Week 37 - Tassy reflects on the spiritual and material opportunities offered by change

 Edited BY

G P Kennedy

Tassy – Karachi, Pakistan

2020 has been a trying year, to say the least. So, as I reflect on the year gone by, this week I choose to focus not on the negativity of all the missed opportunities, the disruption to routine, the absence of normality, the mental anguish, lack of social interaction, and gloom, but on the uplifting emotion of “gratitude.” 

 I want to celebrate the smallest changes I made in my attitude and behavior, so as I contemplate on this year, I’m able to find joy and meaning in what typically and outwardly may not have been the easiest of years. 

On the work front, I managed to jump on the bandwagon of offering virtual yoga classes.

I consider myself to be technologically-challenged and am very much a peoples person reveling in the physical company of others.

I am grateful that I was able to bring about a shift in my thinking and offer customized yoga classes to my existing students by familiarizing myself with Zoom. 

 At first, I thought it wouldn’t have the same level of enjoyment as the personal interaction, but I actually found that it worked pretty well. In fact, I was really encouraged to see that for a lot of my older students (especially those over the age of 70) this methodology actually forced them to experiment with technology. 

 It gave them a level of independence that they had not experienced before. I’m glad that not only were they able to keep up with their yoga practice but at the same time they got familiar with 21st-century technology.
 

On the relationship front, I am grateful to have the maximum time with my husband who worked from home for the months March to July when the virus hit its peak, and then from mid-November to date, as cases began to ramp up again.

My husband has had a corporate career all his life with constant travel from as far back as I can recall, so I think the time we spent together this year is probably more than our combined time in our 28 years together.

I’m grateful that rather than lead to fights and irritability, it led to mutual appreciation and companionship. We had the luxury of eating lunch together (a total rarity) and even agree on Netflix series that we could watch together (even more rare!).

Being forced to stay home, I became more creative in finding ways to entertain myself.  I’m grateful that I was able to be read a lot more books this year, do a number of online courses, from brushing up on my Urdu language skills to attaining a Pilates diploma and my NLP practitioner certification. 

 This is the year where I will always feel grateful for the power of being connected with friends and family all over thanks to technology.

I have had more video calls from friends around the world, done quizzes online with them, and even managed a Jeruselama dance challenge with some!

Even though I thrive on the company of others and constant socializing is very much the fabric of Karachi life, I’m trying not to think about my life that once was. I remain grateful for the physical company of a handful of some of our very close friends who we continued to see throughout this year. 

I am grateful for the comfort of my house, the company of my dog, and the flowers in my garden, and the vegetables that we enjoyed for the most part of the year being hand-plucked from my vegetable patch.

I’m grateful that despite Covid striking many friends and relatives, including my 79-year-old dad, we maintained good health overall.

According to the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, and yoga psychology and philosophy dating back thousands of years, true happiness comes from a deep contentment with whatever one has.

Rather than waiting for life to change, or revert back to what it once was, I would like to find joy in the moment.

I wish you all Season’s Greetings and a great start to the New Year.