Guest Post

At this time of year, many of us make resolutions, promising ourselves that during the coming year, we’ll stop doing something or start doing something or achieve or acquire some desired outcome or object. We falsely believe that if only we accomplish or acquire this one thing, we’ll be happy and whole: a better person living a better life.

When I read Chip’s recent blog about “What Does a 6-Pack Cost You?” - referring to his abs, not a case of beer - I had to write a response from a different perspective.

It took a 28 year old to open my eyes to what I already knew was there. Under the surface of a hardworking, well dressed bunch of young professionals, the old guard still reigns.

On my first trip to the Modern Elder Academy in Baja, in March 2019, I did what has become a custom: a session with Saul. As we stood on the cliff at sunrise overlooking the ocean, he held my hands. I was on the verge of kidney failure, and he felt my fear.

American anthropologist Clifford Geertz writes in The Interpretation of Cultures that humans are “suspended in webs of significance” which we ourselves have spun. Some of these webs have served us well, giving meaning and order to our lives, while others have resulted in systems of oppression and alienation from one another, and even from ourselves and our own embodied experiences.

Parents breathe a sigh of relief and rejoice at their newborns’ first cry. Those silent few seconds after birth are the quintessential liminal experience. The cry marks the start of an independent life and is celebrated like no other birthday. Seldom again does crying bring sheer delight.

Yesterday, after a surf session, I paused to admire the beautiful head-high waves rolling in. It was a peaceful moment on this fall day during yet another surreal election season.

Our 1000 day yoga journey began March 15, 2020 when Stanford University shut down due to Covid protocols. Twenty yogis of various experience levels, backgrounds and ages (55-75 years) all said, “Yes.” Together, we have now practiced virtually for nearly three years.