Art Asana

"Regard everyone you meet as a purposeful character in the movie you've scripted...." 
~Alan Cohen in Wisdom of the Heart

Impossible to Embrace
On Tuesday, Kristen Walker, reader and blog friend (can I call you my blog friend, Kristen?) asked for advice in embracing the people in our lives that seem impossible to embrace. It's such a good question, I decided to write about it in a post! It's one I struggle with as well. 

I too have/have had people in my life who know how to push my buttons, drive me crazy, and make me angry and upset. They are the people who set me off so quickly, that all my well intentioned beliefs of being compassionate and seeing the good in others, go right out the window before they even have a chance. 

I recently read this wonderful article in the newest Yoga Journal (November issue, I think) by Sally Kempton that had some great advice about dealing with people in our lives that we have difficulty with. The article was referring to family specifically, but I think the advice could apply to anybody we come into contact with.

Everyone is a Teacher
In the article, Sally suggests that we begin to regard everyone we meet as a teacher. The most difficult people in our lives often have the most to teach us about ourselves. She suggests looking at the people we have difficulty with and asking ourselves: "what do these people show me about myself? What do I have in common with them? What do they teach me about how to live?"

She says that the answers to these questions tell us a whole lot about ourselves and help us to not only accept and embrace the other person a little more easily, but also accept and embrace those parts of ourselves that we dislike. 

To me, that's what "embracing the whole spectrum" means. Not always easy to do, but it's something we can experiment with...