“In every moment we have the opportunity to awaken . . . to let go of whatever fear, constriction, and stories are running through our mind as we come fully into the present moment. And it is only in the present moment that we can experience happiness.” ~Deepak Chopra

So I thought I was in the moment when approaching the van at 6 am to teach my early morning yoga classes. But then my still sleepy eyes caught sight of yet another envelope nailed to our windscreen – as many before by the discussed miserable neighbours (the type that have nothing else to do but glance out from behind their curtains all day long, every day, finding stuff to complain about and trying to pull other people into their own misery).

I guess my brain tricked me into old thought patterns (samskaras in sanskrit), based on past experience. It had lost it’s childish innocence. I didn’t open the letter until after my class as I couldn’t face up to any negativity that early in the morning. Two hours later I had tears in my eyes. To my big surprise, it was the sweetest letter of one of my newest, but may I say dearest friends which included the following poem her daughter wrote when she was ten:

LIGHT IS… a pathway to happiness; bravery in a soul; love through a family; a beginning of life; a blessed child; healing in a body; nature on earth; marriage in a couple; comfort in a friend; an opening to your destiny; hope in the sky; good in a person; learning for the future; confidence in a team; warmth in a place; a journey to joy! ~ M.C.