Freedom in the Grocery Store

Shepard Fairey Mural ~ Cincinnati, Ohio ~ January 2011

(See Shepard pasting it up here.)

I'm still toyin' around with my word of the year, FREEDOM.

Last night I was grocery shopping in Trader Joe's and they had some great music playing.  It was an amazing mix of stuff from the '80's and '90's that all worked well together.

Pretty soon, while cruising the aisles, I found myself singing along with this one....

Freedom! by George Michael.  

What great lyrics!!!

* * *

I won't let you down
I will not give you up
Gotta have some faith in the sound
It's the one good thing that I've got
I won't let you down
So please don't give me up
Because I would really, really love to stick around

Heaven knows I was just a young boy
Didn't know what I wanted to be
I was every little hungry schoolgirl's pride and joy
And I guess it was enough for me
To win the race? A prettier face!
Brand new clothes and a big fat place
On your rock and roll TV
But today the way I play the game is not the same
No way
Think I'm gonna get me some happy

I think there's something you should know
I think it's time I told you so
There's something deep inside of me
There's someone else I've got to be
Take back your picture in a frame
Take back your singing in the rain
I just hope you understand
Sometimes the clothes do not make the man

All we have to do now
Is take these lies and make them true somehow
All we have to see
Is that I don't belong to you
And you don't belong to me
Freedom
You've gotta give for what you take
Freedom
You've gotta give for what you take

Heaven knows we sure had some fun boy
What a kick just a buddy and me
We had every big shot good-time band on the run boy
We were living in a fantasy
We won the race
Got out of the place
I went back home got a brand new face
For the boys on MTV
But today the way I play the game has got to change
Oh yeah
Now I'm gonna get myself happy

I think there's something you should know
I think it's time I stopped the show
There's something deep inside of me
There's someone I forgot to be
Take back your picture in a frame
Don't think that I'll be back again
I just hope you understand
Sometimes the clothes do not make the man

All we have to do now
Is take these lies and make them true somehow
All we have to see
Is that I don't belong to you
And you don't belong to me
Freedom
You've gotta give for what you take
Freedom
You've gotta give for what you take

Well it looks like the road to heaven
But it feels like the road to hell
When I knew which side my bread was buttered
I took the knife as well
Posing for another picture
Everybody's got to sell
But when you shake your ass
They notice fast
And some mistakes were built to last

That's what you get

I say that's what you get

That's what you get for changing your mind

And after all this time
I just hope you understand
Sometimes the clothes
Do not make the man

I'll hold on to my freedom
May not be what you want from me
Just the way it's got to be
Lose the face now
I've got to live 

* * *

Now, while it is likely that he was speaking of something very different than my current circumstances, it *did* strike me as a very yogic theme.

Taking off our masks.

Lifting the veils that disguise our divinity.

Speaking our truths.

Living our own lives.

Yoga FREES us from all manner of limitations so that we are FREE to be our True selves.

 "Yoga helps us find freedom in our bodies.

It also helps us to find freedom in our lives...

We start with yoga poses, of course~

mountain pose, warrior two...

in our bodies is where we practice yoga, 

and you have to do the practice to get the benefits.

Then we find the yoga poses hidden in plain sight,

among all the many details that fill up our days.

Really ~ your job, your broken heart, 

your communication problems in relationships ~ 

these are the Secret Lives of Yoga Poses.

And if you want them to,

these poses can deliver you to 
the brilliance at your very core.

It's true.

They can keep you in touch

with the freedom you are made of."

~Alison Alstrom 

Kick it, George!