Trashing Fear
We had been working on it for months and finally a few days ago, Blair walked into the kitchen and said “Today’s the day BooBoo rides her bike.” I outwardly supported his optimism but deep down I questioned her readiness.
There she was, in her new helmet and flashy biking gloves, tentatively placing her feet on the pedals and glancing up at daddy for reassurance. Noticing her hesitation, her older sister spontaneously offered some advice, “Hey, just dump your fear in the trash can and go for it!”
With both Blair and Sophia’s confidence behind her, she became very serious and looked straight ahead. As they picked up speed, Blair let go of the seat and ran up beside her, “You’re doing it Baby, you’re doing it!” After the petrifying realization that she was indeed doing it on her own, she found her center of balance and rode down the street with a healthy sense of pride.
The second aphorism in the Yoga Sutra states “Yogaś-citta-vṛtti-nirodhaḥ”, translated into “When you are in a state of yoga, all misconceptions that can exist within the human being disappear.”
By trashing her fear, Bella focused her complete attention on the road ahead and performed the amazing miracle of riding on two wheels.
Through a regular practice of yoga, we become aware of the many misconceptions (vrittis) that are constricting our lives (citta). By mindfully unpacking our narrow beliefs and fear-based thought patterns, we can enter a state of yoga, and expand our reality much the way we did the first time we found autonomy and freedom on our own two wheeling bicycle.
What aspect of your life would expand if you slammed dunked your fear and rode into your dreams?