"Some years ago, I was working at my desk and realized that I had misplaced a bill that was due. While I anxiously searched for it, my then 4-year-old daughter came into the room and asked for my attention. I said that I was busy looking for something important and to come back later. In a few minutes she returned and asked quietly, "Have you found yourself yet, Mommy?" I was humbled by her question."
"At the outset, I believed that to be spiritual meant that I had to seek, find, and accomplish something outside of myself that would bring me happiness and fulfillment. For example, I sought the company of well-known gurus and teachers, because I was convinced that they had the answers. I practiced a rigid program of yoga poses, holding them for excruciatingly long periods of time in hopes of self-transformation. And I read every book on yoga and enlightenment that I could find."
A woman searching for a misplaced bill is asked by her four-year-old daughter, "Have you found yourself yet, Mommy?" She realizes that years of seeking, rigid yoga practice, and association with famous teachers had been focused on external achievements. She believed spirituality meant finding something outside herself that would bring happiness and fulfillment, practicing poses for long periods and reading extensively about enlightenment. A sudden, intense episode of anger reveals that deep emotional reactions persisted despite her practice, prompting despair and a reassessment of the spiritual path. She concludes that the path to self-realization differed from her original expectations.
Read at Yoga Journal
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