Sending many blessings and healing to those impacted by Hurricane Sandy.  Whenever a natural disaster strikes, I'm reminded of the things that matter most to us. When faced with mere minutes to gather your belongings, you soon realize what's really important. It isn't the latest gadget you just purchased or those new shoes you just had to have. The really important things are the relationships we hold dear to our hearts: family, friends and our pets.

The loss of property is devastating. Years of hard work gone in an instant can be hard to stomach. Things of a tangible nature don't last, no matter what the warranty says. Why does it take a disaster to remind us of this simple fact?  

There's a yoga principle known as aparigraha, or taking only what's necessary for you to live. Our priorities are misplaced if we think that having more things will make us happier. Make sure you don't spend your life chasing after material things that can be ripped away from you in the blink of an eye. When you become so concerned with taking care of your belongings that you forget what's really important, you've missed the boat. Instead, place your worth, your value and your time on the relationships in your life. In the end, that's the only thing that really matters.  

There's another yoga principle known as santosha, contentment. Santosha is being happy with what we have, where we are, and with what we're doing with our lives.  You can use this time of tumultuous change to reassess how content you are in your life. Examine where you are striving to add more and more belongs to your already overstuffed closets and storage units, and reconsider if that's a good investment of your life force energy. Learn to be content with the idea that less is more.  

How much time do you spend enhancing the relationships you hold most dear? How often do you tell your family you love them, and that they are important to you? How much affection to do give your pet who greets you at the door with unconditional love each night? How often do you make time in your busy schedule for a friend in need of a listening ear? If you're not doing something along these lines on a daily basis, start now. Don't wait until disaster strikes to make peace with your loved ones, and tell them how much they mean to you. Do it now.

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