A Box of Chocolates

Choices. I remember being given a box of chocolates for Christmas when I was a little girl by a favorite aunt. (Sweets were a rare treat in our house and this became a yearly ritual for a few years, a favorite gift.)  I remember opening the gilt covered box and seeing the six gleaming little mounds of sweets sitting there in those little crimped papers and feeling my mouth water. Which one to take; I didn't much like the one with the cherry in it, but loved the ones with creamy chocolate inside. The dilemma was; which one to eat first and which one to save for later, and which was which? I could take a small nibble on the bottom and find out and put it back if I didn't want it. Have you ever been tempted to do this when confronted by a big box of chocolates? Or I could just reach down, pick one to eat and leave things to chance.

When I get on my mat now to practice now I feel like I have an endless box of chocolates spread out before me, but there is no chance involved in picking which one I want to 'taste' that day. There is a practice I can do for most any condition. I can practice in one way when my energy is low, or another when I feel jittery, I can practice in certain ways when my back is bothering me or do the same poses with an entirely different focus when another place is irritated. The choice is unlimited and always satisfying; better really than the taste of chocolate because it lasts and does’t add calories.