8 Limbs of Yoga – The enlightened path

I feel this positive journey taking me beyond from what I expected.

Tiny, was 18 years old and on her way to school. She loved to walk because it gave her time to smell the flowers, to feel the energy mother earth gives to her as she takes each step, to absorb the warmth from the sun, to laugh at the wind as it tickles that spot under her right ear but most of all to breath in, the magnificent air into her lungs. Knowing how amazing this one small thing is, this breath thing, but not really that small, is it?

Her memories taking her back to when she first started walking to school. She was quite mad, oh was she ever. Tiny (Teeny), could remember yelling at her mother, demanding she take her to school. She could remember how selfish she was, thinking her needs or wants in this case, were more important than her three younger siblings. Her mother said she had to walk to school because she had to drive Becky and David and then drop the baby Isaac at the sitters before she drove to work. At the time Tiny didn’t realize her mother was lucky to get six hours of sleep a night before the day’s comings and goings started again. She was a single parent.

Tiny, brought her focus back to the present, picking up a yellow flower, smelling the pleasing fragrance, looking at its tiny little pedals as if it were the first time. Tiny’s mind drifted off again like always she loved to dream but this wasn’t a dream, it was a memory. Tiny had picked a rainbow of wild flowers on her way home from school one day. She was always the first to come home because her mother worked late. She put the flowers in a small vase, and set them on the dinner table. Tiny, remembered how tired mommy always looked so decided to make dinner of macaroni and cheese with sliced kielbasa sausage and peas.

When mommy came home with Tiny’s three siblings in tow, she was over joyed and happy to see everything prepared right down to the pretty wild flowers. This was the first step Tiny realized what doing good for someone else could feel like because mommy talked about that night for a week straight to her friends and coworkers. Tiny continued to make dinner every night since then. Back to the present, Tiny thought the flowers she had in hand today would make the grumpy old school janitor’s day. Sam always pretended he didn’t like the gifts Tiny gave him but Tiny remembered seeing his eyes mist over after she gave him a backgammon game when she found out he loved to play and asked him to teach her. They’ve been special friends ever since.
Oh, the sky was so blue, with cumulonimbus and altostratus clouds mixed together forming her favorite stay puff marsh mellow man character. She giggled and then laughed out loud because laughing was one of her favorite things to do. Continuing her walk, Tiny looked down at her feet then looking up and closing her eyes as she walked forward, wanting to get the full impact feeling of touching mother earth. Drifting again, brought her back to when she was 9 years old and was allowed to stay the night at her friend Kim’s house. Her mother was a Yoga instructor, which at the time she thought the name was pretty weird but was the biggest turning point of her no one tells you, you can’t do this or you must do that instead, you’ve shown
them all the carefree place’s, where you are at
I’m so happy to know that you are well
and have taken this healing time to live outside of your shell
you’ve inspired me, right from the very start
beginning a new life, even though we are apart
remember me now, and then my friend
I will always be here for you, to the very end

I love you
Athena Allen