Kala Kali

Nothing is beyond Kala except Kali.I was swimming - a new hobby of mine - watching my shadow on the pool floor. Working on gliding in the breaststroke, the stretching of the arms reminding me of urdhva hastasana and the idea that when you keep your body too tense your joints push out of line. Whether that line is proper or not there is a balance between effort and ease. A familiar concept yoga practitioners learn in asana practice.

Now what if I take the shadow in the above scenario and call it Kali. Why not? She is described as dark and beautiful and when you see your shadow gliding along, you want to go to it or even rest in it. So you do. You rest all that tension, all that buoyancy, the air in your lungs, the thoughts in your head and the tension and find that you are finally gliding. Your mind gets proud, you feel your body move again and slowly all the thoughts come back in and you reach, look at your shadow and start over again.

That discomfort is kala. Time. Not time as in living is difficult or hard or worthless - some illusion that only fools cling to. No. Living is the focal point between Kala and Kali. A point where the two blend - the ability to go beyond and be completely normal.