Eat, Ignore Mosquitoes, Love

Yes, if you were to ask me what I remembered from reading Eat, Pray, Love a few years ago, I would probably recount the author's experience sitting in the ashram's garden in India at sundown determined to sit still and meditate. What she didn't account for were the mosquitoes who were out in full force. When she noticed the first mosquito she had to make a decision - go back inside or sit it out and ignore the mosquitoes. She decided to stick it out, ignoring the buzz and bite of the mosquitoes for one hour.

When I first read that passage, I immediately thought of myself and my struggles with sitting still, in particular, at the beginning and end of a yoga class. I settle into my bolster, blanket, or mat excited about reaching a state of zen. I've never timed it, but I imagine within the first 2 minutes, I notice everything going on around me - a stray piece of hair on my neck (I usually am convinced this is a spider),an uneven piece of clothing, a hang nail, and then one thing leads to another and I'm all out of sorts. It goes without saying that I was impressed by her feat and inspired. If she could sit for an hour swarmed my mosquitoes, I could certainly sit (inside) for 5 minutes at the beginning and 10-15 minutes at the end of class without moving. It was easier said than done, but when I made a conscious decision to ignore the hair on my shoulder, the itch on my foot, and the misplaced strap, I realized they weren't that big of a deal and I could pay more attention to whatever more meaningful things appeared.

I think this applies, too, to the little things in life that sometimes drive us crazy. Just like I talked about earlier with practicing pratyahara. Being okay with the lopsided sign on the cabinet in a cube (thanks, fellow co-worker, for reinforcing this idea), the cat hair on the couch (after just cleaning it), and any other out of place item that normally drives you up a wall. Learning to be okay with the little annoyances (mosquitoes included) and letting go just a bit can allow us to be more in the moment and use our energy on the more important things in life.