I used to despise Thursdays, if for no other reason than they seemed to consistently represent the culmination of a week’s worth of stress and aggravation hurtling toward the weekend and boiling over just short of that so-called sanctuary known as Friday.

Perhaps it was the deadline-driven environment I was surrounded by, necessitating that all things be completed by the latter part of the week, turning what for most would be a leisurely wind down into the weekend into, well, anything but that.

Or maybe it was my inability to break the consistent cycle of aggravation from one day to the next, making it all the more difficult to slow down and appreciate the little things - you know, those daily instances of beauty, those moments of tranquility that we are often too caught up in our own nonsense to recognize.

Last night, I returned to yoga for the first time in over two months. Same night, same time, same class - different me. As I sat on my mat and listened to the instructor’s intonation to “release the tension of the day,” I realized, in that moment, I didn’t have anything I desperately needed to relinquish.

I took a deep breath and felt instantly relaxed, save for a few aches and pains. Mentally, I was at peace. That’s not to say I didn’t benefit from the experience; but how refreshing it was to participate in the exercise coming from a clearer perspective, one not clouded by an avalanche of competing thoughts and distractions.

Of course, that’s not to say these moments are always so easy to come by. There are days when the best we can do is hope for a better tomorrow; but even in that there can be a sense of peace, of acceptance. To borrow a quote sent to me by a friend - today, of all days - “Every day may not be good, but there is something good in every day.”

A true statement indeed. Even on a Thursday. Leading into a Friday. As the rain pours down outside.

Smile. It could be worse. And it might even get better.

Published: October 11, 2018