With all that's been going on in my life over these last few months, the weekly yoga class I signed up for on a whim has been my saving grace.
At the end of each class, my teacher guides us through a meditation, which sometimes involves imagery.
Tonight she asked us to imagine a place, a place that we love, a place that makes us feel happy.
My mind knew immediately where to go. My place is a curb.
I'm sitting on said curb, with my knees up near my chin (since it's a low kind of curb). One hand rests on the cement walkway behind me, avoiding stains left by other curb sitters.
When I do my curb sitting, it's dark, but not fully dark. The sky itself is dark and full of traces of smoke. But against that dark sky are lights, lights everywhere. Lights from children's toys, whirling around and around in fast tight circles. Lights from flashes, as moments in time are captured again and again. Light illuminates the world behind me, so my body casts a shadow on the walkway in front of me.
As I do my curb sitting, my skin continues to be warmed by the sun it has soaked in all day, even after that sun has disappeared. My feet, my legs, my back, my cheeks - they're all an achy, tired kind of happy. My tongue savors the minty sweetness of the ice cream I bring to my mouth. Every now and then, a soft breeze of cool air from behind me sails across my skin, letting me know it's there if I need some comfort.
While I do my curb sitting, the noise that surrounds me blends together into a beautiful symphony of voices, music, and excitement. Languages blend together into one human language of love, laughter, light. I can't hear individual conversations, so I focus on the pulse of the voices, the beat of the music, the lilt of the laughter.
During my curb sitting, I watch faces. I watch excited eyes, sad eyes, disappointed eyes, sleepy eyes. I watch huge grins, tiny smiles, and grimaces. I watch foreheads, some smooth with newness, some wrinkled with experience.
Many others sit on this curb. Many have before me, and many will continue to after I've gone. But for the moments when I can rest my weary body, take in the magic around me, and soak up all the good that surrounds me - that curb is mine.
At the end of each class, my teacher guides us through a meditation, which sometimes involves imagery.
Tonight she asked us to imagine a place, a place that we love, a place that makes us feel happy.
My mind knew immediately where to go. My place is a curb.
~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~
I'm sitting on said curb, with my knees up near my chin (since it's a low kind of curb). One hand rests on the cement walkway behind me, avoiding stains left by other curb sitters.
When I do my curb sitting, it's dark, but not fully dark. The sky itself is dark and full of traces of smoke. But against that dark sky are lights, lights everywhere. Lights from children's toys, whirling around and around in fast tight circles. Lights from flashes, as moments in time are captured again and again. Light illuminates the world behind me, so my body casts a shadow on the walkway in front of me.
As I do my curb sitting, my skin continues to be warmed by the sun it has soaked in all day, even after that sun has disappeared. My feet, my legs, my back, my cheeks - they're all an achy, tired kind of happy. My tongue savors the minty sweetness of the ice cream I bring to my mouth. Every now and then, a soft breeze of cool air from behind me sails across my skin, letting me know it's there if I need some comfort.
While I do my curb sitting, the noise that surrounds me blends together into a beautiful symphony of voices, music, and excitement. Languages blend together into one human language of love, laughter, light. I can't hear individual conversations, so I focus on the pulse of the voices, the beat of the music, the lilt of the laughter.
During my curb sitting, I watch faces. I watch excited eyes, sad eyes, disappointed eyes, sleepy eyes. I watch huge grins, tiny smiles, and grimaces. I watch foreheads, some smooth with newness, some wrinkled with experience.
Many others sit on this curb. Many have before me, and many will continue to after I've gone. But for the moments when I can rest my weary body, take in the magic around me, and soak up all the good that surrounds me - that curb is mine.
~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~
Do I have any guesses where this curb is located? If you're curious, click here. Don't spoil the fun though :)
Wow... your curb sounds like an amazing place. Such beautiful description in the piece to truly bring your reader right to the curb.
ReplyDeleteThank you! The meditation helped with gathering all the details - I'm wondering how well this would work with students - must try out!
DeleteIs this curb near a park? I definitely can sense that you are in a city-like setting. The imagery that you used in your piece transported me to your curb spot. Well done with this descriptive piece!
ReplyDeleteIt sure is! I went back in and revised my post and included a link to a Google Earth shot of the actual curb if you want to check it out :) Thank you! It was such a helpful meditation for me.
DeleteYour description took me back to my childhood- truly. Especially the part about feeling the warmth of the sun the concrete has soaked up all day. And your knees up to your chin. I felt like I was 6, reading this :)
ReplyDeleteI first visited that curb when I was much younger than six, but many of my memories of this curb are from childhood. Thanks!
Delete