This picture is from last week, when I was biking along the Hudson, between the kid’s summer camp and the WYC. These were days where summer pressed upon us with its heat and languor.

This ride back and forth was one of the cooler moments of the day. I’d be able to generate a little breeze by moving quickly but with the supportive mechanisms of the bike under me– moving quickly without generating too much inner heat.

It wasn’t just the presence of the bike, it was also the view of the water that was restorative, to not be boxed in by the heat held within the concrete. Its immense width and its rambling depths hold a calm steady flow.

Since then, I’ve been thinking about the wisdom that seems embedded in these rides, wisdom very much needed on how to move through such heated times. 

What supportive mechanisms do I have? When and how do I make use of them to harness motion as a tool for outward equanimity and internal peace? 

And how perceptive can I be so that I notice when those mechanisms are not available or viable? When instead, the best move is to slow it way down, to acknowledge the inability to combat the heat with any hopes of a positive outcome.

In this story, the bike and the river are expressions of Stambha, Stambha being the inner pillar of support that is equally the generative force underlying all things. Stambha points to the steadiness and the creativity that is intrinsic to the unfolding of each moment by moment.

During these heated times, may we come to know (to be skillfully aware) and to rest fully (to find repose) in the power of Stambha.