No Power, No Problem

We lost our power this past Tuesday night, at the studio and our home, as many others did, but it was off less than 24 hours. We still held our classes that night, just kept on adding candles as the evening went on. The music for the classes was the sound of the students breathes. The darkness added an extra layer of calm.

The next morning was 4th of July and the power still wasn’t on. Our annual donation class was set to start at 10 AM and there was really no logical way to contact everyone, so we decided to hold the class and see who showed. Well 34 of you did for what turned out to be an impromptu “hot yoga” class (no power, no a/c and lots of energy).

Teacher Meaghan Z. had asked to teach the class that morning with all monies collected be donated to her BFF Courtney to help her family recover from losing their home in a fire a few weeks ago. It was great class and $383.00 was collected for the cause. And that wasn’t the only good that came out of the day, we all learned that Meaghan has a beautiful singing voice as she ended the class with her version the “om mani padme hum” chant.

The brief time that we were without power just reminded me that when things are out of our control, how we respond, how we handle it affects the outcome.

It reminds me of the following Zen Proverb:

Once upon the time there was an old farmer who had worked his crops for many years. One day his horse ran away. Upon hearing the news, his neighbors came to visit. “Such bad luck,” they said sympathetically.
“Maybe,” the farmer replied.

The next morning the horse returned, bringing with it three other wild horses. “How wonderful,” the neighbors exclaimed.
“Maybe,” replied the old man.

The following day, his son tried to ride one of the untamed horses, was thrown, and broke his leg. The neighbors again came to offer their sympathy on his misfortune.
“Maybe,” answered the farmer.

The day after, military officials came to the village to draft young men into the army. Seeing that the son’s leg was broken, they passed him by. The neighbors congratulated the farmer on how well things had turned out.
“Maybe,” said the farmer.


The moral of the story? Was it such a bad thing that the power was off….maybe. It’s how you handle it and always remember to ...just breathe.