Circles

Lately I've been doing things in circles. Not just getting lost in the city and having to walk in several cirlces just to find a familiar landmark (but that hasn't happened in a while), and not just feeling like my head is spinning in circles from the amount of portuguese that I try to understand, and then realizing how much I already know. There have been other circles as well.

Take for example the capoeira roda. Here the group of jogadores stand in a circle around the two people brincando, clapping and singing in rythmn to the berimbau, tambourine, and bongos being played. Here its a circle of tradition- the songs are the ones sung in Bahia taken from the songs the slaves used to sing while practicing capoeira, the instruments are the same, and the movements have been passed down since the beginning of this art. The mestre of this capoeira school is really concerned about keeping with tradition and being in the spirit of capoeira, and will stop the roda if he thinks the participants aren't clapping hard enough, singing loud enough, or practicing with energy and an awareness of capoeira. In capoeira I sense a spirit of strength, revolution, willpower, and staying ability, and it is almost as intimidating as it is exhilirating to be a part of. I entered the roda for the first time of my own accord this week, and I am suprised now to realize that I wasn't as nervous as I thought I would be, and it was actually quite easy to forget the people standing around me and just let my body move to the beat of the chants.

On the completely other side of the spectrum, last week I participated in Sat Chakra (which is actually Sanskrit, not Brasilian!) with the members of the Yoga studio I have been frequenting. There, everyone sits in a circle and we focus on the energy that exists between those of us in the cirlce, the Grand Master himself, the masters all around the world, and all people who practice Yoga everywhere. In this circle we concentrate on the reliablity and amizade that exizts among the group of Yogins- on how we can count on others while be accountable for them as well. It was a really nice experience, and afterwards we ate some vegetarian food and chatted for a while.

I would also like to share something in particular that I witnessed a while ago while waiting for my bus one night. I was standing by a water meter (those square holes in the ground with an opening to a water pipe and covered by a metal top) conversing with a friend, when two street kids- they looked about 7 and 9, came up. They didn't ask for any change from us, and in fact hardly acknowledged our presence, but instead opened the water meter, turned on the water, and proceeded to scrub their face, hands, and feet! The elder made sure to tell his young companion to wash behind his ears and on his neck, as well, and watched to make sure he did as advised. They chatted lighly, the younger one making small high-pitched comments about how cold the water was, and once they were finished, they turned off the water, closed the lid, and skipped off- now all nice and clean. And I mean it when I say that they were skipping- the younger one was just having a grand time. I was really touched by their light-heartedness, and how much the older one, although still so young, was so helpful and taking such good care of his friend. It was an amazing and refreshing sight of life on the street, and I somehow couldn't feel completly bad for those kids who seemed to be, at least in that moment, so happy. It could have been seen on the National Geographic Channel, but I saw it in real life. And it was something I don't think I will ever forget.