Monday, November 21, 2011

What will you do when your suntan fades......

I once put a song on a music mix for a friend of mine called: "What Will You Do When Your Suntan Fades?" by Beulah. Cute song, and it will make you smile.....but there is a note of seriousness (at least for me) contained within the lyrics. Like this:

The days are getting shorter
And what will you do when your suntan is fading and the summer's gone?
Do you feel afraid?


This goes back to a time when I was at a crossroads. I was re-locating to another city, all the familiar faces and places were going to be gone, and my future was unknown, so it was pretty scary. The last few evenings I spent with my friends before I left were crisp and cold, it was dark very early, and you could see your breath in the air. Believe it or not, over 30 years later, and I still have that sense of foreboding at least one time or another in late fall. It may catch me as I leave work and it's already dark. It may appear with a gust of cold, biting wind, or the smell of leaves burning. With yoga, I have learned to see this as only a groove, a pattern, a memory, and I know that there is really nothing to fear. When that feeling happens, I take a deep breath, count my blessings, and embrace it. Yoga teaches us so much more than how to do a proper forward bend........