Flight Plans

It’s back-to-school time. The leaves are turning, and the geese are gathering on the beach to discuss flight plans for the fall.  

I saw my son off this morning. At 21 years old, he’s off to Montreal to theatre school, and he has never been happier. But here I am, like I was when he was 4, trying not to cry when I wrap my arms around him at the front door.  

Autumn. It’s such a time for endings and beginnings. Bare feet gone soon. Sun sinking earlier and earlier. Crisp mornings. 

But, oh, back to school is such a time of excitement, too! Twenty years out of school and I still ache to buy pens, fresh paper, and new shoes in the fall. I ache for new adventures.

Do you ache for that? I wonder, sometimes, whether adults stop listening to the urge to take flight, whether we dig our feet into the day to day bog of our lives and don’t feel our own wings itching.

During my practice today, I focused on doing exactly what I felt called to do by my body and heart, rather than hanging on to yesterday’s wonderful practice (don’t leave, don’t leave!) or just falling into habitual, stubborn stupor (downward dog #4, downward dog #5, blah, blah). It felt strange and a bit untethered, but I loved it.

As fall approaches, I want to listen for the call to new adventure. Yin yoga is calling. So is Anusara yoga, thanks in part to many of your e-mails. In the rest of my life, the call is so loud this year that I’m changing careers and homes. 

Ooooooh, the thrill is better than new shoes, better than pen and paper, better than the first day of grade 9.

Do you feel an urge to fly this time of year? A call to adventure? In yoga? In life? I’d love to hear.

Thanks to Adrian, my son, for following his own call. Thanks to yoga for providing a thousand new adventures. And thanks to you, always, for the conversation.