Fierceness

There seems to be a theme lately. It keeps popping up in different areas of my life. Fierceness. I typically think of fierce things as bad. Something I don't want to encounter. But there's a positive side to fierceness. Something intense and seemingly negative can actually serve a positive purpose. For instance, when my teacher has us hold a lunge for what seems like an insanely long time, that is fierce. It's not mean or punishing, quite the opposite. The ferocity is meant to relieve suffering. By making me stronger, holding a pose for a long time helps to eliminate the potential hazards of not being strong (like getting injured). By enduring a challenging situation, you are then equipped to deal with future challenges with more grace and ease (and less suffering). I remember watching a documentary called "Fierce Grace" with Ram Dass. He had a stroke which caused him to lose faith and he realized the stroke was actually a stroke of fierce grace, something that rapidly and drastically opened his awareness and allowed him to become even more sensitive and gentle and loving. It's hard to think about intense and difficult things as an act of Grace, but ultimately the idea is to get you to hold yourself up... and to feel more freedom than suffering. So the next time I'm "forced" to hold a 5 minute squat, instead of getting pissed at the teacher, I'll think, "Hey, thanks for the fierceness; I feel better already."