"We are beaten and blown by the wind, blown by the wind, oh when I go there, I go there with you, it’s all I can do." – U2
Gates begins this entry with a deeply personal and painful story: his sister’s death by suicide, which happened six months after he started his spiritual practice in earnest. At the time, he was living with her and her husband. Just weeks later, his brother-in-law revealed that a lump in his chest was cancerous.
When his brother-in-law shared the news, all they could do was look at each other, wordless. Two men who, just months before, were living their dream lives, now facing their worst nightmares. It was during this time that Gates learned the true meaning of abhyasa—not just as it relates to yoga, but how it applies to the attitude with which we live our lives. Gates defines abhyasa as “the dedicated, unswerving application of what you believe in.”
As he drove behind his brother-in-law who’d become his best friend on their way home after a post-work game of racquetball, Gates says the lyrics to U2’s song took on a whole new meaning. He thought about how both of them had surrendered to their own definitions of G-d. Each of them being tossed about by the unpredictable and heartbreaking events in their lives and their own personal practices propelled them in finding faith amidst shared hardship.
This resonates with what I’ve learned through my years of yoga practice. It takes practice to cultivate faith over fear. Life deals us difficult hands, and we can’t control the cards—even when we think we know the dealer. We think we know ourselves, but we let ourselves down. We trust others, but they can disappoint us. We believe we understand G-d, and then life happens.
The key is maintaining a tranquil mind through a consistent practice—whether it’s abhyasa or any practice that helps us find balance when life is anything but balanced. I often tell my students that if we’re only happy when it’s sunny, we won’t be happy all the time. Like weather, life changes. Just as we trust the sun is still there behind the clouds, we must have faith that the good will return, even if we can’t see it in certain moments. That’s the lesson: keep the faith, which takes practice. But the fact faith comes in many forms—faith in our higher power, faith in ourselves, and faith in others makes it more attainable when we have a variety of ways to feel it or find it.
To connect today’s quote a bit further to what I’ve been reflecting on lately, and something I’m working through in my blog, is how familiar songs can take on new meanings when we consider how the lyrics apply to us in new ways. For example, try singing a love song to yourself instead of to someone else. Instead of being transported to the past or future thinking about someone else, stay in the present and sing those words to yourself. You’ll be surprised by the transformation.
Faith, too, is transformative. Even when life feels impossibly hard, even on the cloudiest days, practicing faith can be a source of strength. And that strength is as constant as the sun’s rays on a bright day."
Namaste, and thank you for reading!
Lauri
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