Don't Know Much About
It was 10 years ago.
I had read about it. I'd thought about it. I'd imagined it. I'd even planned for it. I knew people--close friends and family--who'd done it.
I had all the gear, the guides, and the equipment. I'd gone to classes.
But I was not prepared. Nothing could have prepared me.
When my daughter Richelle was born, the intensity of my love for her, the blinding drive to protect her, and the suddenness of their onset startled me.
Richelle, five years ago. She's not an infant anymore.
In that moment I knew, too, how much my parents loved me, and how enormous their sacrifices were for me.
Knowing. It's two different meanings are easily confused. This knowing was born from experience. In that one moment, I was a father. Before, I was not.
This knowing had nothing do to with reading about what others had done. This was not academic. No book-learning, here.
The examples that distiguish the two types of knowing are many; and they are trite. You've heard them before:
The experience of being a father has changed me much more than reading about it, or talking to people who've done it.
The Old Testament scriptures say, "Children too are a gift from the LORD...a reward." (Psalms 127:3) On bad days I seriously wonder about that.
But I've never once doubted that being a father, like no other force in my life, has pulled me (almost violently) out of the vortex of selfishness.
Yoga has changed me like that, too.
Before yoga, I had studied human anatomy, physiology, pathology, histology and a bunch of other "-ologies."
But none of them was anything like the richness and depth of experience that I met head-on on my yoga mat. My beliefs about what was possible with my body, and beyond, were altered because of my yoga experiences.
Yoga keeps me fresh. It keeps me green. Yoga keeps me from stalling out. It keeps me from getting too comfortable with a pet explanation. Yoga keeps me flexible. Yoga helps me stay awake for more of the moments of my life.
Don't just read about it. Get up. Experience it. Experience yoga!
Kevin Perry
www.ExperienceYoga.org
p.s., I would have never been born nor survived to find yoga without my Dad. I would have never been receptive to the Spirit of the Divine had my Dad not taught me and guided me along the way. Happy Father's Day, Dad. I love you.
p.p.s., I don't want to discredit "learning about" something, rather than experiencing it directly. My Dad must have said to me in my youth, "you don't have to drink poison to know it's bad for you." A little information can help you avoid a whole lot of trouble. My advice to you: read some Daily Yoga Tips, then go DO YOGA.
Copyright 2005. All rights reserved, Mo Yoga LLC.
I had read about it. I'd thought about it. I'd imagined it. I'd even planned for it. I knew people--close friends and family--who'd done it.
I had all the gear, the guides, and the equipment. I'd gone to classes.
But I was not prepared. Nothing could have prepared me.
When my daughter Richelle was born, the intensity of my love for her, the blinding drive to protect her, and the suddenness of their onset startled me.
Richelle, five years ago. She's not an infant anymore.
In that moment I knew, too, how much my parents loved me, and how enormous their sacrifices were for me.
Knowing. It's two different meanings are easily confused. This knowing was born from experience. In that one moment, I was a father. Before, I was not.
This knowing had nothing do to with reading about what others had done. This was not academic. No book-learning, here.
The examples that distiguish the two types of knowing are many; and they are trite. You've heard them before:
Reading the sheet music is nothing like hearing the symphony....well, you know what I mean.
Studying the recipe card doesn't come close to eating the chocolate chip cookie.
The map is not the territory.
Sitting on the edge of the bed talking about sex doesn't even begin to...
The experience of being a father has changed me much more than reading about it, or talking to people who've done it.
The Old Testament scriptures say, "Children too are a gift from the LORD...a reward." (Psalms 127:3) On bad days I seriously wonder about that.
But I've never once doubted that being a father, like no other force in my life, has pulled me (almost violently) out of the vortex of selfishness.
Yoga has changed me like that, too.
Before yoga, I had studied human anatomy, physiology, pathology, histology and a bunch of other "-ologies."
But none of them was anything like the richness and depth of experience that I met head-on on my yoga mat. My beliefs about what was possible with my body, and beyond, were altered because of my yoga experiences.
Yoga keeps me fresh. It keeps me green. Yoga keeps me from stalling out. It keeps me from getting too comfortable with a pet explanation. Yoga keeps me flexible. Yoga helps me stay awake for more of the moments of my life.
Don't just read about it. Get up. Experience it. Experience yoga!
Kevin Perry
www.ExperienceYoga.org
p.s., I would have never been born nor survived to find yoga without my Dad. I would have never been receptive to the Spirit of the Divine had my Dad not taught me and guided me along the way. Happy Father's Day, Dad. I love you.
p.p.s., I don't want to discredit "learning about" something, rather than experiencing it directly. My Dad must have said to me in my youth, "you don't have to drink poison to know it's bad for you." A little information can help you avoid a whole lot of trouble. My advice to you: read some Daily Yoga Tips, then go DO YOGA.
Copyright 2005. All rights reserved, Mo Yoga LLC.
posted by Kevin at 8:31 AM
1 Comments:
Beautiful entry. You have a wonderful way of expressing yourself.
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