What a privilege it is...

This morning upon arising, I was crabby, ask Micah.  It's true, somedays I wake up feeling tired, groggy, and like I got up on the wrong side of the bed.  As I continued in my morning routine, I had to go for a fast run and yoga session before teaching the 9:15 Gentle Yoga class at Infusion.  As I was running sluggishly a thought began to pop into my mind, a moment of inspiration. The thought was "What a privilege it is...". I thought what a privilege to run in the morning hours before the day has begun. What a privilege it is to move my body and feel the wind on my face.  

My thoughts turned to Yoga, what a privilege it is to practice and teach yoga. What a privilege it is to offer the beautiful practice of mindfulness into people's lives.  What a privilege it is to have received wonderful instruction and training to enable me to teach. What a privilege it is to have students eager to learn and share their practice. 

As I went on to class, I wove the theme into the class, as an intention for the class, and we revisited this idea every few minutes while flowing in and out of poses. What a privilege it is to take an hour out their day to connect with their mind, body, and spirit. What a privilege to practice yoga?

Now I realize I have only addressed this privilege idea as it pertains to yoga, but thats the beauty of it, it bleeds into every aspect of our daily living. There are times when, like this morning, I fall into the "Wo is me.." syndrome. The "wo is me" is defined by feeling that you HAVE to do something rather than GET to do something. When "wo is me" sets in, we start to feel like our responsibilities in life are burdens, that "if only" I had this, or "if only" I had that, things would be better. We may start to see others as having more ideal lives, less responsibilities, and freer of burdens then ourselves. "Wo is me" starts small, little thoughts about how we could be better off. The problem with the "wo is me", is that when we give in to it, it grows bigger and bigger. Like a cancer it begins to eat away at our cells, our organs, our muscles, and our ability to function at a healthy capacity. Suddenly we no longer see things clearly, indeed the health of our "thoughts" is in jeopardy.

As a remedy for the toxic "wo is me" syndrome, I have used the sure proof remedy of "What a privilege it is."  When a thought enters my mind that says "Wo is me", or leads to feeling sorry for my situation, I replace it by "What a privilege it is."  The options are endless with "What a privilege it is....", as I realize the copious amounts of blessings and privileges I have in my life. 

What a privilege it is to breath

What a privilege it is to move

What a privilege it is to be aware of myself (only humans do this, animals can not)

What a privilege it is to think

What a privilege it is to make decisions

What a privilege it is to learn

What a privilege it is to experience

What a privilege it is to love

What a privilege it is to have a family

What a privilege it is to have a job, even in a crappy economy

What a privilege it is to have so many conveniences in life others do not have

What a privilege it is to eat and nourish myself

What a privilege it is to be married, or single

What a privilege it is to have purpose

What a privilege it is to know my purpose

What a privilege it is to be a daughter of God

What a privilege it is to write and express my feelings

Truly, what a privilege it is.

So next time your mind falls into the "wo is me" category, and it will, its a part of life, replace it with "What a privilege it is".