We all Surrender

When I was a teenager, U2 came out with a greatest hits album. It was the one CD my entire family enjoyed equally, that is, except for the song "Bad." In our universal dislike of this song, we'd instantaneously agreed to skip it during family road trips. "NEXT. 'Where the Streets Have no Name' is way better."

I've come to appreciate "Bad."

"Surrender. Dislocate. Let it go," Bono sings in this meditative and steadily-building song.

What do they surrender to, someone who dies? What part of them dislocates? What do we surrender to, we who live? What part of us is dislocated, and what happens to it?

A colleague... a friend... passed away this weekend. It feels like a tiny bit of good has dislocated from the world, a piece of our big, beautiful puzzle suddenly gone. Since then, I've been inhaling the tributes that have been dispersed through conversation and the internet: emails, Facebook memorial posts, and phone calls. Their sweet smell lingers after I put down the phone or walk away from the computer. I feel oddly calm after each discussion about him.

Maybe we--"the living"--surrender the most. Any disagreements, any sense of separation between "you and "me" are dislocated, and we surrender ourselves to moments of pure connection with others as we remember the good in the deceased. I think that when we're doing it right, we all surrender, all the time.

So, Leon, amongst other things, you and I argued about music, but we both grudgingly agreed that it was nearly impossible to hate U2. Enjoy it, all!


U2 "Bad"

So, where are you?

Hey, my Bikram partners in crime. It feels like we're in a "let's see other people" phase of our relationship. You all are clearly there (thanks, as always, for your comments!), but since the 101-Day challenge has ended, I feel like there's been a bit of a lull in the BBC (Bikram Blogging Community ;-). That's OK, though. I'm not complaining. I know we'll always be together. 

The last three weeks or so have been interesting to observe. I'm reminded that energy and passion needs both subject and object in order to thrive. Maybe because yoga is about healing ourselves so we can better serve the world, we need to be reminded of who is actually in that world. (You!) I feed off the energy y'all radiate when writing about your yoga practices in your blogs. Your passion inspires me to improve my own practice and to share in this BBC. 

So, where are you? In your practice? In life, if that's an appropriate question for you?

I admit I haven't been as attentive to the BBC as I could be, either. It's hard to keep up with Life once she's on her way. I've been pretty busy. I think the dust will settle a bit once the semester's over, but it's currently a whirlwind. I am definitely getting to yoga, however, and I am feeling fairly optimistic about my practice lately. How wonderful that when life plops you on the roller coaster and makes you ride and ride, there's always yoga to get you to "concentrate, meditate on yourself" for those special 90 minutes.