This morning I watched Patti Smith singing “Auld lang syne” on Instagram and noticed how beautiful the song is. It was written by Robert Burns in 1788 and means “old long ago” literally or more fittingly “days gone by”, sung to honour the departing of the old year.
Listening to Patti sing I was reminded of a yoga class I attended at the end of the year the teacher -took us on a beautiful visual meditation up a mountain. On the way up we were encouraged to leave any thoughts or feelings weighing us down from 2020 next to the path. We visualized them as stones we were carrying. I had plenty.
- fear attached to yet another recurrence and operation
- anxiety of a new treatment
- uncertainty of living in a pandemic
- worries of having parents and a mother-in-law living in other countries
- grief of losing an uncle across the world and friends losing other loved ones
- pain and suffering of COVID affecting so many
to name but a few.
Finally, after reaching the peak and unburdening ourselves we turned and began the descent and were asked to pick up anything useful or beautiful from the year that we had discovered or learned. I collected more than expected.
- peace and calm of lockdown days
- joy of studying hard and learning for the yoga exam
- love and support received even at a distance through my recurrence and treatment
- connection through social media and video chats shortening the physical distance
- return to good health and transformative journey of a friend’s son through cancer
- deep satisfaction and fun teaching my first yoga classes
- warmth, love and solid support I have at home
- gratitude of having already been teaching remotely and having a day job
So, take a moment to honour your old year and you might be surprised about some heartfelt moments you’d like to keep too!
Bladdergraffiti 