Thursday, June 17, 2010

Reflections on my new life

I’ve been busy. Honestly!

…So I fear I’ve neglected you a wee bit blog, and I’m sorry. But, things are ticking over nicely now so I’ll just quickly fill you in. The yoga’s coming on.  I’ve got a couple of regular corporate classes, one at a market research agency in the city with six or so 20/30 somethings - I love teaching them because they’re so passionate, they’ve not done much yoga before so they’re like little thirsty fish, goggling up every bubble of information. I’m also teaching another corporate class with my old marketing company on Thursday mornings, and afterwards I switch to corporate mode and do a day’s work. One day a week in an office!  It’s a fantastic arrangement and I really do feel very lucky, as I still get to connect with my media-businessy side; catch up with my old buddies and keep my eyes, ears and fingers in when it comes to the industry - with a nice bit of pocket money thrown in for good measure. Then tonight… ooh tonight… I’m a touch nervous just thinking about it, but I’m teaching what’s known as a Funky Flow class, which is basically vinyasa yoga to musica! I’ve planned the sequence, I’ve got the soundtrack, and I’m raring to get groooovy Manly folks yogied right up for a Friday night! Yeehhhaa! Actually it’s been an interesting challenge planning the class; I’ve been snatched right out of the old ashtanga comfort zone, but I’ve enjoyed it. I’ll update you on how the class goes.

Well, I’m feeling a little reflective today for some reason. It’s been a couple of months now of living this new life(style) - though style doesn’t come into it since fancy boutiques don’t see any of my dollars these days… In fact there has been a big lifestyle change as far as spending is concerned. Let’s take this one example:

During my one ‘corporate day’, I had lunch at the Taste Bakery, one of my fave dining spots in Surry Hills (delicious Vietnamese baguettes, fresh and interesting salads - You know the score.)  So I pulled out my library book (there’s a lifestyle change for a start!) and ordered my salad with tap water. $10, fine.  Bear with me here… I paid with my EFTPOS card because I’ve decided that to put a stop to any extravagance I’ll give myself some spend-hurdles: In this instance I figure, no cash floating in wallet so no un-necessaries will be purchased. So there I was, happily chomping on my salad and trying to concentrate on Tim Winton’s Dirt Music (loving it btw) when I was distracted by a creative type sitting on my neighbouring table; he was about 25, vacuum-sucked jeans, asymmetric hair, all fast, loud talk. He also had the most deliciously creamy looking flat white I’ve ever seen. Oh man, I wanted a coffee so bad. Scrambled in my purse for desperate cappuccino change but, of course, nothing. My wallet had that baggy, sad look about it and with a $10 minimum spend on cards, well I just had to deny myself the skinny cap.

Now, it’s not a particularly life-changing story I know. Certainly not one that I’d wheel out at a dinner party (mostly because people don’t want to hear people whinnying on about their personal finances… yawwwn), but the reality is that this little moment was a realisation for me that life has changed. Not that I was spending hither and thither, willy and niily, but on the whole, if I wanted something fairly reasonable, like a new pair of gloves, a coffee, a pair of jeans, well I’d get them.

But you know what. I got over it.  It’s often just mindless consumption, boredom, I don’t know what – maybe it’s parigraha (opposite of aparigraha meaning non-grasping). Because, that’s the word – grasping. You’re walking along, you see your favourite coffee brand signposted, the head goes down the body detours, the wallet comes out and hey presto another $4 gone.

It’s not that I’m not having coffees anymore, or never buying anything, but these spend-hurdles that I’ve created are forcing me to assess my priorities. Can I wait three minutes until I get back to the office and have a cup of tea instead? Err. Yes.

Have you ever read those inspirational stories of big cheesy business men/lawyers/head honcho types who are just about to hand over their gold card in payment of their fourth Ferrari and suddenly, in a golden flash of realisation they ask “Do I really need this?” Then of course they tell their story of how they became yogis/ Buddhists etc and renounce all their worldly possessions. Maybe because I was never gonna be a four Ferraris kind of a girl, I haven’t quite got there yet, because I do miss my nice new clothes. I don’t want to let go of my inner girly notion that when you look good, you feel good. But I have to be realistic. As a yoga teacher I’m not going to be able to spend like I used to. Santosha, or being content, is a very important yogic principle, so it seems only fitting that as a yoga teacher I’d need to really understand it.

No comments:

Post a Comment