Skip to main content

Last Year Is Dead


Wednesday, May 3, 2023,

If you'd like to see a charming, heart-warming, and extremely well done film, go and see "Marcele the Shell".

Introduced to me by a friend who enjoys film as much as I do, Marcele the Shell is a G rated style of film, that still manages to deal with very adult/non-sugary topics (like death and re-birth).

Without going into detail, one of the most emotional parts of the film is narrated by one fo the main characters slowly reciting a short poem called, "The Trees" by Philip Larkin.

Watch the film for the full effect but, now that Spring is here, I've found a line from the poem popping into my head frequently:

"...Last year is dead, they seem to say, begin afresh, afresh, afresh..."

The simplicity of the message is death/re-birth of nature in Springtime.  That message of death/re-birth is powerful, however, as a person goes through many cycles of death/re-birth (even throughout the short course of one day).

In that vein of death and rebirth I'll say this (as Philip Larkin said it); 'yesterday' is dead.....begin afresh.

Time to begin today's practice...

Part II:

It's 7:20am as I type this, and I've just come out of Savasana.

For the first time in probably over a year, I went through a full backbend sequence at the end of my practice, and executed three, complete upward bow poses (Urdhva Dhanurasana)......it opens up ones body, mind, and soul (hippie dippie as that sounds).  

Time to bring this version of myself out into the world.....afresh, afresh, afresh.

Namaste


 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Rebuild

Tuesday, July 10, 2018 Woke at my usual 4:45AM this morning for coffee and contemplation. Feeling wonderful this morning, and not terribly sore at all.  There's a bit of stiffness in my back from yesterday's backbends, but that's to be expected. Ready to sweat it out on my mat. Tuesday, July 10, 2018 (Part II) I'm writing this off my mat, already showered up for my day. I love going to my mat.  The physical challenge alone is reward enough, but, while I've said it many times before, the mental and spiritual adjustments that one can make are priceless.  Physically, I already see a difference in my body.  Arms are still re-building their stamina, but the twists and forward bends I incorporate are already helping with digestion and elimination and the general "deflating" of my body and G.I. track (TMI, I'm sure, but this is one of the main physical reasons why I practice). Mentally, I feel prepared for anything that comes my way today and fe...
Post a Comment
Read more

Asana

Monday, March 30, 2020 After no physical practice/Asanas on Friday, and no yoga over the weekend, I notice that it's difficult to stay motivated and dedicated to my practice at times.  Additionally, I ran a solo-10K this weekend (the St. Louis GO! Marathon/Half-Marthon/10K was cancelled, like most public events), and the additional tenderness in my feet, legs, etc. definitely told me not to get on my mat. Monday blues/malaise, essentially.....a "negative mind"... When I'm on my mat, feeling like it's pointless, and that the day ahead is pointless, and that the efforts I'll expend to make things better are pointless, I can go back to the foundations of my life.  First, what do I live for?  I live for God.  That is my attempted mantra every day. It is not for me/you to understand the purpose of anything.  Pulling yourself out of an equation is very liberating in that you're no longer attached to the result. It's 5:27AM as I type this, and it...
Post a Comment
Read more

Be Silent

Tuesday, November 10, 2020 (Part I),  Literal silence is seldom present.  Whether in our homes, our cars, or our offices, noise, and other physical sounds, are almost always being generated from somewhere.  Try a little experiment next time the opportunity arises; turn off all music, all noise making devices, and make your environment as quiet as possible.  Then, close your eyes and sit for 2 minutes.  You’ll, very quickly, begin to hear things you weren't noticing before.  The same is true when you silence your own thoughts. You turn off the “noise” of your own brain, and you begin to notice and hear things that are always there, but that you simply didn’t notice before.   To “turn down the volume” in your own head, physically imagine a hand turning down a volume dial. Then, select an object of meditation (a loved one, a religious object, or something plain and innocuous, like a pineapple), and hold that image in your mind.  Within moments, your ...
Post a Comment
Read more