Is there a simple answer?

We are living in such uncertain and unprecedented times. While I am questioning more and more about the shut-down and who and what was behind it, I have seen some definite positives, at least initially, from people slowing down, being with their families and pausing the fast pace of life we’ve all become so used to.

In the last five and a half years, as most of you know, I’ve been learning about and living a yogic life.  Many of the main yogic principles are similar to the simple lessons of right living I learned at home, growing up in a traditional household.  Yet, somehow as an adult, the world I am living in seems to have changed the basic meaning of the virtues I’d learned about -  kindness, cleanliness, patience, compassion, honesty, tolerance.  This is no judgement of others, as I found myself very much caught up in the fast paced, competitive, money driven, power seeking, highly judgmental, materialistic world. Taken to the extreme, these lauded characteristics said to lead to success, come at a price - our physical, emotional and spiritual health can be highly compromised, leading to weakened immune systems, disease and early death. We've all heard a lot about weakened immune systems lately.

While it was difficult to transition, the yogic lifestyle resonated so much with me, in part because the basic tenets were familiar and what I’d been taught as a young girl. Residing in an ashram in the Bahamas for most of the past five years, virtues were valued, taught and encouraged. Gratitude, patience, compassion, kindness, cleanliness, honesty, love - remembering them as we learned them as children. Gossip and idle talk were discouraged at the ashram.  No TV and no news were actually freeing to the mind and spirit. When was the last time you had a tech free day?

I firmly believe that We Can Do Better as a human race.  

I also believe that there is good in all of us, and an innate sense of right behavior in healthy humans.  

​Health and Virtues are of value to a civilized society.  

As we are returning to activity once again, I wonder if the time we’ve had to reflect on what is important will spread out and change the world into a more caring, compassionate, healthier, and cleaner place to live?

Sending you love,
​Mary