February Galaxy Dispatch: Kama and Desire Lines
“the only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars and in the middle you see the blue centerlight pop and everybody goes “Awww!”
-Jack Kerouac
Ugh, don’t you just love that quote? I do.
I’m writing this Galaxy Dispatch on Groundhog Day, reflecting a bit on patterns and cycles, both the ones that we crave, and the ones that we inadvertently get ourselves into. I think it feels good to establish routines, rhythm and ritual, and I think part of being human is craving those observances and markers, to help us process the passage of time and prioritize and celebrate what’s more important to us. One of the [only] things I love about social media is looking back on my timeline and seeing what I was up to a year ago, a few years ago, 10 years ago. It does make me feel old, no doubt. But the strangest thing is that, sometimes to the exact day, I’m doing something similar. Sometimes it’s a yoga pose that I snapped a picture of, sometimes it’s a poem that I’m pondering, and sometimes it’s a current focus, like a recipe, or a running route, or a creative project.
Two years ago at this time, I posted this picture of the river beneath the Locust Street bridge, after a run. I’ve taken a big break from running this past year, mostly due to time demands from the studio, and although I’ll always be a walker, and walking is a part of my meditation practice, running is a really important, later-life discovery that, similar to a long walk, provides spiritual nourishment, as well as physical nourishment.
Anyway, this picture that I snapped in 2022 was accompanied by a caption that just basically said something to the effect of, “I love running and I need to stop worrying about how fast I am or how cold my toes are, and just enjoy running.” And the picture that I took was of what are called “desire lines” around the Milwaukee River Trails.
If you’re not familiar with desire lines, let me introduce you. I love both the name and what they’re about. Desire lines are unofficial paths that are created by both humans and animals, as we all instinctively traverse the land in ways that are probably a little more efficient than planned and concretized paths. One of the most delightful examples of a desire line is Broadway (the road) in New York City, which follows the path of an indigenous trail that predates colonization.
When I see desire lines, I immediately think of the Rumi quote, “Let yourself be silently drawn by the stronger pull of what you really love.” I like to think of the spirit and energy of the earth, calling to us and saying, “You don’t really want to walk on that concrete sidewalk. Come over here and walk through the grass.” Or maybe, “Your bike is going to hit a big bump where these two pieces of concrete are crunched together. Just swerve a little to the side and your ride is going to be smoother.” Or maybe, in a more poetic and metaphorical pondering, “You’ve always loved this [insert person, hobby, career, creative pursuit, way of spending time, etc.] Why not let yourself follow your heart to that? Why do you insist on staying on this boring little path?”
Okay, maybe that last one is mostly my own internal monologue… but perhaps you can relate? I wish for myself, and for all of you, that we could really listen to that voice that is reminding us what we’re passionate about, what we desire, what brings us pleasure, or fulfillment, or happiness. We spend so much time pursuing the things that someone or some power structure has decided we “should” do, we deny ourselves the opportunity to do the things we're longing to do.
Which is why I chose Kama as our monthly theme for February. Yes, Kama, like the Kama Sutra. And if you ever wanted to read, or have read the Kama Sutra, you’d discover that it’s not only a manual on eroticism and sex positions - it’s also a philosophical exploration on emotional fulfillment, creative pursuits, and passion in love and in how one lives their life. Kama is one of the four Purusharthas, or noble life aims, along with Dharma (morality), Artha (prosperity), and Moksha (liberation).
Kama is also the Hindu god of passion, and like Eros, he has a bow and arrow. The desire that Kama represents can extend to the arts, nature, aesthetic pleasures, and really any sort of sensual enjoyment.
I also like to think about the concept of passion and desire represented by Kama as simply permission to live and be a little “extra” - perhaps more than we often allow ourselves to. I can remember being at some social gathering where it seemed like everyone was taking pains to be so cool, collected and composed, that it seemed nobody really cared about anything. If you’ve spent more than five minutes around me, you know how enthusiastic I am about pretty much anything. My most used emojis are the heart eyes emoji and the “100” emoji. I love to love things. I love to be emphatic about things. I am definitely dramatic. I know that not everyone has my propensity for drama, but I often want to nudge people and tell them, “It’s okay to be super jazzed once in a while! Don’t be embarrassed!” And I hope that by being a bit extra in my enthusiasm, I’m subtly sending the message to others that it’s safe for them to be super jazzed about the things in life they’re passionate about, too.
So for this month, let’s get jazzed about things together. Maybe we want to get jazzed about love. But maybe we want to get jazzed about running, or making music and art, celebrating our amazing friends and loved ones, or those beautiful desire lines on the Milwaukee River Trail…
Or maybe we get jazzed about the transformative power of a yoga practice. Just saying. One time, I heard a teacher say to a student, “The pose is only as interesting as you are.” Which, ouch! And that teacher was spicy like that, and I think we all understood what she was driving at, but I’m also glad she wasn’t saying that to me, because I would have been majorly embarrassed.
So let’s rephrase that a little bit, to something like: you, your physical body, your inimitable spirit, your life-giving breathing, your gorgeous mind… they are so worthy of your intentional care and attention. I think that’s a pretty beautiful intention to drop behind any yoga practice - it’s the practice of passionately loving who you are, and devoting the gift of your attention to it. And you know what? We are so worth it. We’re the 100% worthy recipients of our own desire, passion, and longing. Let’s get into ourselves, Galaxy Friends.
Now put this little meditative banger on your running playlist and find those desire lines. Or write a poem or a song! Or tell your sweetie or your secret crush how cool they are. Or do a little dance to your favorite song and don’t worry what you look like. Get. Into. It.
Walking free, come with me!
Anna
What I’m Reading
Galaxy peeps, I’m actually SHOOK that I haven’t put this up on the reading recommendations yet. But it fits in really perfectly with the theme of this blog, because it’s “A Path With Heart” by Jack Kornfield, who I refer to just as Jack, because I feel like I know him, I’ve read this book so many times (nb: I do not know Jack. I wish I did.)
This book is required reading for any and all of my teacher trainees, and probably my favorite book on how to start a meditation practice of all time. I read from it just last week when I subbed meditation for Larry. It’s practical, soulful, and methodical, as it lays out the path you might traverse as you begin a seated meditation practice. Which, you might have already guessed, has to be a path that is heart-aligned. Kind of like a desire line, if I do say so!
I’m going to have some copies of this book at the studio for sale, if you’re intrigued. Or you can hit the picture to purchase it from bookshop.org, which is an awesome independent bookseller website.
If you read it, I want to hear how you liked it! I also want to hear what your desire lines are pulling you toward, if you’re inclined to share. You know how to reach me.
