om lite
When the shiny things in the shops don’t seem so shiny anymore, it’s time to slow down
and just enjoy the journey, not chase that never-ending goal. By Victoria Jackson
I
’m an unhappy shopper these days;
it just doesn’t interest me anymore.
Instead of the thrill of the chase for
that must-have fashion item or gadget
upgrade, I’m reluctant to acquire too
many new things. While I don’t think I’m
single-handedly responsible for any recent
economic downturn, I know it made my
birthday difficult for my family this year —
what to buy the girl who claims not to want
anything? Do I blame Marie Kondo who’s
turned decluttering into a lifestyle choice
rather than a domestic chore? Or do I point
the finger further back in time to Patanjali
who also knew a thing or too about living
more simply? His word for it was Aparigraha
(‘non-hoarding’ or ‘non-grasping’), listed in
the Yoga Sutras alongside the more famous
‘restraint’ of Ahimsa (non-violence).
But of course Aparigraha is more than just
resisting the temptation to buy more yoga
leggings or another set of pretty espresso
cups or whatever your own consumerism
weak spot is. It goes beyond material thingsto become a mental discipline, a practice
of learning to be in the world with less
baggage, literally and metaphorically. For me
it’s about behaving with grace and restraint,
trusting that what I have already is enough,
rather than always striving for more. This is
easier said than done! Paying attention to
the Yamas takes some serious effort.
On the mat I’m trying not to chase the
next advanced asana but to be grateful
for where I am, simply ‘inviting the pose’ as
one of my teachers delicately puts it. We
all know yoga is about the journey not the
destination, right? I remind myself of this
and somehow my practice flows a little more
lightly, I breathe a little more easily. Phew!
Off the mat it’s even harder. Life seems all
about completing projects and achieving some
goal or other. At home the shopping needs
doing, there are the household accounts to
review, and the bathroom won’t paint itself.
In the office it’s hard to tell my boss I didn’t
complete that report on time because I was
enjoying the journey rather than pursuingthe end goal. There’s always something that
needs doing, and I easily find myself on a fast-
running treadmill through my to do list. But in
grasping always towards achievement I realise
I miss out on the joy of a work in progress, of
picking my way through a problem, of having
to get comfortable with the uncertainty of the
outcome. There’s something to be said for
Krishna’s advice in the Bhagavad Gita about
simply committing yourself wholly to the action
rather than the outcome: “Let your concern
be with the action alone, and never with the
results of action”.
So somewhere between Marie Kondo’s
brisk decluttering and Shri Krishna’s
antipathy to goals, there’s a sweet balance.
By contemplating Aparigraha I’m learning to
slow down and enjoy the journey — taking
care not to grasp too much after that sense
of enjoyment, obviously!!Victoria Jackson lives and practices in
Oxford. She is registered with Yoga Alliance
as a vinyasa yoga teacherLess is more