January 1, 2024
Greetings yogis,
I’m sending this one out from another India pilgrimage, this time through the south in Tamil Nadu. It’s always astounding here; the profane, mundane and spiritual all colliding in an incomprehensible synergy. The inner stillness of the temples, bathed in sweet incense, drastically juxtaposed outside by the guttural roar of tuktuk engines spewing their thick exhaust. It's a marvel of sheer cacophony where street markets, chai wallahs and hoards of people somehow hum along in harmony.
Meanwhile, back in the West, I'm grateful to be missing the insidious, gnawing messages with the ring of ‘New Year, New You’ that infiltrate every billboard, device and screen. Along with our own self-imposed pressure to change and keep up, society sure seems to exude it around January as well. Sure, maybe it is time to shake some things up as we round the bend to a new year. Perhaps there is a great desire to reconsider and shift some of our habitual ways of doing things, stuck patterns that no longer serve and small, limiting mindsets. Of course this is a beautiful intention, but be easy on yourself. OK?
Perhaps it’s also just a time to pause and take stock of all the goodness that we do have – and all that has brought us to this moment. It’s too easy to get stuck in the trap of self-improvement when a capitalistic world repeatedly bombards us with the story that we’ll never be enough, but they sure have the next distraction or solution readily available for purchase! Be mindful of what stories (and stuff) you buy into. You have the same opportunity to change 365 days a year, 20,000 breaths a day – and the shipping is always free.
Alas, go ahead, rattle out the dust and cobwebs where you need to – just be sure to make it a point of letting yourself begin again over and over, each and every day in this brave new year ahead. Challenge yourself to keep this mindset in each conversation, every relationship and each breath. Don’t wait around for next year. Do it in March, May and even in September. Do it tomorrow and next week, in the morning or at sunset. Do it every time you remember how precious this one, sweet life is. This is true sadhana, a steadfast and persistent commitment to our practice of liberation.
May the year ahead place you in all the right settings to grow, serve and remember how to love. May it inspire you deeply and find you in vibrant health; mind, body and spirit. May you forgive with grace and live with ease. May you know that you are enough. May you know true peace and freedom, inside and out. These are my wishes for you.
Onward we go,
Nat K
Om Shanti Shanti Shanti