Revealing vs Creating

It seems that particularly around the new year fears are preyed upon and there’s pressure to make new years resolutions. The types of resolutions that are often made stem from messages that tell us we are not whole, that what we seek is somewhere out there and may even be a secret reserved for a select group, that wherever you are is not far enough, that you, in short, are not enough, that you must manipulate this about yourself to make yourself better, or that you have to acquire that to attain peace, worthiness, and understanding.

But yoga tells us otherwise.

“And when you are in a state of yoga, or wholeness, you rest in your own true nature… When carving stone, the sculptor removes everything that is not the statue. She does not add anything to create it, except the willingness to do the work. The art of revealing beauty lies in removing what conceals it… Wholeness exists within us. Our work is to chisel away at everything that is not essence, not Self.” — Judith Hanson Lasater, Living Your Yoga

With every breath, we welcome inspiration with our inhalation, and with each exhale we can release the myth of having to create a new or better self, opening to our present, perfect self.

This is not to say that goal-setting is inherently bad, of course, but rather that we ought to examine our motivation when reviewing our resolutions. Will this action help me reveal, not create nor manufacture, but reveal my truest self? Because when we are totally in alignment with, breathing, and living our truth, everything else falls into place. Your truest Self is pure light, pure love, perfectly whole, unified, peaceful, one, yoga.

You might adopt the simple but profound mantra: “I am whole.” You were born whole, and absolutely nothing can take away your completeness. You already have everything you need. Clear away what’s not needed so that your essence may surface, unobstructed.