The Corridor of Death

Bernard-Henri Levy said in an interview on Charlie Rose the other night when talking about his new book American Vertigo that Americans are barbaric in our use of the death penalty. He visited Death Row in an American prison. When describing Death Row he called it the corridor of death.

I find language when it gets bent like this to be inspirational.

The U.S. Ambassador to Iraq was talking about blood and treasure.

The National Geographic guy was talking about deep ancestry.

As tomorrow I return to the world of full time work, albeit only a temp job, I am feeling this transition as a small death.

I wrote a poem on Easter Sunday a couple of years ago called “The Big Death” after having just come from sitting and listening to a dharma talk about rebirth. It was unusually beautiful here that year and there was an Easter egg hunt in progress at the near-by park where I used to hang out and wait for my yoga class to start.

I’m not sitting at that center anymore and my yoga teacher stopped teaching on the weekends and I feel both those things as small deaths too. The most challenging part with all these changes has been not rushing to fill the spaces left.

Being open and aware enough to let what comes next unfold before me.

In the meantime I wish all a healthy and Happy Lunar New Year! May the fire dog be your guide to adventures in living fully.