2 Quick Notes & EXCERPT: “Can You Be Like The Bird?” (the 6-minute post-practice Monday post) September 15, 2025

Many blessings to everyone and especially to anyone observing the Feast Day of Our Lady of Sorrows and/or responding to life’s challenges with with friendship, peace, freedom, understanding, and wisdom.

Stay safe! Hydrate and nourish your heart, body, and mind.

This post-practice compilation post is related to Monday, September 15^th, and features some new and reposted content, as well as an excerpt. The 2025 prompt question was, “What is on your mind, on your heart, and how are you dealing with it?” You can request an audio recording of this practice or a previous practice via a comment below or (for a slightly faster reply) you can email myra      (at) ajoyfulpractice.com.

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“11
When the world is
filled with evil,
Transform all mishaps
into the path of bodhi.”

“16

Whatever you meet unexpectedly, join with meditation.”

— quoted from Always Maintain A Joyful Mind: And Other Lojong Teachings on Awakening Compassion and Fearlessness by Pema Chödrön

In Tibetan Buddhism, lojong (“mind training”) techniques are used to cultivate compassion and awaken the heart. These can be challenging endeavors on our best days — let alone on days when, as one of my yoga buddies very aptly stated tonight, “There’s a lot of heavy stuff going on right now.”

I find the second aphorism (quoted above) the easier of the two to engage; because, whether we realize it or not, we bring all of that heavy stuff onto the mat or cushion and, therefore, into the practice. The challenging part is what we do with it all once we are there — which takes us back to the first aphorism (above).

We are advised to breathe into it all — everything we are feeling, everything we are thinking — and to practice a little tonglen (“giving and taking” or “sending and receiving”), if that is in our practice.

In our yoga practice, we might even practice a little svādhyāya (“self-study”), which is the fourth the niyama (internal “observation”) in the Yoga Philosophy. Sometimes, I suggest putting yourself in another (regular) person’s shoes. Classically, however, svādhyāya is practiced using sacred text and/or scripture and putting one’s self in the shoes of a sacred person — which many people around the world did today as they observed the Feast Day of Our Lady of Sorrows.

The Feast Day of Our Lady of Sorrows is a Marian feast day in the Roman Catholic tradition. Observed annually on September 15^th, it is a day when people contemplate and reflect on the suffering of Mary as the mother of Jesus and the only person (as some Christian scholars note) who “remained completely faithful to Christ, from his birth to the Cross.” This type of (Marian) contemplation dates back to the Middle Ages and was extended to the entire Catholic Church by Pope Pius VII in 1814. The focus of this liturgical commemoration is on the length, as well as the depth, of Mary’s devotion and highlights the Seven Sorrows of Mary.

Perhaps, if we were to put ourselves in the shoes of a parent like Mary — facing the joys and sorrows that she faced — we would speak up as Victor Hugo did today in 1848.

For Those Who Missed It: The following was previously posted in 2024. (Although the excerpt has been revised.)

“Gentlemen, there are three things which belong to God and which do not belong to man: the irrevocable, the irreparable, the indissoluble. Woe to man if he introduces them into his laws! (Movement.) Sooner or later they cause society to bend under their weight, they disturb the necessary balance of laws and customs, they deprive human justice of its proportions; and then this happens, think about it, gentlemen, that the law terrifies the conscience. (Sensation.)”

— quoted from Victor Hugo’s address to the French Constituent (General) Assembly, September 15, 1848

Live long enough and you will find yourself in a situation that is simultaneously beautiful and… well, icky. You will meet someone who is not who they presented themselves to be. You will find yourself needing to break a habit that once served you; because it is no longer useful — or, in fact, because you finally realize that it never really served you.

I liken these moments to finding a beautiful lotus… only to realize you are standing in the muck from which it grew. Or, we can compare them to the poison pill that heals. Or, we can see them as being on a bough that gives us a beautiful view of the landscape… just as the bough breaks.

In these moments, we can appreciate the beauty and also acknowledge the muck. We can use the amount that heals and also be mindful of the danger. Or, we can be like the bird….

“Be like the bird, who
Pausing in his flight
On limb too slight
Feels it give way beneath him
Yet sings
Knowing he has wings.”

— “Be like the bird” poem by Victor Hugo

CLICK ON THE EXCERPT TITLE BELOW FOR MORE.

Can You Be Like The Bird? (the “missing” post)

There is no playlist for the Common Ground Meditation Center practices. 

NOTE: If you are interested, you can click on the excerpt above for a related playlist. 

If you are struggling, thinking about suicide, worried about a friend or loved one, or would like emotional support, you can dial 988 (in the US) or call 1-800-273-TALK (8255) for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. You can also call this TALK line if you are struggling with addiction or involved in an abusive relationship. The Lifeline network is free, confidential, and available to all 24/7. YOU CAN TALK ABOUT ANYTHING.

White Flag is a new app, which I have not yet researched, but which may be helpful if you need peer-to-peer (non-professional) support.

If you are a young person in crisis, feeling suicidal, or in need of a safe and judgement-free place to talk, you can also click here to contact the TrevorLifeline (which is staffed 24/7 with trained counselors).

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