Sometimes we can have a memorable moment when we least expect it. I had one a few years ago and I still remember exactly where I was and I think about it often. I was driving to the yoga conference in Estes Park (from Boulder) and as I was driving through the town of Lyons, I was listening to a CD by Jon Kabat-Zinn and he recited a poem by Derek Walcott. This poem had such an effect on me that I have a copy of it in my notebook that I carry every day. It gives me some insight into what we mean when talking about our "true self" and it gives me an understanding that I have a true self that is accessible to me. Although the yoga conference was very memorable, the drive to the conference was actually the most memorable. So be present and be aware of those sneaky memorable moments!
Love after Love
by Derek Walcott (from his book Sea Grapes)
The time will come
when, with elation,
you will greet yourself arriving
at your own door, in your own mirror,
and each will smile at the other's welcome,
and say, sit here. Eat
You will love again the stranger who was your self.
Give wine. Give bread. Give back your heart
to itself, to the stranger who has loved you
all your life, whom you ignored
for another, who know you by heart.
Take down the love letters from the bookshelf,
the photographs, the desperate notes,
peel your own image from the mirror.
Sit. Feast on your life.
