Oh, the epic quest in searching for a shark’s tooth.
This past weekend I embraced the sunshine and tasty food down in Charleston, SC. On a beach day I found myself strolling the water’s edge on an endeavor to find a tooth. A man next to me delightful yelled out “wow, I got one!” and showed it off to a few bystanders – he had spotted one within a few moments. Nearly 20 minutes of strolling, I realized my quest may be a longer one and waded deeper into the water to cool off to take a break from my dharana (focused concentration).
This experience reminded me of how a yoga practice can be so different for each of us. When it comes to a specific asana – say Vrikasana (tree pose) – some yogis will be able to come into it within seconds (and hold steadily) of it being offered from the teacher. Other yogis may have a longer journey to embrace the challenges of a balancing pose and may need to take moments of rest.
It doesn’t make us better yogis to succeed in a pose or a worse yoga practitioner if we fail and fall flat on our face. Knowing where we are today is exactly where we’re meant to be…is an important theme to remember throughout practice. Some days we will shine in our tree pose and others we will wobble like a tree on a breezy day.
I took a photo of the shark’s tooth I found. Am I certain if it is a shark’s tooth? Could this be a triangular shell? (Possibly yes.) Did I enjoy the journey to seek a tooth and bump into other passionate shark tooth searchers, seashell aficionados, and aquatic life experts? I most certainly did.
Still seeking shark’s teeth…and am certain the journey of spotting seashells and other treasures along the water’s edge will lead me to the path I’m meant to be on.