Waking post 2

Part two of Waking by Matthew Sanford chronicles the journey from going home for the first time after the accident all the way to the end of his marriage with his first wife after college. This section is raw and personal. Sanford holds little back in telling his story. He allows us readers into his innermost thoughts and feelings of his adolescent body and mind. While reading, I felt his pain. I experienced with him the fear of becoming a quadriplegic. I felt his apathy when he layed once again in a hospital bed, waiting for feeling to return to his upper body. Once again, his writing drew me in, taking me on his journey with him.
Personal connect with this section if the book was different than the last. The last time, I felt lik ei had connections with very specific parts of his story. This time, I felt more of connection with the lost feeling he had during the years following his accident and rehabilitation. He had questions, but not enough, he said. He didn't know what he was supposed to be asking. One of the biggest questions that he was faced with was about healing.  What even is healing? How does it happen? Through what medium does it come? Is it all physical? Where does one even start to be healed emotionally from past events? Is that possible? Does anyone know? These are the questions I heard asked between the lines of Sanford's story. And, those are the same questions I find myself asking in my own life, especially recently. With my back, how do I fully get physically healed? What else do I need? I won't go too personal, because this will be on the internet, but I find myself searching the same way Sanford does.
As for yoga philosophy, this section is defined by its lack of any personal philosophy. Sanford elevates himself as a leader in his remaining middle school and high school years. Then in college, he keeps himself busy, counts himself as a ladies man, and is content with that until one day, reality of his situation hits. After this moment, he changes his major and begins to search. He doesn't know what his personal philosophy is. He doesn't know where he stands on life after death, on pleasure or pain. He begins his journey of healing; restoring life to his dead existence. In that same way, I find myself closing this chapter of college and starting a new phase of life soon. As I am looking back, I find myself seeing all of the stages I went through, all of the personalities, all of the beliefs, all of the passions. And, I look to right now, what do I choose to believe right now; where do I stand? I am anxious to see how Sanford tackles these questions in the next section of the book.
Lastly, I want to leave you with a quote from this section that I think will lead nicely into the last part of the book:
"Often I am asked what led me to eventually practice yoga. The answer is moments like this...These are the moments when somehow 'more' is catalyzed, more is felt and revealed. In believe that it is the silence that makes this possible. The silence that I carried within me brought into relief these otherwise ordinary moments. I believe that the silence can deepen our perception and holds a key to our consciousness." (92)