People's Parties

In honor of our San Francisco-based Breathe for Change team member's visit to Madison this week, we are doing a yoga tour of Madison. First stop: Dr. Ruddy's Bikram class this morning at Inner Fire.

He's so amazing, and although our teammate had never done Bikram before and was a bit put off by the heat, she totally got what is so great about Dr. Ruddy.

One of his best features is that he always sings to us in savasana, and today he sang us a little Joni Mitchell:

All the people at this party
They've got a lot of style
They've got stamps of many countries
They've got passport smiles
Some are friendly
Some are cutting
Some are watching it from the wings
Some are standing in the center
Giving to get something

Photo beauty gets attention
Then her eye paint's running down
She's got a rose in her teeth
And a lampshade crown
One minute she's so happy
Then she's crying on someone's knee
Saying laughing and crying
You know it's the same release

I told you when I met you
I was crazy
Cry for us all, beauty
Cry for Eddie in the corner
Thinking he's nobody
And Jack behind his joker
And stonecold Grace behind her fan
And me in my frightened silence
Thinking I don't understand

I feel like I'm sleeping
Can you wake me
You seem to have a broader sensibility
I'm just living on nerves and feelings
With a weak and a lazy mind
And coming to peoples parties
Fumbling deaf dumb & blind

I wish I had more sense of humour
Keeping the sadness at bay
Throwing the lightness on these things

Laughing it all away...

One of the things he said in class was the next time your kid does something to incense you, as my daughter did yesterday when she locked me out of my own car in the parking lot of the libraray (and refused to open the door), just say to yourself: "That's interesting."

Yeah, so that's not how I reacted. I beat on the windows. I screamed. And when she finally let me in, I threw shit into the back seat. Definitely reactive. So reactive. Maybe next time, I'll just call it interesting?

Here's hoping...