“A” is for April and...

David Rush

2022-04-19

Welcome to Spring Everyone!

It’s been a long minute since I last wrote everyone, and a lot sure has changed for all of us. It’s starting to look like the long season of Covid might finally be (well mostly) over, and even though there’s still a lot of trouble in the world, the brighter days of April have me thinking about the possibilities of the year ahead. It’s something of a good feeling, after this past long winter.

Somewhat ironically, I’ve also discovered that April is Autism Awareness month. While many of you will have heard me talk about it in class, this is a topic that has become quite important to me. Over this last winter, I was professionally recognized as autistic.

I actually thought it would be rather easier to say something more after that sentence; but I’ve actually run right into one of the primary road blocks in my autistic brain: I have far more to say, but saying it means that I have to explain things, which will also need explanation, and the whole idea explodes inside my head as an expanding universal Big Bang of X-ray Quasars, Rainbow galaxies, and the occasional Beautiful Blue Marble hosting human life.

As an adult, being recognized as autistic changed nothing in my circumstances. On the other hand, it gave me both words to communicate and keys to open up some of the locked closets in my mind. Back in the 1960s, when I was a child, very little was understood about autism - it was only recognized in children who had (or caused) trouble in the schools, but for me school was actually comforting because ... well, to save us a lot of time, it’s because I was autistic.

My experience was different from many autistic children. but it shows the truth of a saying in the autistic (and the wider neuro-diversity) community: “if you know an autistic person, you know one autistic person.” Autistic people are known more for our difference than by our similarities, yet we still share the human experience. And “common humanity” is the basis of our human community. We are all in this thing called “life” together. We bring to each other our experiences, knowledge, and wisdom; and together we all become more whole.

It’s been easy for me to forget the importance of community during the social isolation of the pandemic, and that goes double for me as an autistic person (we tend to thrive on alone time). Community is an aspect of yoga practice that has always been very important to me. I find myself immensely grateful to everyone who has come to practice with me over the years, and I am brought back to a memory of wisdom I received from Kahlil Gibran, many years ago:

For in truth it is life that gives unto life - while you, who deem yourself a giver, are but a witness.

And you receivers - and you are all receivers - assume no weight of gratitude, lest you lay a yoke upon yourself and upon him who gives.

Rather rise together with the giver on his gifts as on wings;

For to be over-mindful of your debt, is to doubt his generosity who has the free-hearted Earth for mother, and God for father.

I may teach about many things, but I also learn from each of you. Thank you so much. And that’s all really. It’s been great starting to see everyone again, and if I haven’t seen you since the studios re-opened, I am looking forward to seeing you soon.

Om Shanti.


This document was translated from LATEX by HEVEA.