Unexpected Politeness in Everyday Ramblings

“It must have frustrated Devi as well, though she never wrote a word about it—a depressed, deadbeat, married Russian boyfriend wouldn’t have been helpful to the image she was cultivating.” Michelle Goldberg from The Goddess Pose.

The above made me laugh out loud when I read it last night. Not that having a depressed, deadbeat, married Russian boyfriend is funny but that one should find this opinion planted smack in the middle of a biography of this revered and quite influential yoga teacher; the first truly important woman to have a say in yoga as it is taught here in the west was funny to me. Indra Devi was also in her 50’s while this was going on. Then she found her true soul mate in a German holistic doctor that she took her mother to see in Hollywood.

My brother-in-law, Most Honorable is a tenured professor at a small university near where they live. He loves to teach and is good at it. Saint Joe was his student so I have outside confirmation of this. :)

His department chair depends on him for all sorts of things that are outside the scope of his job description and this creates enormous stress for Most Honorable. Two of the senior faculty recently took early retirement, which increases the impression that he is being relied upon a little too much.

And now his department chair is in the middle of a sad, unexpected unfolding personal crisis that is no one’s fault, it is one of those bad things happening to good people things and Most Honoarable and Kes are involved above and beyond the call of duty.

It is stressful for all, including their cats! I wish I could help in some way. I can listen and send soothing thoughts and try to have brilliant helpful ideas as a person who is not emotionally involved but I tell you as a person who now has her boss coming to her yoga class this can all get a little odd and close for comfort.

On Tuesday it was so hot. A muggy overwhelming nauseous hot and I took the quickest shortcut up to the hospital for my caregivers class as I could. I was almost up to the top switchback when I saw two young men. They looked healthy and were casually but appropriately dressed and clean and were sitting side by side on a log that marks the trail.

They were both sticking needles in their forearms. It was impossible not to see the syringes.

I said, “I am blind, I see nothing,” and carried on. When I got just at the top one of the young men called out…”Thank you! Have a good day.”

My heart was broken there, I felt so sad.

Then I went to do my rounds on the unit and while I had interested and friendly caregivers in the end I had no takers for class. I have had four pretty good classes in a row before this but I didn’t want to go up in the heat and then to be there and have no one avail themselves…

It is hard. I am not complaining but stating a fact.

I am seriously considering letting this particular thing I do go. Let some other open hearted teacher take a swing at it. Next month it will have been 18 months since I started.

I am seeing my Buddhist counselor tonight and will talk it over with him.

Oh and the picture? It is the only Jewish Temple left in the neighborhood. They tried to move the previous incarnation but the building fell off the trucks they levered it up on and it slipped and broke to pieces. The insurance allowed them to build what I hear is this acoustically perfect house of worship in it’s place.

Last updated August 21, 2021