The line which defines right and wrong is so thin, ethereal, and movable. What seemed to be right yesterday may have a total different look today, totally wrong perhaps. Decisions made months, years, decades ago, "the only right way to go" at the time, today sound so wrong that it makes one wonder if it would be possible to go back and fix it. You see - it was right, now it's wrong, so I want to make it right. It's maddening, isn't it?

Years ago, I took a step in my life which affected the lives of those around me in a big way. For a long time I swayed back and forth between right and wrong, to try and explain it in a rational, right or wrong way. Only today I have finally got in touch with the pain caused by that decision... not that what I did was painful to me specifically, but the pain I may have caused somebody else hurts me. I never stopped to think about it! I had the a-ha moment during my morning meditation, and it tossed me to the right or wrong mode again. So, because this other person may have suffered due to my actions, I hurt and therefore what I did was wrong... right?

I think I'm learning some sort of lesson here, which brings me to my yoga practice.

First, the duality of this world prepares us for doubt, questioning, multiple personalities and the right or wrong mind set. We grow up on "this is right and that is wrong" mode. We become judgemental, always wanting the right, criticizing the wrong and evaluating people and situations constantly, grading them according to our perceptions. Am I so enlightened that my perceptions are completely aligned with universal truth that I can point my finger and determine if this or that person are doing the "right" thing?

Second, acceptance of what is before you. People / situations / things are simply what they are, there is nothing right or wrong about them. Usually, we make decisions based on the knowledge we have at hand, to the best of our abilities. As we progress in life our knowledge improves and our senses refine. So, the decisions of the past may seem wrong, but in reality they are what they are - decisions. We live with the consequences/pains, we have the chance to learn from them, and to make other decisions from where we are. We can't waste energy thinking "if..." What if I had taken this other road? What if I had married this other person? What if... What if... What if... This takes us NOWHERE!

Third, I would like to quote Patanjali: "And now, Yoga." The meaning of yoga is to yoke, "union," but union with what? Body, mind, spirit, when "yoganized" become one - no more duality! That is the purpose, to find our essence and get out of the mind set created by duality. Can we find this union all around us? Dark/light, beauty/ugly, sound/silence, right/wrong... it's all one! These qualities are what they are, and necessary the way they are!

I'm dealing with the pain of my decision. It teaches me to see things under a different light, it teaches me a lesson I needed to learn. It makes me who I am today. I don't think of it as right or wrong anymore... it is what it is. I move on to make other decisions and I don't know if they will be right or wrong. I just try to stay in my heart and make it all... yoga!

Namaste