Yoga and the Power of Dandelions
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Even in the darkness, the moon is always there for us, bringing us life-giving Light.
This Night Blooming Cereus at Punahou School (where Barack Obama graduated from high school in 1979) is awakened by the power of Moon Light. It demonstrates that things can still delight us even when the environment is dark.
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So much happened in February that moved me. Starting with earlier this month, I was very moved as I watched the testimony that Renee Good’s brothers gave to Congress. Her brother, Brent Ganger, said:
“… When I think of Renee, I think of dandelions and sunlight. Dandelions don’t ask permission to grow. They push through cracks in the sidewalk, through hard soil, through places where you don’t expect beauty, and suddenly there they are. Bright. Alive. Unapologetically helpful. That was Renee. In sunlight. Warm. Steady. Life giving. …”
Dandelions are a symbol of resilience. They are a reminder that when things are difficult for us, we have the power and ability to demonstrate resilience.
February gave us multiple examples of resilience – of dandelion-ness. Here in NYC, for example, we experienced multiple sub-freezing days, and yet we endured.
Each and every one of the athletes of the Milano-Cortina Olympics had to have developed resilience in order to make it to the pinnacle of the global competitive stage.
Figure skater Amber Glenn said that the one word that she would use to describe her journey would be “resilience.” Despite the internal and external pressures she faced, she was still able to place 5th in the Woman’s event. An amazing accomplishment!
And fellow figure skater, Max Naumov, had to overcome the death of his parents under tragic circumstances just over a year ago in his journey to becoming an Olympian. Talk about resilience – way to go, Max!
Max advised us to “do things out of love, not fear.” In this month that we celebrate Valentine’s Day, let Max’s words serve to remind us of the fact that Love is always more powerful than hatred and fear. And let Max Naumov’s example also show us that no matter the outcome of our actions undertaken, if you lead with Love, you can still be happy afterwards.
A related aside – as I watched the Olympic figure skating, I constantly had to do deep diaphragmatic yoga breaths. And still I was a nervous wreck. Clearly, I have a lot more practice to do. Kudos to those Olympians for being able to perform at their peak under high pressure situations!
Elsewhere, Bad Bunny put on a SUPER super bowl half-time show. It was a bit of a history lesson for me as a non-Puerto Rican (though I’m married to someone whose heritage is Puerto Rican) and a glimpse into the indomitable resilience of the people of this beautiful island. It was a performance full of intentional joy, as according to Nadira Goffe on the Brian Lehrer Show the day after:
“Joy is resistance. Joy under the threat of persecution is a revolutionary act … in creating a sort of record of history of what’s happening to the place you are from is also a political statement.”
Bad Bunny chose Joy as resistance as he spoke on behalf of the people of his beloved island who don’t have the megaphone he has. Indeed, when we can be joyful in the face of persecution of any kind, that is indeed an act of resilience. Of dandelion-ness.
As someone who grew up on a different beautiful island – Oʻahu – and one that was also taken over by foreigners, I felt the performersʻ pride in where they come from. And as someone with native Hawaiian blood, I surely do hope that “LO QUE LE PASÓ A HAWAii” doesn’t happen to Puerto Rico.
Pema Chödrön’s teachings, as you may well now by now, always fill me with hope. She spoke about Humanity’s Basic Goodness in this way:
“When more of us learn to trust our basic goodness, society will get stronger. This doesn’t mean there won’t be hard times. It doesn’t mean violence, injustice, and poverty will end. It doesn’t mean the polar icecaps won’t melt and the water in the oceans won’t rise. But it does mean that there will be a lot of resilient people who will never give up on humanity and will always be around to help others. It does mean that when things get rough, it will bring out the best in people, rather than the worst. If we learn how not to lose heart, we will always find ways to make important contributions to our world.”
Certainly, there is a lot going on right now that we can use to bring out the best in us – if we’re wise enough and able to become skilled enough through our practices to choose that path. But less we lose faith in our abilities, here are a few more words that Renee Good’s brother Brent shared:
“… as Tolkien wrote: ‘it’s the small everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keep the darkness at bay. Small acts of kindness and love.’ That’s why the image of dandelions feels so right. People try to pull them up. Overlook them. Dismiss them. But they keep coming back. Stronger. Brighter. Spreading seeds of hope everywhere they land. Renee planted those seeds in all of us. …
“… Renee is not gone from us. She’s in the Light that finds us on hard days. She’s in the resilience we didn’t know we had until we needed it. She’s in the laughter, the memories, the love that continues to grow. Like dandelions. Like Sunlight. And like Renee.”
Remember – even our smallest acts of kindness and love will make a profound difference. We don’t need to be overly ambitious. And when we forget the power that we hold, all we need to remind us is to see a little bit of sunlight, hear a little bit of laughter, remember a love that we had/have, see something that reminds us of life-giving dandelions. As we do so, we will see the “Renee Good” in our very own selves. That is an act of service to humanity that will pay dividends.
Resilience is the ability to show up to our practices – be they yoga, meditation, and/or otherwise – over and over again, no matter what might be happening outside of us. Joy, Love and Laughter are the just-below-the-surface weapons we can always choose to deploy to face the darkness head-on. To me, that is Yoga and the Power of Dandelions in action.
I bow down to your resilience – your dandelion-ness.
May you be happy, …
May you be healthy, …
May you be a dandelion, …
May whatever results that come from your resilience, your dandelion-ness, may they benefit those nearest to you and from there ultimately benefit All Beings Everywhere.
Aloha and Metta,
Paul Keoni Chun
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Images from this past month that reminded me of my power
No, not a dandelion. But as I was walking through Brooklyn Bridge Park yesterday, my eyes were met by this unexpected beauty. Symbols of resilience are all around us all the time.
On my stroll through Brooklyn Bridge Park yesterday, I couldn't help but notice that what might appear to be lifeless at the moment is still growing under the moon's ever-nurturing light. Like these tree branches, we are always capable of being resilient.
Photo Credits:
Photos from around NYC and Honolulu all shot by me.