I have been traveling around the U.S. talking to people about the cities they live in and why they love them. I am in Austin, my fourth city. I have been here for three weeks, and I just came to a realization about the removal of obstacles.

I was in East Side Yoga, looking around at the malas. I had just recently come to the idea that my practice, like my project, had been too restrictive, and as I opened myself up to the possibility of random occurrence, I began to see my project differently. I had decided to begin a meditation practice in earnest to expand on this shift.

I was reading the descriptions of the various types of malas, when I came across the description, “remover of obstacles”. I burst out laughing and picked up the mala the line had described. What a funny image, I thought. The only obstacle that has been in my way has been me.