What does it mean to be Content? (Pt 1)
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November 2022 Focus
The second Niyama: Santosha, Contentment
This month I want to start off with a story, a Zen Koan, that I heard a few years back in a yoga class in Colorado. When I struggle with Santosha, this story coms to mind and I think back to a farmer and his horse…
There was an old farmer who worked hard on his little farm. There was never any money left over, but the farmer did have one sturdy, fine horse that helped the man and his young adult son with the farm labor.
One morning the farmer woke to find that the horse had broken out of the pen, and ran away. The neighbors came over, shaking their heads. They told the farmer that he had very bad luck. The farmer replied, “Good luck, bad luck. Who knows?”
The next morning when the farmer woke, he found that his sturdy, fine horse had returned, bringing with him a small herd of wild horses. The neighbors came over, nodding their heads. They told the farmer that he had very good luck. The farmer replied, “Good luck, bad luck. Who knows?”
Early the next morning, the farmer’s son was out breaking the new horses. The young man was tossed off a wild horse, and his leg broke. It was a bad injury, and the son would not be able to work for months. The neighbors came over, shaking their heads. They told the farmer he had very bad luck. The farmer replied, “Good luck, bad luck. Who know?”
The next morning, the army came through the village conscripting all young men to go and fight. His son could not go.
Good luck, bad luck? Who knows?
Perhaps you have heard this story with “Maybe” as the farmer’s constant refrain or possibly you have read the popular children’s book in which each page ends with “Good? No! Bad!” or “Bad? No! Good!”. In any case turning the page flips the narrative on it’s head. what’s going on is never what you think. What does the Farmer know that we don’t? He knows not to judge the moment but to wait for the big picture. He is practicing non-attachment to the rollercoaster ride of emotions saying Despair! and Rejoice! instead at peace with Maybe, we’ll see.
Was it meant to be? I cannot tell you how many times in my life I have looked back and realized why and how things happened the way they did. Many of my students have heard the tale of how I met my, now husband of 7 years (our anniversary is this month <3 ). It was because my purse was stolen in Switzerland. I don’t have space for that story here, but suffice to say a truly scary and devastating day set me on the path to marry my soulmate. My passport, cash, credit cards, keys, ID, and camera stolen in a foreign country. What a disaster! What a blessing!
“Yoga is the cessation of fluctuations of the mind.” this is the second verse in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. When good things happen we cling to those feelings, when bad things happen we push away from discomfort. The running, towards and away, is exhausting, and leaves us with a really cloudy perspective on what actually is. Satya, or the truth can only be seen in stillness in the farmer’s “Maybe”.
Check in with the value you put on events, and see where you get hung-up, stuck or attached. The goal is not to follow the footsteps of the farmer, but to seek what he sought. It’s not about blindly accepting everything or turning all negative thoughts into positive ones. Instead we seek what is true and to cultivate curiosity
Stay tuned for Pt 2 coming later this month
