I’m as acquainted as the next potato head with accidental grace: green lights on the way to work, finding one pair of clean underwear when the washer is broken and every other item of clothing in the universe is dirty (that’s this morning), a note from a friend I haven’t heard from in twelve years.
And to be clear, I don’t believe in accidents. I use the word the same way you do in music, in which accidental notes are outside the key in which the song is written. They’re surprises. Their strangeness draws attention.
Something happens to all of this with yoga. Something about the daily focus and purposeful open-heartedness of yoga is spreading grace all over the place. I’m sure of it: This morning the custodian in my office building stopped to tell me he had to put his dog down last week, and he’s been crying ever since. I hardly know Bruce, but I have watched little Duke follow Bruce’s mop around this building for years. It was a wonderful moment of … well, of grace, I think, listening to his love pour out like that.
The guy who tried to fix my washer yesterday charged me almost nothing, because he felt he could have discovered its death knell within five minutes if he’d been more aware. More aware? This is not your average repair guy behavior.
And five minutes ago, after I started writing this, a woman came into my clinic. She is the daughter of Edna, a great friend of mine who passed away at Christmas. I miss Edna every day. Suzie and I chatted. After she left, I found a present in my back room. It was a necklace of Edna’s. My favorite. I have no idea how she knew it was my favorite, and she can’t possibly know how much this gift means to my skin. That’s grace, isn’t it?
It’s as though these accidental notes are showing up so often that they’re no longer accidents. It’s as though the music has changed key altogether.
Has this happened to you with yoga? Has it changed the music you’re sending out? Or the music you’re getting back from the world? I’d really love to hear.
Thanks to Bruce. Thanks to Mike, the repair guy. Thanks to Suzie, and to her mother Edna. Thanks to yoga for its open-heartedness, and thanks to you for the conversation,
Kristin
Kristin Shepherd is a chiropractor, actor, and speaker (about All Things Wonderful) in North Bay, Ontario. Join her on Facebook at Dr.Kristin Shepherd, on the net at kristinshepherd.ca, or on Twitter at kristinwonders.