May Theme: CARE!

"Love begins by taking care of the closest ones - 

the ones at home."

- Mother Teresa

April's theme was "DO," and for May the theme is "CARE." We see a correlation here in what the Universe is asking of us. It is time to shift our awareness to action-based activities. The world, our country, and for many of us, our own immediate families - and least of all, ourselves - needs us. As energy beings and beings of light it is time to move away from our preclusion to worry or wallow and create energy around the positive aspects of prosperity, abundance, and happiness.

What does it mean to CARE? 

One dictionary definition of CARE says that it is a "disquieted state of apprehension..a cause for such anxiety." Well, obviously that is not helpful or yogic by any means. A second dictionary declares to CARE as: "a provision of what is necessary for the health, welfare, maintenance, and protection of someone or something...serious attention or consideration applied to doing something correctly to avoid damage or risk." So, OK, now we are getting somewhere. 

As human beings, we all CARE about something. There is something that tugs at our heartstrings or that fills us with a sense of integrity to the point where we realize we must go above and beyond to provide for it. Anyone with a child can understand the reasons why we CARE for them. We pet parents do too. And those are probably the easiest beings to care for because they are the closest to us. But what if we CARED a whole lot more? What if we CARED about all life, equally? Yes, this includes our own life, the smaller mammals and insects, and even the people on the planet that we may not agree with, etc. 

At the end of the day, isn't to CARE really about LOVE? And we are talking unconditional Love. Because aren't the conditions the things that create any anxiety anyway? Without conditions when we CARE unconditionally, there is no fear or worry or negativity. The absences of those conditions are what creates harmonious relationships. 

There is a sort of well-known Mantra:

LOKAH SAMASTAH SUKHINO BHAVANTU.

This translates to: "May all beings, everywhere, be happy and free. And may the thoughts, words and actions of my own life, in some way, contribute to that happiness and freedom for all." 

We believe that this mantra sums up the energy of what it means to CARE. And we offer it to you to consider throughout the month of May - especially when challenged by conditions of fear. 

In Love & Light,

OYC Founder, Tracey L. Ulshafer & your OYC Teaching Staff

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When the theme of "CARE" came to me this month I was at first confused. What does this mean? Of course everyone cares and is caring, right? I know that our beautiful community certainly is a very caring bunch of folks. I appreciate that about you all. But this actually gave me a little time to plug into it a little further - for myself and our community. 

Considering what I CARE about most always includes my family, my friends, the studio, and helping people. Those are always the top things. I've realized that myself is not up there in those top things, as I tend to do for others before I do for myself. I always considered this a good thing, until I realized how depleted I'd become, and thus began a recent renewed interest in self-care. But I also realized that in this vein, I was not listening to and caring for my own needs as a creative being. I actually do so much outer work for the interest of others that I lacked in the inner work on caring for myself. And this came to a sort of boiling point where I started to wonder if I was having a mid-life crisis of consciousness (and maybe I was). 

I am still very much digesting my recent trip to Easter Island. This most remote island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean has many things to teach. With an ecosystem that came very close to extinction, a remoteness that forces one to understand his/her place in the world, and many forgotten lore, there is an immediate understanding of how the thoughts and actions of one's own being contribute to the whole - in a very big way. The interconnectedness of all life energy is palpable even in the fallen Moai statues that line the coastline, and at first glance may appear seemingly lifeless. I continued to get the sense that they were lying there for centuries just waiting for someone to CARE. Then I learned that the Rapa Nui (people of Easter Island) finally took back control of the national park from Chile just four months ago, and have much plans to restore many of the sites. Someone did CARE - they DO CARE - and they finally took the stand to gain back control. Hurray!

Maybe in your life there is something that you CARE about, but have been either taking a back seat to someone else's actions, or have just not put any energy to it for some reason. Here's your chance. Use the month of May to infuse energy back into what you really CARE about...and don't forge, as Mother Teresa says, to look closest to home...and that includes yourself.

In Love & Light.

Tracey L. Ulshafer,

Founder/Director, One Yoga Center