Weed, Flower, Wish?

Perspective is a powerful tool.

You know, you see one pretty butterfly fluttering through the air and all of a sudden you see lots of butterflies everywhere you look! Or you see one person throw trash out their car window and suddenly you see what feels like everyone throwing trash out their car window. I feel fairly certain that one event doesn’t cause the other, but I do believe that awareness can alter how we see…what we see…and change our perspective.

On Wednesday, my husband and I went to the Lumineers concert. The band was great, but to be honest, I was completely taken by some of the concert goers around us.

Immediately to our right were two young boys, maybe 9 or 10. They danced with a head banging reckless abandon, in the aisles and in their chairs- very mobile. When the lead singer walked down the row two aisles behind us and grazed the head of one of the boys, he nearly collapsed and then his friend jumped on top of him- hugging him to the floor. Pure joy.

Right in front of us were three girls. Clearly they returned to Boston for college. All three wore Converse. They took photo after photo and when the concert started, they danced together like they had planned it all summer. I stood in 100% memory of seeing John Mayer at the same Pavillon when I was in college- there with two girlfriends, not even old enough to drink. Your Body is a Wonderland made us swoon.

And to our left were two couples. One slightly older than us. His hand rested in her back jeans pocket and she sang the words gently back to him. One slightly younger than us. He danced lacking rhythm and she danced with only jumps. All were so in love with the person they were with, it was kind of awesome.

There were other things happening. It was very humid. Crowded. A little drizzly. I had been up since 4:40a. My phone battery died before the show even started. But my perspective was primed to see the good. So that’s what I saw.

Before the concert last week, on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday my client sessions had a quality about them that carried from one appointment to the next. My students were gentle, kind, trusting, gracious. I was honored on more than once occasion to witness relaxation (relaxation despite extremely trying circumstances). It was beautiful and if I could have paused the world to give them a few more moments in their easeful state- I would have. As a yoga teacher, I took the moment in. It felt incredibly lucky.

My compassionate clients set me up to see the people at the concert. Not the weather. Or the electronics. It didn’t set me up to feel my fatigue or even hear the music.

Although I try to bring awareness to my day, I don’t always win. Truth be told, I probably lose a heck of a lot more than I win. But man oh man, a gift of beautiful time with students led to a night of glowing people at a concert. Kind of wild. Kind of awesome. Kind of an amazing moment of perspective- like a secret bonus prize that came with my concert ticket.

Find a bonus prize this week....and try and see the wishes.