Sweet victory

The people lined up to vote and made the wisest choice for the country and for themselves.

It's the journey not the destination

After many years of yoga practice--at times more focused than others--today, I performed my first unassisted (i.e., without the help of a teacher lifting my legs into the air and above my head) handstand (Adho Mukha Vrksasana). I have repeatedly told myself that the absence of upper body strength would forever prevent me from doing so even though most observers said that this had nothing to do with it. Of course, I've been advised that "it's all in my head," but found this hard to believe.

A classmate recently recommended fixing my eyes on a point on the wall ahead of me once in the prep position, i.e., my arms extended onto the floor below and in front of my torso with my hands and fingers spread open wide and legs extended just behind me; downward dog position (Adho Mukha Svanasana) with the primary variation of inching the legs slowly toward the torso until that sweet spot is hit which forces the legs up into the air, over the head, and onto the wall behind. She said that when you fix your eyes ahead, it forces you "into the moment," and something almost magical happens when you remain present, forgetting about the stress of potentially falling on your head or the victory of making it up on your own. Today, I thought of her advice about fixing my eyes onto a point across the room while looking at the world upside down and the next thing I knew I was up in the air as though lifted by some otherworldly force that had nothing to do with upper body strength.

Yesterday, I heard a senior teacher say that the end result is not the point in yoga: it's the process that matters, the process of getting there, and that's why the correct position is much more important than actually achieving the goal, e.g., like getting your legs in the air on your own or having the palms of both hands flattened to the ground in Uttanasana (a type of forward bend). She also reminded her students: dont' let the ego be the teacher, the end result shouldn't be the driver. It's not the destination, it's the journey.

That may be why in the second round, armed with an overly-entitled and premature sense of confidence and with the singular goal of getting back into full arm balance position on my own, I couldn't do the pose. I tried a third time with the same result. That was it, one time up on my own and no more. In retrospect, my positioning (for getting into the actual position) was too careless and inexact, I lost sight of that point across the room, and forgot to stay in the moment fixing instead on the sole reward of independently lifting my feet over my head so that I could watch the world upside down while it watched me.

A parable of sorts, no? Does it ever really work to be guided by the reward and not the process? When we lose sight of the moment or remove ourselves from the present, do we ever feel truly victorious, i.e., content? Fortunately, we don't have to stray too far to be reminded of this only to recognize our own humanity with all of its limitations and imperfections and to force us back on course towards the destination but not at it. I don't expect to see the world upside down again any time soon, at least not by getting there on my own, and, until that time, I'll try my best to remain focused on the process (whatever it happens to be and in whatever circumstance I happen to be in), keep my ego in check, be brave despite the outcome. It's the journey not the destination afterall.

Support your local artists

Michael is a new friend who moved here recently from Berlin partly for a relationship and partly for a new life. He's a fine artist sculpting objects out of clay. Shortly after arriving in San Francisco, he landed a job at a local interior design firm but once business slowed--around the time the economy did--he was let go and now he's looking for work like several other friends who have lost their jobs over the past month. It's a scary time and it's hard to know where people will go to find work.

So, what does an unemployed artist do? Head to Open Studios, the country's oldest and biggest art event of its kind, to see what other starving artists are doing.

Today, we visited over 100 studios at one of the city's defunct military bases, Hunter's Point. Along with others seeking refuge from the storm--it's raining--we made our way in and out of the various ateliers. Little was truly inspiring except for a handful of artists. Two that come to mind are Monica and Robin Denevan, a sister and brother duo; the former a photographer and the latter, a painter. She photographs seamen in Burma in graceful poses with their boats or on their way home. He paints with beeswax oil and natural resins haunting yet beautiful images of marshes and rivers and seascapes blending into the atmosphere. Abstract yet somehow literal, like Turner. I can't really remember much else besides them.

I'm hopeful that this time next year, Michael will be gainfully employed and displaying his wares in an open studio for all the world to see.

BOO!

I hate to sound old but I do remember a time when Halloween masks, sheets with cut-out holes for the eyes, and little super hero costumes were just meant for fun and not much else. San Francisco is a city that relishes in this dress-up holiday not because people don't often go disguised in this town--they do--but because it's a time to overtly display and celebrate the city's weirdness. It is a weird place with a lot of weirdos and this holiday is a time to just let it all hang out. At least, that used to be true.

On my way to work yesterday, I saw this sign on a bank in the downtown area. Apparently, you can no longer enter a bank if masked on October 31 lest you be confused with a robber or, perhaps, egads!, a terrorist. Could terrorists really be thinking of walking through customs in a Spiderman costume? Is the sign saying that on all other days of the year it's okay to visit a bank with your mask on or does that mean that if you do there'll be no confusion as to whose side you're on and you'll be immediately wrestled to the floor and thrown into the slammer. I guess Halloween isn't as innocent as it used to be. Is anything?