Some give up their designs when they have almost reached the goal; while others, on the contrary, obtain a victory by exerting, at the last moment, more vigorous efforts than ever before. -Herodotus
I've often mentioned that one of the first words I learned to say in yoga, was yet. Sanskrit names of poses came years later, but yet quickly became my chant when my first yoga teacher finished all my limiting sentences. My hands don't reach my feet. Yet. I can't do a handstand. Yet. I learned to speak potentially about myself and now both actions are as easy as opening my eyes.
Yet. Once we were introduced, we became friends and I've introduced it to countless others. Yet has been the promise of my future self and the acceptance of who I am in the present. Yet allows me to side-step and duck the resistance and fear I might have to try something new, to go where I've not been. It has allowed me to value the present while reaching for the future.
Lisa Kelly's use of the word in her post "I'm Not Saying Good-bye...Yet", brought me an even greater appreciation for the word. Lisa has ovarian cancer and is resting at home under hospice care, after stopping all medical treatment. She doesn't know how much longer she has to live but she's not saying "Goodbye", yet. She's determined to use up all of her minutes!
She wrote on January 15: I will probably live for a couple of more months. And as long as I can lay in this hospital bed that now occupies part of my living room, I will still keep blogging. As long as I have something to say, I will say it.
I will be listening, as long as she has something to say. I don't know her, yet. I just fell upon her blog on Saturday. Perhaps I ran a search for an old post of mine since we talked about the power of yet in class that morning, I'm not sure. I stopped searching when I found Lisa's.
When Lisa says "Goodbye" it will be final, we won't hear from her again. But until then, yet gives her time to enjoy the present and say all that she needs to say. It gives her time to consider, what she will leave behind and where she will go from here. Like the girl in the picture, riding away without her training wheels. We all share the same fate. So as long as we can say it, let's not say Goodbye, yet.
Photo: Jim Larkin
