As I left restorative yoga class Sunday night, calm and relaxed, both physically and mentally in a very zen sort of place, I paused on Broadway before being able to get in my car door due to the fast traffic passing by and splashing me with muddy, snowy puddles. The radio in my car was so out of place - I just didn't want to hear the noise and chaos. I didn't need it.
As I watched all the cars driving over the Million Dollar Bridge and through the Old Port, I wondered what it would be like if everyone had just left yoga class. What if every person was in the same zen kind of space at the same time? Would there be less aggression? Would there be more kindness and a slowing down of drivers and walkers on the streets? While anger and violent images and games increase a person's adrenaline and make him more likely to strike or lash out verbally or physically, yoga could have the opposite effect.
What a dream to have a kinder, gentler world with hearts turned toward each other rather than away. Seeing our fellow men as worthy of our kindness, our civility, and our lack of judgment would create a very different world for us, wouldn't it? Can the answer be as simple as yoga for everyone? Namaste, my friend.
(Painting by Liz Brown)
