My Husband has a pet tarantula that he named Cortana after the AI in his favorite game Halo, and this past summer for my birthday he bought me a snamke that I named Saraphine.
For those that are unfamiliar snakes and spiders make rather similiar pets as far as care and up keep. Cortana only needs to be fed about once a month, or longer depending on their own mood, and snakes when grown eat once every two weeks and when they feed they usually only eat one cricket or moth for the spider and one mouse for the snake. They both rarely need water, and they are content in small containers. the type of spider and snake that we own are both also similar to cats and dogs in the fact that they are tame, housebroken, and very loving and affectionate to people.
The reason why I bring them both up today, is I have been very inspired by them and their way of life for quite some time. In yoga it is said that you are not a human doing nor are you a human acting, but we are humanbeings and that we all need to master the art of just being! Nature I have found has already mastered the art of peace by doing just that. Both Saraphine and Cortana know how to just be! They just sit or lay in their little tanks, not eating or drinking more than they need to survive and are content without having more of anything. They do not need fancy homes or do-dads and trinkets to gaze at or play with, all they need is their bedding and they keep just fine.
Yoga is not just about doing headstands or balacing on one foot, its about a way of life. In yoga their are 8 limbs:
The first limb, yama, deals with one's ethical standards and sense of integrity, focusing on our behavior and how we conduct ourselves in life. Yamas are universal practices that relate best to what we know as the Golden Rule, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."
Niyama, the second limb, has to do with self-discipline and spiritual observances. Nonhoarding, nonstealing, truthfulness, and moderation are all examples of niyamas in practice.
Asanas, the postures practiced in yoga, comprise the third limb.
It is the first two limbs that I want to focus on. It is here that feel that Cortana and Saraphine have captured what it means to be free, by just having these two things as their way of life.
Now I am not saying that we must all go back to living in trees and wearign burlap sacks eating one squirl a day or something, we can have our cell phones and our cars and ours homes, but in having them and gaining them its important that we not lose sight of who we are and what are morals are. its important to take sometime to just breath and be in the moment. Or if you really like to just move then do so witha mind that has let go. Practice really enjoying and appreciating what you have and who is around you, and practice being content in your own skin and your own life!
Utter peace and happiness is within you to achieve!
