need fellow travelers to help us find our way home. Getting down onto a mat or cushion, alone or with others, is a way to see the world from a different perspective—a way of coming home to yourself. Coming home means that you are allowed to be as eccentric or as conventional as you like. You can balance the drive towards creativity and action in the world with self-compassion and a sense of humour.
I’m pretty sure that Quish never set foot on a yoga mat in his life, but he excelled at the most important practice, which is friendship. He’ll be dearly missed by all who knew him. Hope to see you on the mat, Elaine
