Tuesday, June 25, 2013
“Soak up some sun. Snap up opportunities. Be a colourful character. Appreciate stillness. Keep a low profile. Shed your old ways. Be dashing.” – Ilan Shamir
WE CAN LEARN so much from all beings on this planet. Inspiration can come in many forms and everyone and everything has the capacity to teach. We just need to pay attention. My friend and I were recently hiking on an island in Georgian Bay where there are lots of big rocks and boulders and we took the opportunity to lie down, slow down and soak up the sun. We laughed about invoking our inner lizards and just being. A few days later when we had returned home, we received a postcard from friends who are on a two-month exploring adventure in the southwest U.S. and the above quote about the Advice from a Lizard was on the front of it. Our friends may be thousands of kilometres away, but we are still connected in the ways that we value and approach life.
We all love lizards and learn from them. Ontario is home to one lizard – the Five lined skink.
In my yoga classes we’ve been talking about having reverence and love for ourselves (in the yoga class on the yoga mat) and in our everyday lives. Love and reverence for all the beings that share this great earth that we live on. The yoga tradition recognizes that we are each unique individuals and yet we are intimately connected to everything that is around us in the natural world.
As I was invoking my inner lizard on the rock over on Beausolei Island I couldn’t help but think that sometimes we humans forget how important every species is and how fragile the balance of nature is. In our own bodies we may take our heart for granted until it no longer works the way we want. In the same way, we may take these little lizards for granted without ever really understanding what they contribute to the earth. I hope everyone can pause during their summer activities, invoke their inner lizard and maybe even learn a bit more about these colourful characters that we share our county with us.