non sense
My sister loves to read. A few months ago she kept reading excerpts of Matt Haig’s The Humans. I haven’t read it but she was giggling about desperately trying to read aloud this story of an alien adjusting to human life.
That book led to many conversations about the madness and oddity of humanity.
As humans, we have a tendency of veering away from nature, self and presence, only to desperately try to return to them. To any observer, it must seem like nonsense. We adapt these rituals of constant distraction, temptation and materialism, but then dedicate vast amounts of time to “finding ourselves” again.
One might wonder why we chose to adopt these odd rituals of spending entire days avoiding our nature, only to take up trends of reconnecting to nature.
There’s definitely an uptake in offline practices such as yoga, creative workshops, craft and community. The rise in AI and technology has meant many of us are desperately trying to move away from these addictive behaviours that take up much of our time and give very little in return.
No other creatures seek to separate themselves from nature. And clearly, it’s not of service to us in the long run; so many of us crave real connection and being with what is real and readily available to the senses. It makes little to no sense.
Yoga allows us to explore being comfortable with things that don’t make sense. We can sit with these questions and recognise there doesn’t have to be an answer or a remedy.
The reality is that nothing really makes sense; how we got here, why we are here, what happens when we die, why some people appear good and other bad and so on.
We try to explain, understand or find meaning in everything. Especially these days. There are a million podcasts and videos available on almost every possible human scenario one might experience. People love to dissect every possible emotion, thought and action, and present a theory and solution to it all.
But the practice of Yoga invites us to pause, feel and experience without needing an answer. My teacher used to say “Mind the gap” - find the moment after an action - but before the reaction. Find it, wait and see if it shifts. And whilst you sit calmly and collected, watch the maniacal nonsense and whirring of the monkey mind.
In truth, it’s the nonsensical that makes most sense. Because the body knows the truth. We’ve evolved with the answers within.
Yoga reveals the path to trusting one self and remaining present, even in, in fact mostly in uncertainty.
Being present in the nonsense.
