I love the different outdoor rinks across Montreal that you can go to. Against the backdrop of downtown skyscrapers and the cross on Mount Royal or a majestic old church and tobacco factory or nestled among inner city apartment blocks, I can just practice if I want; learn to drive to the net and protect the puck, pivot better, use the outside edges better, work on my wrist shot listening for the crisp loud ring of the puck off the iron of the crossbar. PING! I love that sound. Work a little harder each time and I improve, my body remembers and I feel rewarded. Sweating freely at -13C, I'll stop for a moment to watch my breathe steam in the cold winter air and look up at the jet black sky that seems even more infinite by the contrast of the outdoor lights beaming down illuminating all that is snow and ice. Then I join the game, chase the puck with everyone else like a pack of rowdy dogs, shout and call for the puck in some bilingual hockey pidgin, watch all the skating styles from makeshift shuffles to efficient and crisp strides mix it up, swarm the ice like a flock of birds, up and down the rink. I love outdoor hockey, the fact that it doesn't require a huge refrigerated building to make the ice, that it's natural and rugged and free and outdoors and brings people together. I love it and whether or not it loves me back is beside the point.
Monday, February 13, 2012
One Way to Love
I love the different outdoor rinks across Montreal that you can go to. Against the backdrop of downtown skyscrapers and the cross on Mount Royal or a majestic old church and tobacco factory or nestled among inner city apartment blocks, I can just practice if I want; learn to drive to the net and protect the puck, pivot better, use the outside edges better, work on my wrist shot listening for the crisp loud ring of the puck off the iron of the crossbar. PING! I love that sound. Work a little harder each time and I improve, my body remembers and I feel rewarded. Sweating freely at -13C, I'll stop for a moment to watch my breathe steam in the cold winter air and look up at the jet black sky that seems even more infinite by the contrast of the outdoor lights beaming down illuminating all that is snow and ice. Then I join the game, chase the puck with everyone else like a pack of rowdy dogs, shout and call for the puck in some bilingual hockey pidgin, watch all the skating styles from makeshift shuffles to efficient and crisp strides mix it up, swarm the ice like a flock of birds, up and down the rink. I love outdoor hockey, the fact that it doesn't require a huge refrigerated building to make the ice, that it's natural and rugged and free and outdoors and brings people together. I love it and whether or not it loves me back is beside the point.
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Have you ever been loved? I bet you have been loved so much and so deeply that you have become blasé about the enormity of the grace it confers.
So let me remind you: To be loved is a privilege and prize equivalent to being born. If you're smart, you pause regularly to bask in the astonishing knowledge that there are many people out there who care for you and want you to thrive and hold you in their thoughts with fondness.
As tremendous a gift it is to get love, giving love is an equal boon. Many scientific studies demonstrate that whenever you bestow blessings on other people, you bless yourself. Expressing practical compassion not only strengthens your immune system and bolsters your health, but also promotes self-esteem, enhances longevity, and stimulates tranquility and even euphoria.
As the scientists say, we humans are hardwired to benefit from altruism. (To read more about the subject, go here: http://tinyurl.com/lyyd46.)
What's your position on making love? Do you regard it as one of the nicer fringe benefits of being alive? Or are you more inclined to see it as a central proof of the primal magnanimity of the universe? I'm more aligned with the latter view.
Imagine yourself in the fluidic blaze of that intimate spectacle right now. Savor the fantasy of entwining bodies and hearts and minds with an appealing partner who has the power to enchant you. What better way do you know of to dwell in sacred space while immersed in your body's delight? To commune with the Divine Wow while having fun? To tap into your own deeper knowing while at the same time gazing into the mysterious light of a fellow creature?
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