An Easter Reflection by Rev. Grant Dawson
A number of years ago, I arrived at one of my favourite weekly yoga classes only to learn that the instructor was unable to be there. But the good news was that there was a student who had been in the class before ours who had agreed to fill in for this occasion.
I knew the student, and I realized that she had just finished her yoga instructor certification course. And I must admit that there was a certain amount of disappointment in my mind at the time, facing the reality that we were going to get the last-minute, inexperienced yogi to lead us. But I was there, so I stayed to suffer it out.
But to my surprise, she was much better than I expected. Yes, she was obviously feeling overwhelmed. (Who wouldn’t be?) And there were moments of hesitation and occasions when one movement didn’t quite flow from the one before. But overall, she got through it well, and so did we.
I hadn’t had another class from this teacher until a month or so ago, when she showed up again in the same class, again as our substitute leader. Wow! What a transformation. She was in no way hesitant. The flow was steady. The pace was just right. The class was excellent. But the central difference from my previous experience was that she was herself. I could tell in the former class that she was trying to channel our teacher, to take on his pacing, to follow his routines, and even making an effort to carry out some of his humour. Now. however, she was her own person, doing what she wanted to do and giving us what she wanted to give in her own style.
That is one of the keys to full living—being ourselves. And this is what Easter offers—new life that comes from the core of our being. Easter reminds us that we have been raised to a new level of life in which we can leave the old behind. We no longer need to follow traditions because someone told us to, to do things the way that someone else does them or to accept standards just because they are there. No. We are free to live from our hearts with passion, to think our own thoughts with conviction, and to stand in the world on our own two feet.
In the Spirit of the living Christ, we are at last given the power and the permission to be ourselves, no matter what age we are or how set we are in our ways of doing things.
Hallelujah!
Grant