The Sneaky Triumph of a Well-Timed Lesson

June 24, 2011

Every so often the universe conspires to teach you a lesson just when you need it.  I had this experience at a slightly unusual yoga class I attended the other day.  After a brief beginning stretch, the teacher instructed us all to gather round for the yoga lesson of the day.  The seven or so students all sat around just like grade-schoolers, ready to absorb the lesson - it was odd, but no harm in learning something new, right?  The lesson was about the concept of asteya, resisting the desire for that which is not yours.  While this is not a new idea to me (Ten Commandments?), it is not something I had thought much about previously. However, I am preparing to start my clinicals on Monday and I think that asteya is going to be important to me.

I think the thing I'm most at risk of coveting (besides of course an adorable house that I can decorate all my own) is ability.  I need to remember that I am a student, here to learn.  I will not be able to do all of the things that those around me can do, and I won't know all of the things they know.  I fear that I may find myself desiring something that is not mine - the skill and ability of therapists with years of experience.  I can get pretty angry when I embarrass myself by not knowing something that I ought to know or can't do something that I ought to be able to do.  The trouble there is that dwelling on things like that can stunt what could be a moment for growth.  I must find a way to have high expectations of myself and strive to do my best, while also being gentle with myself when I make mistakes, which will inevitably happen, and open myself up to the lessons that lie therein.

The yoga instructor clarified that asteya is easier to achieve when you focus on what you have and give thanks for your own abilities, and more difficult to achieve when you compare yourself to others.  Something tells me that this unexpected reminder not to compare myself to others - a weakness, I must admit - may have been particularly well-timed for the beginning of my fieldwork.  Sneaky triumph for the universe :-)