The Risk of Discovery

by Joanna D.

One of my close friends has a tattoo on her right forearm that says, “And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.” Something super close to that anyway. A quote by Anais Nin. Pretty true right? In its grossest sense, coming here and everything that lead up to it was a risk. Big steps leading to bigger steps. Changes. Readjustments, calibrations. Some of which has been quite painful.

Formation of doubt.
Were my intentions truly clear? Will I get enough work? Am I strong enough? Dedicated enough? Am I blowing it? Am I blowing it? These spinning wheels ignite the fires of fear – that’s the hard part. As it turns out it also reveals the subtler side of risk; dispelling the mistruths burrowed deep inside my psyche… a chance to burn down the house.

Risky business.
Take a look at the inside; search for the truth among the harshness.

Good thing there is Yoga. It absolutely changed my life. Someday that topic will get it’s own post. In short, the benefits of yoga, specifically the practice of Ashtanga Yoga, are immeasurable and I can say with absolute confidence that it saved my life. It also gave me the courage to look inside. Find a way to see through the doubt. Discover something unforeseen about who I am and what I am capable of. And I can take that confidence to my mat every morning and revel in it through alignment and breath.

With that as a foundation the hard parts of this venture are bearable, the beautiful parts clarified, gratitude revealed. The blossoming phase.

“Light the incense!
 You have to burn to be fragrant
 To sent the whole house
 You have to burn to the ground.”
    ~Rumi

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