In our current culture I have recognized a large disconnect between the self and the environment. We tend to forget to treat ourselves with the care and compassion that we have for our environment, or vice versa. I am someone who struggles with seasonal depression, as many citizens of Colorado do, and so I chose to incorporate this aspect of my life into my service.
For my Seva project I spent a few days walking a portion of the spring creek trail, with my dog, picking up trash. Through this act I was able to get outside more, even on the very cold days, and connect with the land. Instead of just plugging in my headphones and walking my dog, we were able to explore parts of the path, and parts off the path, that had been polluted by anthropomorphic objects. This led to a both gross and sad experience on the trail.
After coming home after my first afternoon of picking up trash, I meditated on my experience. Prior to my meditation, I realized that again I had been dealing with imbalance between myself and my environment. I was sad because I was looking at this trash polluting the land from the perspective of the land. Once I realized that my connection between self and the environment was still skewed, I was able to change and grow.
The following day I continued my trash gathering with Boo (my dog), but this time my findings excited me. This excitement was driven by my new idea to recycle the trash I had gathered to form an art piece which I would donate to the Holistic Yoga Studio.
Once I recognized that I am no minority to the problem of pollution, I was able to connect to both my community and my environment in a way that both benefited the health of the trail and my peers at the studio. Finding balance and peace in everything I do is what yoga has taught me throughout my teacher training so far; and, through practicing these virtues I have been able to blossom through the darkness.
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