My yoga studio, however, is not built by people who live with that logic. At both the old location and the new, each studio has always been a work in progress. Finishing work that hasn’t quite gotten finished, areas where touch-up paint still needs to be touched up. In the excitement of allowing others to discover the peace and beauty that is yoga, they’ve decided that it’s “finished enough.”

Interestingly enough, I’ve never heard someone say “I can’t practice here because that section of wall isn’t finished.” Nobody’s ever mentioned it at all. My inner demons point to the flaws and say “How terrible that they didn’t have time to finish the walls! If only they had planned ahead, or closed for a day to get it done.”  I’m trying to grow through yoga though, so while I lay in Savasana and look at the unfinished window sills, I recognize that we’re all bits of unfinished business. No matter how hard we try, the loose ends of our days and our lives will never be tied up in a nice, neat package.

Today, I’m just saying thank you to my practice (and to the studio itself) for reminding me that it’s ok when things aren’t buffed and polished to perfection.

Has our culture become so plug and play, so “make your own adventure” that we can no longer function within the rules of a traditional society? I read book exerpt last night about a “Results-Only Work Environment”.  Sure, it sounds like a great concept. You work the hours that are best for you, because you’re paid for a chunk of work, not a chunk of time. The biggest problem that I forsee with that is that we’re not working in independent silos. We’ve got to meet with each other, discuss with each other, and answer to one another for projects at the appropriate time and location.

In the meantime, take 15 seconds and read the instructions! We’re not writing them for fun – we’re writing them because there are specific reasons for what we need.