Some Roadblocks are Good

         So often anything that slows forward progress is automatically classified as bad. Tonight I was given a demonstration of the opposite; sometimes we slow for others or even for ourselves. For example, a parent reduces their career to take care of the kids; a driver allows several cars to merge before road construction; a teacher allows the student to learn at their own pace.
           Tonight I was trying to make a box to store my reiki grid.  Not long after I started, this is what happened...

    Yes, that is Joy. Right in the middle of my project.  Usually a sleeping cat will stop all my forward momentum.  And that is a good thing.  She makes me slow down and think.
     In this off time that was the gift of Joy, it gave me time to review my yoga video.  Today I was struck by the great idea to video my yoga practice  so I could see myself like the student I am and give myself some pointers.
      Of course, I noticed loads of flaws, but the thing that struck me most was the progress I made in that one 45 minute practice.
       I have very tight muscles.  It's one of the things that makes me a good teacher.  Each pose is so hard for me, I learn lots of tricks to coax the body in to the pose.  Watching the practice made me see how much better my downward facing dog was at the end than it was at the beginning. Yes, I still fell down in eagle pose (on both sides!), but my alignment was better each time I went into eagle in a different way.
        This is exactly what I look for in my life.  Those small, incremental improvements that can be so hard to notice.  This is the gift of the roadblock. It makes you slow down and really see your life.  Thanks, Joy.