This is another of my own musings on the proposed new expression of our Unitarian Universalists principles. Transformation is an expensive word that means change. Its Latin roots imply the changing of the shape of something from one thing to another. We often call on the caterpillar and butterfly as an example, but plenty of transformations can happen that are maybe not so dramatic. Put a cup of water in the freezer, or on top of the stove, and we witness the transformation of a liquid into a solid or into a gas. The shape of that water has definitely changed.
When it comes to human transformation, it seems to me that the role love plays is the difference in outcomes that can be amazingly creative or amazingly destructive.
Although I have been a practitioner of yoga over the years, I have recently been introduced to another Sanskrit word from the yogic tradition: bhoga. As I understand it, bhoga is allowing oneself to indulge in life’s pleasures. But then, bhoga can then go two different ways. If one indulges in life’s pleasures with attachment (e.g. I HAVE to have this, I can’t live without this, I’m addicted to this!) indulgence destroys us, at least over time. If one indulges in life’s pleasures without attachment, those pleasures come and go and maybe even disappear, and they allow us to move on with our lives. The truth is, even the practice of yoga can take those two routes. If I show up to practice yoga and hate every minute of it, and do it because “it’s supposed to be good for me” in the end, I’ve just added a hateful practice to my already short life. If I show up for yoga and embrace what it has to teach me about myself with gratitude, it really does what it claims to do–it helps me join body, mind and spirit.
Transformation. Whatever we engage in for the sake of change: diet, exercise, prayer, meditation, journaling, et al around this new year–let’s consider how to do that with love for ourselves and for the process. Those are likely, then, to be some changes we can experience with joy.
~Bob Patrick
Thanks, Bob, for this. I have also not heard this word before. But as one who practices yoga daily, there are many opportunities for humility on the mat.