I have had an uncomfortably hectic few weeks. Work has been full on. I work with children and despite having routines for them and strategies to help them through their day, it all changes as quick as a matchstick flares - yesterday they wanted to crawl into my lap, today they want me banished to an entirely different universe.
Hubby's been travelling again and when that happens all our household members tend to go a bit feral and my patience plummets as I try to manage. Hubby has travelled a lot this year and our family unit is constantly changing; reconnecting after absences; readjusting to each other again.
Winter has set in and out have come the thermal underwear, my snow shoes, gloves, scarves. I live in Melbourne. I love the cold, but I don't like being cold. Winter landed suddenly. One day the autumn leaves were tumbling down, the next day the trees were bare, branches stark against clear skies, frost underfoot on early morning dog walks.
I've had too much news from friends of diagnoses of cancer. It's especially bad when kids are diagnosed. I take my health for granted. And I shouldn't.
I went to my regular yoga class on the weekend. Yoga gives me a few hours a week to decompress, to breathe, to be the instructee rather than instructor. I love it. One of my teachers told us that we were going to be doing a class around mandalas, cycles and circular systems in our lives. She told us about some mandalas that are drawn with coloured sand in the temples in Tibet or India. They may take a week or sometimes a few months to create intricate patterns. Then when the mandala is finished, they open the temple doors and let the sand blow the mandala away. It's a reminder that life is impermanent; things in life are impermanent. We're all part of a bigger universe where life is never-ending.
It was an important lesson to hear. The more I try to hold onto something, the more I feel its loss. Let it be. Everything has its place in the universe. Breathe.
For fantastic yoga and meditation classes in Melbourne try kozenyoga.com.au
