Today’s Reverb10 Prompt: Wonder. How did you cultivate a sense of wonder in your life this year?
I cannot think of a better connection between yoga and the law than wonder. But what about also including wondering? A sense of wonder is something that we can create through yoga. For me, this path has been opened most recently by looking at the koshas and truly tuning in to see how the body and mind interact, how the body is such an incredible reflection of the soul. Throughout this year, I have allowed myself to open up to wonder, coming back to the basics, in yoga as well as life.
Dictionary.com (and I say this understanding that it’s silly to quote Internet dictionaries) defines wonder: to be filled with admiration, amazement, or awe; marvel. It is like going back to being a child and seeing the world through new eyes. Each day, I try to open my eyes in new ways, see each interaction from a different perspective. My yoga teacher training, along with my job at the court of appeals, helped me to do this each and every day.
Interestingly, this is where yoga and the law have both helped. At the court, you have to look at both sides, analyze every aspect of the situation to find the correct answer. Thinking outside of the box is the only way to work. In yoga, you have to pay attention to each moment, the body, the breath. If not, you can hurt yourself. As you wonder where the body and breath are going, they begin to change, and you can work with them. Together, these different worlds have opened my eyes broader than either one would alone . . . and more than just my eyes. My entire being has opened.
That new being leads to wondering. Wonder creates the opportunity for wondering. Wondering is about seeing the possibilities of all that can happen in the world. My opportunity in New Zealand is to study their system for children’s representation in court. I wonder how I will be able to bring that system back to the United States. Instead of being stuck in the current paradigm, we can see the possibilities that we can create. Wonder opens those doors. Just being willing to see the other side, to see more of the picture opens us to a new world.
What has wonder given you? Where do you allow yourself to wonder about new possibilities?
I cannot think of a better connection between yoga and the law than wonder. But what about also including wondering? A sense of wonder is something that we can create through yoga. For me, this path has been opened most recently by looking at the koshas and truly tuning in to see how the body and mind interact, how the body is such an incredible reflection of the soul. Throughout this year, I have allowed myself to open up to wonder, coming back to the basics, in yoga as well as life.
Dictionary.com (and I say this understanding that it’s silly to quote Internet dictionaries) defines wonder: to be filled with admiration, amazement, or awe; marvel. It is like going back to being a child and seeing the world through new eyes. Each day, I try to open my eyes in new ways, see each interaction from a different perspective. My yoga teacher training, along with my job at the court of appeals, helped me to do this each and every day.
Interestingly, this is where yoga and the law have both helped. At the court, you have to look at both sides, analyze every aspect of the situation to find the correct answer. Thinking outside of the box is the only way to work. In yoga, you have to pay attention to each moment, the body, the breath. If not, you can hurt yourself. As you wonder where the body and breath are going, they begin to change, and you can work with them. Together, these different worlds have opened my eyes broader than either one would alone . . . and more than just my eyes. My entire being has opened.
That new being leads to wondering. Wonder creates the opportunity for wondering. Wondering is about seeing the possibilities of all that can happen in the world. My opportunity in New Zealand is to study their system for children’s representation in court. I wonder how I will be able to bring that system back to the United States. Instead of being stuck in the current paradigm, we can see the possibilities that we can create. Wonder opens those doors. Just being willing to see the other side, to see more of the picture opens us to a new world.
What has wonder given you? Where do you allow yourself to wonder about new possibilities?
Namaste and Blessings!
© 2010 Rebecca Stahl, all rights reserved
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