I've been learning contentment in my time here as a Seoulite. Good days and bad days come and go, swaying my moods as they will. I'm tired of letting my circumstances determine my emotions and mindsets. That is not a healthy way to live, and though I have had many a wise person tell me this truth, it takes swaying with the days to realize that the swaying can make you sick.
Therefore, my recent goal has been to practice contentment each day. This practice does not come naturally. As in yoga, I am using my ugai breathing to inhale and exhale through the difficult moments. The day can be easy and enjoyable, much like a yoga stretch, yet I sometimes find myself in an uncomfortable position, breathing through the moment that is difficult and wondering why something so apparently easy should cause me so much strain.
So, after a day of teaching energetic students and pouring out my energy on others, I come home to my husband and apartment and attempt to choose contentment once again. I pull out my yoga mat, take a deep breath, and begin my practice. And when I'm done I make myself a treat. I take the healthy items out of my fridge and smile at the symbolism of finding sweet happiness within the things that are sometimes difficult to swallow. I concoct a new creation filled with flour, spices, a little butter, and lots of carrots and zucchini. I fill my french press as I bake my new recipe. And in the midst of my circumstances I find great contentment in my cup of coffee and my slice of warm, spiced zucchini bread.
And then I eat my greens.
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