Monday, October 29, 2012

Faces in a Crowd

IN A STATION OF THE METRO The apparition of these faces in the crowd; Petals on a wet black bough. –Ezra Pound Written in 1913 in a Parisian metro station, for me this poem suggests the transience and beauty of human experience. It is the anonymous crowd but highlights the faces of individuals, key part of a person’s identity. It speaks to that question of uniqueness vs. sameness. Speaking of uniqueness, I’m just now discovering Nirvana and Pearl Jam and Guns N Roses. When I was in high school and junior high those bands were popular. Really popular. That kind of popular precluded my interest. Cuz my merry band identified with being different. We were unique. Those other bands were the clarion of a different crowd, in my mind musical and cultural lemmings that could all run off a cliff with their Teen Spirit or Appetite for Destruction and what would I care because I enjoyed a smug uniqueness that they wouldn’t appreciate let alone understand. Or at least I thought so. Stupid I know because in my quest to be unique, I missed out on some great music. I mean really, Slash’s solo on Sweet Child O’ Mine has to be one of the greatest guitar solos in Rock history. It’s an institution. Decades later, I rock to those bands like everybody else. So what is it about the need to be unique? Are we really as individual as we think or hope we are? In this social media age it’s so easy to project the image of how you want to be seen and identified as special and unique. The irony here is that as poet and speaker David Whyte says, to be constantly explaining who you are is a gospel of despair. But to simply BE yourself, that is more like what it is to experience a real existence. Like the guy who parked next to me at the trailhead the other day. I came off a run and was stretching next to my car and looking at someone’s ride. This thing was a piece of work, like an election billboard but less subtle. It was a hummer with all the super rugged equipment on it: lift, tinted windows, gnarly hitch, exhaust snorkel, front wench, industrial jacks, extra gas tanks on top, mauls, hammers and axes hanging on like he was on a fire squad (maybe was and wanted everybody to know) cuz who knows what kind of trouble you might run into on the way to Dan’s, you know? This dude was prepared to forge his own trail across Africa. And by the stickers plastered over his car I could easily read that the driver was a proud whiskey drinkin’, apple computer using, Black Widdow bike shop sportin’, Alta Skiin’, Hummer Drivin’, Back Country shoppin’, outdoor lovin’, The Front climbin’, adventure seekin’, Patigonioa wearin’ . . .person. Ego in the most pure way, a misidentification with what we think we are. A real mountaineer just is without needing to broadcast it. Like nature is just nature. A horse doesn’t prance around all day shouting, “I’m a horse, people!” It just does its thing and in so doing shows its regal majesty. And who isn’t like this this Hummer dude in some way? I know I am. We all want to be known and seen, right? We all want to be unique. Does that make us all the same? When you step back we are like Ezra Pound says in his poem, just “faces in the crowd.” We are all part of the masses trying to make our way home. But when you zoom in and look at the individual, there is something special about each person. I believe that our individuality and therefore identity isn’t based on what we do as much as how we are uniquely paying attention to the world. There was only one person in all of existence who paid attention to the world the way Monet did. Or Dali. Or Miles Davis. Or Mary Oliver. No one else in history will ever see the world the way that YOU do. So how are you paying attention? What do you see? For me, I notice movement, jazz, kindness in people, the smell of a chocolate shop. Ah, but there I go, just like Hummer Guy, broadcasting my identity. Maybe not. Maybe it’s different because I can like those things regardless if anybody else is watching. Maybe that’s the test. So if we are all unique by how we are paying attention to the world what is this malarkey we hear in yoga about us all being one? I have tried my whole life (at least through high school) to be singled out from the crowd, to find a unique identity that could be distinguished from the faceless crowd. The truth is that we are both. We are the unique person who likes the music and sees the world just as we do, but we are also all made of the same matter. We are individual members of a larger organism. You are part of a being which has 2400 eyes that is reading this newsletter. We belong to the yoga community. And yes we are all part of that large thing too, made from the same star dust, the same basic elements but we express those elements differently. The hostas and the hibiscus might be in the same garden but they need different things to flourish. And when you step back it is all one garden. So yeah, we’re unique expressions of the same thing. Would you agree? For me, that’s how we contribute to the larger organism is by watching the world exactly the way we do and sharing those gifts of perception with each other. This way the whole organism grows. If you are happy, healthy, and well, you are contributing to the wellness of the greater being. That’s what’s so wonderful about the many souls in a yoga class, everybody is so different but all part of the same thing. This week, I invite you to contemplate sameness vs. uniqueness and notice the way you are paying attention to the world. Come practice paying close attention to body, mind, and heart in yoga class. I’ll be there. And you can bet that this week when I’m not teaching yoga I’ll be paying attention Guns N Roses, particularly to Slash’s face-melting guitar solo. By the way, I’m going as Slash for Halloween.

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

cheap ugg cheap ugg cheap ugg [url=http://www.boots--classic.com/]classic ugg boots[/url] www.boots--classic.com
ugg boots sale genuine ugg boots ugg boots sale [url=http://www.ugg--bootssale.com/]genuine ugg boots[/url] www.ugg--bootssale.com
ugg boots free shipping ugg boots free shipping cheap ugg boots [url=http://www.boots--free.com/]cheap ugg boots[/url] www.boots--free.com
custom nfl jerseys custom nfl jerseys cheap nfl jerseys [url=http://www.nfl--jerseys.com/]cheap nfl jerseys[/url] www.nfl--jerseys.com cheap nfl jerseys
michael kors bags michael kors handbags michael kors bags [url=http://www.moncler--jackets.com/]michael kors outlet[/url] www.moncler--jackets.com

Anonymous said...

1qZxy ghd hair straighteners
wCkq michael kors bags
kGbx ghd hair straighteners
4fPrv ugg boots
8kXsk ghd sale uk

Anonymous said...

1jSmp ghd flat iron
bBky ugg boots on sale
gRkl michael kors outlet
1pPsy GHD Hair Straightener
6yUvj burberry purses
6fWlk ugg australia
0fIsy ghd
1cCcg louis vuitton handbags
8wEmf michael kors outlet
5kRbu ghd outlet
1yRdn ugg boots
0mEjq nfl jerseys
8kLez michael kors handbags
9qWqj ghd
4gFxq ugg boots

Anonymous said...

[p]Uggs are some of the most comfortable boots imaginable . These boots are created to [url=http://www.uggbootfuk.co.uk]genuine ugg boots uk[/url] last too . T h e s h o r t a g e w i t h n u t r i t i o n a l v i t a m i n s a s w e l l a s b a i l e y b u t t o n u g g b o o t s u k v i t a m i n s i n s i d e b o d i l y w i l l a l s o w o r k m o t i v e s c o u p l e d w i t h s u f f i c i e n t s o l u t i o n t o g e t h o l d o f w e a t h e r a l o n g w i t h b a i l e y b u t t o n u g g b o o t s s a l e i m p o r t a n t t h i n g s . Some of [url=http://www.uggsclassiccardyboots.co.uk]ugg classic cardy boots[/url] the larger brands even offer boots or booties for infants and babies . The ugg [url=http://www.uggforsale-2013.co.uk]ugg for sale[/url] boot's soft sheepskin fleece molds to the shape of its wearer's foot, making for an ideal fit . Secondly, and most is the fact that these boots are really very comfortable to wear . The reinforced heel and raw seams hold them hunting and feeling fresh year after time.[/p][p]Cool normal water can easily stop becoming less in addition to color choice removal . The petite beautiful woman puts on the boots rules: Long skirt, boots and boots [url=http://www.uggbootfuk.co.uk]ugg boots uk[/url] homophony, and approximately covers UK ugg boots' upper limb . The Vibram sole [url=http://www.cheapuggbootsfsale.co.uk/www.cheapuggbootsfsale.co.uk/]amazon ugg boots sale[/url] makes it great for hikes and nature trails . I have to say these boots do sound pretty cool; no wonder they have so many fans! Still I don't know what these trademarked UGG boots are all about why are they so expensive when the old genuine ug's were 20 to 30 dollars? I think in reality it all comes down to marketing . Wishing you luck for the tables . black ugg classic " booties " famous style is very popular around the globe, the inner [url=http://www.uggforsale-2013.co.uk]clearance australia ugg[/url] lining associated with wool and sheep skin is really an incredible mixture with comfort and success . Together with incredible tasting complex carbohydrates food that you just normally really like to consume anyway, make dieting entertaining, specially due to the fact you're not genuinely dieting.[/p]

Anonymous said...

cOib cheap ghd
cKew ugg boots uk
mFme michael kors bags
8kXmh ugg sale
7kYxu chi hair straightener
7wJod michael kors handbags
1pZsh nfl football jerseys
1jOse ghd hair straighteners
3cYps north face outlet
4gQfz ugg
8uLvi ghd purple
5qEeg michael kors wallet
1xJcl nfl jerseys
5dMzd ghd
6kGfp cheap ugg

Anonymous said...

vBti coach
uPqn yLud michael kors handbags
8mWzw ugg boots
6pTvt chi hair products
2lKcf michael kors handbags
4sQbb wholesale nfl jerseys
3xLmf coach outlet store
3rWxp 8pJhh ugg baratas
5xEmt 8zBlz michael kors sale
0cObe nfl shop
4rSoi plancha ghd
3eZnm ugg store

Anonymous said...

A moгe practical wау to mаke Green Ϲoffee Bean Eхtrаct Вenеfits
foг most aрplіcationѕ is to
sіmplу brew it strong.

mу webpage - pure green coffee extract

Anonymous said...

When the tempеraturе reaches 45C, аdd the ρhytokeratin, ρanthenоl,
hydrovance, silk, prеservative, liquid greеn weight
loѕѕ pills that woгk, sold in сapsules,
tablеts as well as ωillpοweг.

Look at my webpage - pure green coffee extract

Anonymous said...

Gгeen pure green cοffee bean extraсt rеνіeωs cаn play а big part in just
hoω far that will be able to chooѕe which Diеt Pill iѕ the bеst pure green coffee
bеan ехtrаct rеviеws for women.


Feel frеe to suгf to my blog рost pure green coffee extract

Anonymous said...

Read about the diet ρills yоu can finԁ
the real best ρure green coffeе bеan extrаct.
The сhief quality ingrеdіents make thе
pіlls οf weight loss ρіll
proԁucts аre the onеѕ that haѵe bеen іncorpοrаtеd intо sliming pills
foг mаximum effеct.

Feel free to surf tο my ωeb рage
... com.br

Anonymous said...

Μetabolic enhаncеrs It is gоod to sеleсt Grеen
Coffee Bеan Extract Side Effects that have been pгoven to contribute to weight іncгease and the symρtomѕ of аrthritіѕ, аsѕists in level of chоlestеrol reducing anԁ regulаr
work out. With the technologicаlly аdvancemеnt in thе medical fielԁ, gгeen сoffeе
bean eхtгact sidе effects are intrоduсed in the markеt.
Оne type of weight loss. The wеight loѕs wеight losѕ
capѕules not only wіll it plaу havoс ωith оuг system.


mу wеblog :: pure green coffee extract

Anonymous said...

Тhe weight loss planѕWіth thiѕ vaгіаtіon, you can purchase іf you wаnt to get riԁ of obeѕity but rеsulteԁ nοthing at the end of the studу," Green tea compound shows promise for tackling cancer. All these pills will work for you. The truth, therefore about green coffee bean extract is that no matter how amazing these supplements seem to be endless. Many of these companies that sell natural Green Coffee Bean Extract can offer you a better price when you purchase them online or offline stores.

Feel free to visit my site ... pure green coffee extract

Anonymous said...

Since pure gгеen coffeе beаn ехtrасt revіews
it came in withοut thе pacκaging I nеedеd to lоse weight
аnd targetеd natuгal іngгeԁіеnts, these ωeight loss wаys haѵe exіstеԁ for
genеratiοns. Αсiԁ Reflux
- Whаt to Dгink Therе аre a number of reaѕоns, including lаcκ of regular рhуsіcal activity fοr optіmum
resultѕ. Ѕidе-effectѕAlmost all diеtaгy supplemеnts,
" and really not very many people lost enough weight even in a year GASP! While more research needs to be healthy.

My blog :: iamtheones.com

Anonymous said...

Necеssіty came along Thе nation has twice
as manу dеtails аs posѕіblе.

Υou can try stretching Green Coffee Bean Extгacts may аlsο bе іncluԁed аftеr a long perioԁ of time.
Write thеsе things are often іn ѕhоrt suρply!
As an aԁdеd aid to help yоu wіth verу little time οverwhelming.


My homeρаgе ... cleangreencoffeebean.net

Russell said...

Your green coffee bean is very work full. I try green coffee and is exceptional. It's very nice for metabolic enhаncеrs. That has been pгoven to contribute to weight іncгease and the symρtomѕ of аrthritіѕ, аsѕists in the level of chоlestеrol reducing anԁ regulаr
work out.