Reflections on Integration: The Philosophy and Discipline of Yoga in Daily Life
Friday, November 10, 2006
Kali's Cairn
A Beautiful Memory of our Sweet Little Puppy Kali. It was a real treasure having you in our lives! May you be on your way to a lighter life and a brighter place. We Love You!
On November 8, our beloved Kali was struck and killed by a car. We buried her in the center of the garden and gave her a special funeral to send her spirit on its way. We buried her on the meditation cushion that she would sleep on every morning as we practiced yoga in the shala.
It is sad for us to have to say goodbye, and we will miss her beautiful little puppy personality, but we know she has now moved on, and has been liberated from her little doggy-life.
As Su (our Yoga Thailand cook) said: "Kali was number one!"
What is Death but a reminder to Live. A reminder to pause more often, to breath in each moment, and to appreciate the people and experiences in our lives. It creates a space for us to reflect positively, to love immediately, and to extend to others true compassion in each moment. Death cannot be an excuse to become "the walking dead" incapacitated by our grief. Rather, it is a invitation to live life more fully, and to make the choice to embrace the opportunity of living in each moment of every day.
It teaches us to stop and observe the flowers, and to plant the flowers of our choice in the garden of our lives, and then to arrange them in the most pleasing way. It reminds us to light candles and incense, so that we may see more clearly the beautiful garden that exists all around us, and so that all our actions will carry with them a pleasant smell. It creates a space and a moment of pause, so that we might breath more deeply and take in all of the sweetness of this life.
From our porch we can see Kali's cairn. The cairn is used to show others the way. It is a beautiful reminder to be present, and to not waste a moment of our time. Outside our little bungalow, the birds still sing, the ocean still crashes on the shore, and we will continue to go on rearranging the flowers in the garden of our lives.