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Satsang with Lisa
What I did on my Summer Vacation or
The Lobster Fest
The last four weeks have given us some real challenges to deal with. First we had Hurricane Irene and then the 10th anniversary of 9/11, all in the context of back to school business.
Even in the midst of true hardship and devastation how do we find meaning and the inspiration required to persevere, get through, and ultimately enjoy? How do we NOT sink under the weight?
For me personally I find inspiration in the moment. You might say I look for it. I find that with practice the vision (inner as well as outer) gets keener.
I was upstate for the hurricane (Phoenicia to be exact) thinking how lucky I was to not be on Long Island for the impending nightmare.
"Man plans, god laughs."~Yiddish proverb
Boy was I, not to mention all the weather folks, wrong! As we all know, although many lost power in NYC and Long Island, upstate got hammered with torrential rains that lasted for some 24 hours swelling creeks, streams and shallow rivers into roaring rapids that broke their banks and took out homes, roads and bridges leaving many communities stranded for days.
It was late afternoon for us when the rains subsided and my family and I went out to survey the damage. We found our lovely hamlet of Phoenicia devastated. The river had overflowed with such force that it swept away a bridge and rushed down the main street tearing up the road and flooding the local businesses with mud and debris. Of course there was no power nor telephone, only lots of folks walking around flabbergasted, frightened, and certainly in the case of the small business owners frustrated. Repair work was already well underway only hours after the storm, still it was apparent that things would not be returning to normal anytime soon. We walked about, my kids and fiancé, all of us shocked and deeply saddened by what we were seeing,
"You desire to know the art of living my friend? It is contained in one phrase: Make use of suffering." ~Henri Frederic Amiel
I was fighting back my tears when my son Jed and his friend came to me to announce "We're hungry". "Really", I replied looking around incredulously "well, we will eat something when we get back to our to our place." Clearly there was nothing in town open for business. Nothing.
But the boys persisted. "Please let's just check Al's Seafood Restaurant. There are cars parked outside." Fine." I surrendered, "go check it out." Al's was situated uphill from the river. We walked over and opened the door to the tavern style restaurant. Utterly astonished, we found people sitting at the bar by candlelight. "Come" the hostess beckoned. "We have no power nor wait-staff as the road is closed, so it is all candle light and self service." We ventured in and learned to the delight of the boys that there was indeed food. They had gas for cooking and to our amazement there was a full beautiful buffet feast! The situation was this; Al's has an annual end of summer lobster fest and miraculously for us it was to be that night. They had been selling tickets all summer for this big night. They had 500 lobsters and no one could get there! So, for $25 you could have all the lobster, shrimp, ribs, steak, sausage and peppers, and corn on the cob that you could eat.
"Stars may be seen from the bottom of a deep well, when they cannot be discerned from the top of a mountain. So are many things learned from adversity which the prosperous man knows nothing of."~Charles Spurgeon
My family sat down to feast, and I the yogi/vegan, politely declined and set back to our car to seek cell service somewhere to contact the outside world and let them know we were ok. As I walked back to the car, my pace slowed unconsciously as I thought to myself, "Are you crazy! We may not be able to get out of here for days and we only have limited food at home. Here is a feast being offered in the midst of catastrophe. How do you walk away from that?" It seemed idiotic.
It reminded me of the story of the man on the roof of his home in a flood praying to God to save him. As the water rises his neighbor urges him to get in his truck and go. But, he stays knowing God will save him. The water rises higher and a man comes by in a rowboat saying "come aboard" but the endangered man waits for God to save him. Finally the water gets so high that a helicopter comes to him and he still refuses waiting for God. In the end the man is drowning and crying out to God "how could you let me drown?" to which God replies, "Hey, I sent you a truck, a boat and a helicopter! What more do you want me to do? I am very busy you know!
So, letting go of my strong identification of self as vegan, I humbly went back to the restaurant to feast with my loved ones, who were notably surprised and thrilled to see me. In that instant I chose to receive the blessing of the moment and practice flexibility OFF the mat. After all what is the point of dwi pada sirsana (putting your feet behind your head while remaining upright) and kapotasana (literally on the knees bending over backwards holding your feet)??? What have I learned from practice if am blind to the gifts, messages, and miracles of living???
"Only to the extent that we expose ourselves over and over to annihilation can that which is indestructible in us be found"~Pema Chodron
We dined together as part of this shaken community, by the candles glow, sharing warm words and hearts, big smiles and expansive spirits. I took in the nourishment of this offering, knowing that I too was making my life an offering. Often when faced with adversity we hold on tighter to our defenses, pile on the armor and hold our breath. In that moment I chose to go the other way, to disarm, breathe deep, and soften.
Ironically, it took greater strength to soften and to recognize and release this form of ego identification. Choosing instead to just be with what is true and most important, living fully, embracing the magic of the moment and opening to the love all-around. I also had two of the most delicious lobsters that I have ever tasted in my life!
"Let the beauty we love be what we do. There are hundreds of ways to kneel down and kiss the ground."~Rumi
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