On the hills we climb
Inspiration can come at many different times and from many different sources. For me, most recently inspiration came on Inauguration Day from the steps of the United States Capitol by way of the words eloquently written and spoken by a young woman born in 1998 in Los Angeles, CA—now a household name, Amanda Gorman.
As did many of us, I found her poetry to be so moving and so in tune with the love and healing messages heard earlier that day from Vice President Harris and President Biden. Within her lines, the ideals of unity, of healing, of grief and of hope echoed loudly.
Yes, Amanda wrote “The Hill We Climb” specifically for this particular inauguration and its significance in our history, in the aftermath of the January 6th insurrection that happened at the very setting from which she shared her art with the world.
And while that can not, should not and must not be overlooked, her eloquence also captured that of so many other contexts that have become all-too-real for so many of us—the loss of contact, of connection, of relationship, of employment, of identity, of security, of safety, of normalcy. Her words, therefore, also represent these same ideals within these contexts, too—unity, healing, grief, hope.
The transformation that can come from grief, and pain, and exhaustion, is due to bravery—our being brave enough to move despite our fear, to sit despite our anguish. Far too often, we choose to ignore these feelings versus face them, even those of us with a contemplation practice. It might be easy for us to roll out the mat or pull out the cushion when we're inspired and don’t have challenges and despair to face. But when this tuning inwards, this reflection feels like a burden, or when “instant gratification” is not available to us, what then?
The Tibetan Buddhist nun and author, Pema Chodron, talks of the “squeeze”—this place where we look for alternatives—sometimes any alternative—to just being there with our body, our breath, our mind. Yet, she also explains that if we can live in this squeeze, if we can be brave enough to do so, we just might find something beautiful.
Bravery is defined as “the quality or state of having or showing mental or moral strength to face danger, fear or difficulty”. I’d say by that definition, we all earned our bravery credential in 2020. If we applied our bravery in such a way as to view catastrophe, or suffering, with fortitude and as opportunity versus obstacle, what might this new perspective afford us? What softness might transpire, what inspiration might awaken? Might we then learn to sit in the “squeeze”, to embrace our “crazy raw” and to accept the energy and vulnerability of the moment that is?
Big breath and an even bigger “hell, yes!”.
I’m not sure I’ll ever tire of reading these last few lines. This—this is yoga; this is the unification of ourselves with the light within (us all), with our self and our greater Self.
These moments of grief, hurt, tiredness—they are the source of our inner wisdom and therefore our inspiration. They allow us to move. breathe. be. with them, and through this exploration, experiment with questions such as “what if I did this?” or “what if I didn’t do that?” before we ultimate do, or don’t, do this or that.
Meditation, or dhyana, offers us the opportunity to sit with our thoughts and to label them as exactly that—merely “thinking”—after which we tune back into the simplicity and immediacy of our breath. Over time, we learn to stop struggling with them and rather practice relaxing into what comes up. Sometimes, these thoughts are difficult and often fueled by passion, aggression or ignorance…and they can be our fuel to wake up to our inner, enlightened wisdom. This, in turn, helps us adapt our perspective to our thoughts, to "what is”, and slows our struggle, not only against them, but also against ourselves. This, then, becomes our foundation for unity, with self and others.
This takes practice. This is why yoga is a practice, and it’s also why and how yoga works. In the here and now, for today, we can start by remembering the love and healing offered on Wednesday to our country and the world and recognize that while we all have hills to climb, we also have the power within us to prevail.
Happy Friday.
References:
Chodron, Pema. "Three Methods for Working with Chaos.” Lion’s Roar: Buddhist Wisdom for our Time. November 4, 2020.
Domonoske, Camila. “Not Broken But Simply Unfinished: Poet Amanda Gorman Calls for a Better America.” NPR.org. January 20, 2021.
The Hill Staff. “Transcript of Amanda Gorman’s inaugural poem.” TheHill.com. January 20, 2021.
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