Stretch

If no one has checked out CNN.com yet today, this picture seems a justified enough reason to do so. The picture, taken of Chinese riot police inside Lhasa, Tibet, shows me a lot about the state of our world today. Time and time again, the Associated Press finds these photographs that stop time--that place us in the situation in this world that we hope to never find ourselves. This could be at the forefront of a war, when a new government is forming, beautiful surroundings, or famous dignitaries or peace agreement signings. Each of them seems to be sharing a piece of the far-away world with us. This picture shows me something that you can't even fully grasp without staring at it for more than just a second. It is more than just innocence and corruption, violence, and peace, but also just the simple passage of time. This is a Tibetan child facing Chinese soldiers, but who knows where this child will stand politically when it comes time for him to speak out against whatever violence or problems plague his reality. The problems will always be there.

What these people need are some good stretches, some good time to release all the tension that is building within them. The picture below illustrates one of the poses I am having trouble with--Chair Pose. It stretches your back and thighs, and really hurts after only a few seconds. Its hard to imagine that such tension can bring about such peace. (As the Yogi's claim...)

I am realizing, however, that just like wars--where people think that tension brings peace, so does the body itself. You never know what it is like to feel true release in a muscle until you tighten it. You never know how to appreciate solitude if you have never been around people. The opposites and situations that create them are the things that are hardest to deal with in life. This Tibetan child knows not what his place is in the larger "Free Tibet" conflict, but does know that what makes him happy is when others are happy.

I am learning this part of the stretch also...the reaching part that forces you to know your limits, but also to reach out and share yourself and your love or happiness with someone else. This is obviously easier said than done, but I am learning and trying every day. I am beginning to realize my own power. I say beginning because I am truly at the beginning.
As I sit here waiting for lab results, I am realizing that everything has a purpose and a place... this child will hopefully find his place in a chaotic world--and I am still a child, trying to do the same.