I just finished reading All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr. It is a novel set in Germany and France during the Second World War. The story revolves around the wireless and those that used its transmissions for pleasure, and as a means to guide the war. One of the characters built a large radio transmitter. He used this transmitter to send stories for children, and other helpful information out into the world. He did not know how far these messages would go, or if anyone ever heard them. He felt compelled to transmit his messages, letting the waves of his voice go where they may.
I often feel powerless and small in the face of world tragedy.
The desire to do something is weighed down by the magnitude of despair around me. Motivational slogans such as, “One person can start the wave to move mountains” seem hollow. Their platitudes ring false in my ears.
Reading this book has reminded me of the power of the simple act.
It brings me back to a time when my workplace felt very tense. We were very busy and under a lot of pressure. The energy in the building felt overwhelming to me. I turned inward to cope, trying to block out the heaviness that I felt. I was weighed down, and started to dread going to work. My yogic practice has taught me the power of my breath, and how it can alter the way my physical and emotional body feels. I decided to go to work and simply breathe. I walked with purpose through the office consciously breathing, finding my center and grounding my energy with my breath. I started to feel more open and available to my co-workers. Going to work took a positive turn. The heaviness around me lifted. I trusted that the sense of lightness would ripple out beyond my physical space.
We never know what result our actions are going to create.
Yoga is union; a union of mind and body, of breath and emotion, of physical energies, and ultimately of all living creatures on our earth.
