On Change and Growth

by Lisa Benner

Sorrow prepares you for joy. It violently sweeps everything out of your house, so that new joy can find space to enter. It shakes the yellow leaves from the bough of your heart, so that fresh green leaves can grow in their place. It pulls up the rotten roots, so that new roots hidden beneath have room to grow. Whatever sorrow shakes from your heart, far better things will take their place. -Rumi

April has been a crazy month – particularly the last couple of weeks. I have had a conversation with almost everyone I have encountered about the profound changes they are experiencing. Yet while change seems to be the constant, responses to it are as varied as the individuals themselves. Fear. Anticipation. Anxiety. Excitement. Anger. Joy. Grief. Awe. Truly, the whole spectrum of the human experience seems to have been packed into a short time.

As that change has rocked our world, profound growth can be seen — that initial bursting of new life through the tilled soil of our souls. The tender shoots we see as we walk through the park or down the street are also appearing in our hopes and dreams. Be as gentle with yourself as you are with the budding leaves. Nurture the sprouts in your person as you would in your garden. Throw a festival for your own blossoms as we do for the cherries.

Let simple things seep into your soul and expand.

Bread and Yoga Weekly Blog Series – Each month we feature one of our amazing Bread and Yoga teachers sharing their thoughts or teachings from their class with you and our community. Today’s post is our first from May blogger and Hathavidya teacher Lisa Benner. Join Lisa on Saturday, May 10th for a Mantra Workshop or at our teacher training this fall!