Hello dear friends – well it has been a testing couple of weeks – hefty car repair bill, washing machine repairs, cancelled appointments, a funeral, and now I think I am coming down with a lurgy!
This is an old poem, but it always makes me smile. I wrote it on retreat and it is a metaphor for being inhibited and restricted by our habits. I hope it makes you smile too 🙂
The Hula-Hoop of Hindrance
I saw it in the playground,
when I was only three,
the hula-hoop of hindrance,
resting by a tree.
It was pretty, pink, and sparkly,
with unicorns and glitter,
it even had, ‘go faster’ stripes,
so I could hula quicker.
I put it ‘round my tiny waist,
and hula’d round the yard,
little did I realise,
that it would make life hard.
I learned to love my hula-hoop,
though I was only four,
when I went to bed at night,
I’d leave it by the door.
I realised when I was five
(and also at aged six)
that I had been quite naïve
my hula habit fixed.
This went on – my dearest friends,
throughout my adult life,
attachment to my hula-hoop,
caused me so much strife.
When cooking in the kitchen,
and trying to eat my dinner,
my hula hoop got in the way,
and I just grew much thinner.
and when I met my boyfriend,
I’d hula-hoop for joy,
but holding hands whilst hula-ing,
well… the romance is destroyed.
Showering or getting dressed,
at work, at home, at play,
my pretty, sparkly hula-hoop,
was always in the way.
When I went upon retreat,
there was no problem there;
for there were many hula hoops,
that we could swap and share!
Then, Maitripala gave a talk,
about the hula habit,
if we can see the gateway….
the freedom’s there, so grab it!!
The moral of this story,
is not too clear to see,
but if you choose a skipping rope,
you can set yourself free.
One day I hope my hula-hoop,
will rest against that tree,
and if you choose to have a go,
it’s going, gratis, free!!
© The Hula-Hoop of Hindrance 17.06.2014
by Alexandra Carr-Malcolm
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