LIFE LESSONS
Having a Beautiful Day Amid Chaos
When conflict becomes a dance
A beautiful summer morning. My teaching for the school year is finished as of today. I am sitting in our garden among three large oak trees. Finches flutter about, and a family of crows that I have begun feeding these days is cawing in the background. I sip my Jasmine tea. And then I am aware of Yama sitting on the stone wall in front of me.
YAMA: Beautiful day, isn’t it.
DISCIPLE: I can’t complain.
YAMA: Tell me, are there ever any days that are not beautiful? Or is this one particularly beautiful because the conditions are right for you?
DISCIPLE: Well, this is a beautiful day. Not too hot, not too cold. Birds are happy. Bees are busily buzzing. I don’t think too many would argue with me.
YAMA: What about someone with a tube down their throat? Or perhaps being evicted? Or being beaten? These are events that are common occurrences in your news feeds, are they not?
DISCIPLE: They are. Far too common. No, you are right. It would not be a beautiful day for any of those people.
YAMA: This beauty that you speak of is one borne by conditions. Without the proper conditions, there is nothing beautiful going on here.
