Sunday, May 29, 2016

Was Patanjali Talking About Writing?

I was in the car for a few hours today, which meant I was able to reread a couple of old Yoga Journals. How old? I read Journey to the Light by Kate Holcombe in the May, 2010 edition. The article is a sort of primer on a few of the sutras from the Yoga Sutra by Patanjali.  Holcombe says, "While Patanjali is concerned primarily with calming, focusing, and refining the mind, the ultimate goal of doing this work is to reduce suffering." I, personally, am all for that.

Holcombe translates one of the verses of the Yoga Sutra as:

To achieve a strong foundation in our practice, we must practice over a long time, without interruption, believing in it and looking forward to it, with an attitude of service.

When I read that today, shortly after leaving a Dunkin' Donuts, I believe, it made me think of writing.  Indeed, if you can accept that you must practice over a long time, without giving up, believing that the work you're doing each day is valuable for what it is that very day and even looking forward to getting back to work the next one, then, yeah, the suffering goes way, way down.

I, personally, am all for that.

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