.....single moments

Yogis,

Sending this out a little early before everyone dives head first into the holidays……………

I believe I was about 12.  Living in Georgia in a house on a wooded cul-de-sac.  We had a big finished basement where my friends and I spent much of our time.  One room with a shag carpet and a built in bar where we did quite a bit of dancing in our knee high go-go boots.  A family type room which was rarely used for some reason.  And finally one with a black and white checked carpet that held the ping pong table and my many generations of hamsters.

I can remember the moment like it was yesterday.  Our whole family was in that family room watching slides.  Remember them?  My dad would take pictures – everyday ones, events, trips – and they would be developed into slides which we would watch one by one on a screen that we set up. 

It was a simple picture of a neighborhood Siamese cat curled up asleep on our back deck.  He would do that often even though, or maybe because, my mom is not a fan of cats (animals always seem to know).  So this picture goes up and a small voice inside of me says ‘Notice this moment.  Notice what it feels like to be you.  You looking at this picture in this room at this age.  Remember this moment so when you are older you can see if “you” are the same.’……..or something to that effect. Time stood still.

It was as if the Universe scooped me up for that single moment in time to share a thought, and then set me gently back down into my 12 year old life so I could get back to writing the rules for the new girls club I was forming. I remember it so clearly.

When we look back through our lives what we remember most are the moments. Not the weeks, or trips or parties, or ceremonies…..but single moments within them. When time briefly stands still and life becomes vivid for just that moment. These may be the moments of pure joy or those of sudden overwhelming grief …..  But often they are ordinary moments that for some reason awakened us from our daze. The rest are more like a blurred swirl of colors and shapes which create a patchwork of your life.

So here we are in the holidays. All of the shopping and preparation is done. Everything we have been ‘getting ready for’ is now about to happen. Let’s awaken to at least one of the moments in this current swirl that is passing through.

Find one time in the midst of it all this week to stop. Completely. Close your eyes and notice your breath. Hear the sounds around you.  Open your eyes and ‘see’. Watch the slide of your life for just one moment. No thoughts. Simply being. Noticing what it is like to be ‘you’, at this age, in this place, watching. You observing you. 

Then go back and have some more pie.

I miss those go-go boots,
SARAH

....old man winter

Yogis,

No matter how many years fall turns to winter, it catches me by surprise every time. This was the week old man winter paid a sudden visit to our area. 

Thursday the temperatures plummeted. Friday began in the teens and only inched itself up into the twenties, with an unforgiving stiff breeze, and finishing off with a light coating of freezing rain. A walk around the block left my face and fingers numb. But he can be a little fickle. Saturday and Sunday brought balmy temperatures once more, but he is back in town this evening.  

It’s as if I got a tap on the shoulder and turned to find him winking at me. ‘You didn’t forget me, did you?’ he seems to say.  But the truth is I had. I had forgotten once again the bite he can deliver. That desire to dive back into bed and pull the covers up over my head.  No amount of layers keeping me from shivering.  

It reminds me of when I went into labor with my second son.  My first experience had been like most first births……. 24 hours long and amazingly painful. It took a few years for the memory to fade. Thinking I remembered what it felt like, but I didn’t. Which is why second and third children exist……  But that first labor pain with my second child was like the tap on the shoulder bringing it all rushing back in. ‘You didn’t forget me, did you?’ But honestly I had. 

This week in my Friday night ‘time for me’ as I stuck my body out the bedroom window I braced for the bitter cold.  I closed my eyes to breathe it in. As I opened them back up I noticed how once again, with all of the leaves down and the air so clear, I can see the houses that surround me.  Together the back of our homes form a circle with the woods as our center.  All of us with back walls comprised mainly of glass.  Close enough to be able to sense movement and life within each, but just far enough that none of us feel compelled to limit our view with any curtains.  A community – yet we haven’t met.  All waking each day to the same view and falling asleep to the same noises. When the leaves fill back in…..I  will once again forget. 

As I lean out, my heart racing, exhilarated by the cold on my skin I can hear the scamper of the fox playing. I know the squirrels are all burrowed deep in their nests high in the trees. I sense our small herd of deer will pass through soon. They too can now see us all. 

And old man winter is right in there smiling.  ‘Time for us all to get reacquainted’ he says with a wink. 

Now I remember,
SARAH

.....turning thing upside down

Yogis,

I was listening to an NPR podcast on my drive to the beach this weekend. It described how human nature is to respond in a complementary way to how words or actions are directed toward us. The whole ‘like attracts like’ idea. If someone is being kind to you, you are kind back. When someone is angry and hurls hostile words in your direction, you instinctively tense up and return the favor.

But they went on to talk about what is referred to as ‘noncomplementary behavior’.  Noncomplementarity. Acting in the reverse of what is expected in the situation and how this turns everything on its head. 

The story was of a group of friends having a casual evening outdoor dinner when an armed man makes his way in and points his shotgun directly at each of them demanding all of their money.  But they have none. What would you do next? Knowing this was not going to end well one of them calmly and warmly asks the man to join them for a glass of wine. He does and within a short time he is asking them for hugs and leaves without any violence.

When we respond in a complementary way, we charge the energy by adding in more of the same.   Feeding fire with fire.  Noncomplementarity however, acts as a diffuser sending the opposing charge and can suddenly neutralize the energy of the moment. Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Buddha, Jesus…….they all showed us this path. And since the election I have been reading stories of this in action as we all try to find the common ground. 

I was thinking what better time than the holiday season to put this into practice!  Traffic, long lines, corporate end of year, shopping and the inevitable tension it all builds spilling into our every day events.  How about turning it upside down by pouring in joy at times where that may be the furthest thing from the mind? Not easy but I am ready to look for opportunities to give it a try!

It requires first noticing the energy of reacting. That urge to ‘get back at’ or have the last word. Or even to remain silent but stew in the negativity. Then taking a conscious breath and shifting your emotions from frustration or anger to joy. Acting from a place of joy.

The person grumbling behind you in line …..offer to let them go in front of you.  The angry driver who has been tailgating you for the last 5 miles……pay their toll when you come to the booth.  The cashier who clearly isn’t having a good day and letting you know it…….look closer and find a kind word to share. The homeless man that you know is going to be at the corner, instead of crossing the street with your eyes down, come prepared with a sandwich. 

I am reminded of one holiday season when I carried some chocolate bars tied with red ribbons and handed them out randomly. I may have to bring that back.

This is about changing your own frequency when faced with adversity. Tuning into a new note and sending it out to others. Guiding the energy back to the common humanness that exists in every situation. 

Turning the world upside down…..one person at a time,

SARAH

.....nothing new

Yogis,

Hi!  “How are you?”   Good I respond.  

“What’s new?”   Uhmmmm….nothing really, I say. 

Sound familiar?  A standard conversation. Chit chat. Yet lately it is becoming a little too familiar for me……………………..

“What’s new with you?”  A simple question.

The old standby……jumping right into what’s new with the kids, what’s new at the company, what’s new in the house.  All great sharing, but what is new with me?

This past week as I had this very conversation yet again, for some reason it was as if I was observing it from afar.  Seeing myself doing a quick mental scan to find what was new and coming up with “no matches found”. And realizing that this had become a new norm. Suddenly I felt stuck. In a rut.  Like the needle in a record where the same line plays over and over and over.

We all know that with water when we place boundaries around it, restricting the inward and outward flow, it stagnates. It loses its life force. We are no different, and sometimes we too need a little plunging.  

You can feel when you are in life’s flow.  Letting go of the old is done with ease and each day offers new sights, sounds and sensations. When I am in this place I can’t wait to get up in the morning to see what the new day will bring and I am equally as excited to go to bed to dream about all that I experienced. Right now I am not feeling that.

I could say that nothing new has come my way, but that is a cop out. The Universe is an infinite provider of all that is new each and every moment of each and every day, but you have to be listening and have the gates open. For some reason, I am not listening. 

You know when you are having a discussion with someone and as they speak you are forming your entire response in your head.  You hear them but you aren’t truly absorbing any of  it since you already know what you believe and what you want to say. Notice it next time you are talking. Well, that is what I have been doing with the Universe right now.

Brand new ideas float by, people suddenly appear in your life, yet another brochure for that class you insist you are going to take some day arrives in the mail, someone suggests a book you may like, a new position opens at work………oh I don’t have time .….I can’t afford that….. I want to but……  All the typical artificial boundaries we erect at times which hold us cemented in place.  Often it is fear that keeps us in the comfortable, but that comfortable eventually begins to feel like a shirt that has shrunk a size or two. 

So I am telling the Universe ‘I am ready to move again!’ Asking for guidance. And listening.  Listening with my whole body for signs on which way to turn. 

As I walked out in the cold to the garden with new open eyes I spotted the bunny above nestled in under my mint. Animals are one of life’s many messengers so I looked up its meaning….

Rabbit:

“This is a very creative time for you, so it’s important to quickly take advantage of any opportunity that comes your way unexpectedly. You’ve been feeling sedate and lacking in vitality and want to perk yourself up”

NiceJ

An ‘open’ sign now placed on the crown of my head,
SARAH

.....a stick

Yogis,

Thanksgiving is a chance to pause and notice all of the amazing things around us to be grateful for, and I was most grateful to have my grandson share that with me over the long weekend at the beach.

All it took was a walk…………………….

He and I headed out for a simple walk around the block.  First order of business……find a stick.  There are endless possibilities for stick activities. We swept the leaves with them, brushed the mulch, used them for walking and stuck them in the ground. They are wonderful for hitting the bushes and holding high in the air, until eventually Phoebe grabs one and chews it to pieces.  

With tiny little feet forward movement is slow which provides the chance to notice all that is right around you.  Ahhhh acorns!  I demonstrated how to find the acorn ‘hats’ and put them back on.  Plump yellow marigolds still in bloom beckoned us to get down in the dirt to touch and smell. The brightly colored ‘For Sale’ sign in front of one home kept us put for a good 20 minutes.  Playing peek-a-boo behind it, pointing at the letters, and of course……drumming a beat on the metal top with our sticks.

I noticed again the beauty of a simple pinecone and as we looked up into the tree above us the red berries were thick and heavy.  Old tree stumps made for great climbing and if I weren’t keeping my eyes down in line with his I would never have noticed the stray tabby cat curled up in a leaf nest under the bush soaking up the sun.  A four foot piece of bamboo found on the side of the street worked great for both pushing and pulling with a little effort. 

Halfway around we stopped for a break, sitting on the curb to eat some grapes. We were quiet as we watched the squirrel antics in action.  Chasing, dodging, leaping and wrestling. That’s when we heard them.  Far in the distance at first.  As their chorus grew louder and louder, we looked up to see the geese flying overhead in a perfect V shape against a crystal blue sky.  

I am grateful that Johnny slowed me down. That I was able for that hour to see the world as he does…..with ‘childlike wonder’. On the spiritual path, many of the practices are intended to help us strip back the many layers that life has piled on in order to again see the world as a child. Seeing everything as if it is the first time. Limitless and pure. To be enjoyed, not conquered. Johnny gave me that gift this weekend. 

“Through the eyes of a child you will see the world just as it ought to be.”

                ~Unknown

Time to find another stick,
SARAH

.....chaos

Yogis,

This is how I choose to be this week………………..

This Buddha sits in the east corner of my back yard overlooking the fire pit. I refer to this Buddha as she since I sense such a feminine receptive energy when I am in her presence. The sun rises each morning over her left shoulder and illuminates her as it settles into the western sky. The moon too rises over her head and sets, as if bowing, at her feet. 

The wild raspberry bushes vine around her during their fruiting season and the tree stump on which she rests decays as the insects feast.  Leaves are now brushing her back as they float downward, and rain collects in her open palms.  Today the wind is howling around her and snow may soon cover her entirely. Thunder. Lightening.  All four seasons. The consistency of change.

And all the while she sits. Undisturbed.

What do you think?  Do you think this mean she doesn’t care?  That she sits passively by the side?  What do you see in her face?  Do you believe she will be taken advantage of…….  That she is not acting…….  Where is her anger? Why isn’t she doing anything?

But she is. 

I can see her from where I sit right now. When I look, what I see is courage. Compassion. Healing.  Surrender. If I become drawn from my center, one glance and I remember. 

Then my role is to go out and be that for one other person. So that they can be it for the next…….and the next…..and the next. 

Today I went to a two hour 5 Rhythms conscious dance event for the first time. It is based on awakening the five rhythms of the Universe that we each also carry in our body. Flow, Staccato, Chaos, Lyrical, Stillness.  At the end we all sat and the teacher shared.  She spoke of the chaos that many are feeling right now. Her words were ‘in chaos we must surrender. Only then do we uncover truth.’ 

We had just finished dancing that transition, but it’s so much more challenging out in the bright lights of life. We want to plan, do, act. But only when these are done from that still point in our center are they fruitful.  First we must experience the chaos. Surrendering to the sense of confusion and to the falling away of all that we were so certain that we knew.

But my Buddha already knows all this.  Can you see the small beginnings of her smile? She will keep reminding me……..and I will keep reminding you……..

Watch out for the quiet ones.   They can move mountains. 

Surrendering,
SARAH

.....duality

Yogis,

Where do I even begin…….

These past few weeks I have been sharing three of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali in class. The Yoga Sutras are considered somewhat of the bible for yoga.  Comprised of 196 short statements/sentences/sutras that together weave the entire picture of what yoga is at its very essence.  It begins by stating that yoga is “the stilling of the fluctuations of the mind”. Wait a minute!  Isn’t yoga about being able to put your foot behind your head?

Of all of the sutras, only 3 mention the asana practice. The physical yoga classes that we all go to.  And this week we worked with the final of those three sutras which offers us a glimpse into the power available from continued practice …..

II.48

From that

perfection of yoga posture,

duality, such as reacting to praise and criticism,

ceases

to be a disturbance.

How fitting a lesson for this week.

We live in a world of duality. Hot and cold, sad and happy, rich and poor, up and down, you and me. And it is this duality that causes us suffering. We attach emotions and judgments of good and bad, clinging to what we ‘like’ and reacting with anger or fear to that which we ‘dislike’. When I am praised my ego puffs up and I am riding high, only to deflate and crawl into a corner when criticized.  This has been a week of heightened duality with all of our pots stirred up. Divisions now even stronger – us vs them. The others. Good and bad.

How could this possibly not be a disturbance?????  But I am the one that suffers.

I went away for the weekend and did my best to not read a paper, not watch the news and only check Facebook a few times. I took walks. Lots of walks. On one of these walks, as the sun began sinking lower in the sky, its rays shone like a spotlight on the bench above. The bench called to me. ‘Come and sit a while.  Listen.’  I sat.  First I heard my breath. Then I noticed how quiet everything was.  Calm.  Such a contrast to all of the noise going on right now.  So much noise. Too much noise. 

In front of me was a small lake and on it were thirty geese. Twenty of them in one group and the other ten in another group about 20 feet away. Then one duck all by himself. Separate. Them, him and us.  Yet all floating silently. No name calling. The water holding them all the same. Not disturbed by their differences. At peace.

Right now, regardless of which group you are in, or if you are the lone duck there is this sense of duality. Separate. States no longer United.  Yet at our center we aren’t. We are all human. We all have fears, longings, beliefs and dreams. Families, holidays, jobs, chores and bills.  All held by this same earth. All breathing the same air. All a spark of the divine. 

I personally don’t choose to believe that half of our country is ‘dumb’, ‘hateful’, or ‘crazy’.  That is our distaste for duality showing its face.  In fact I realize that I have been living in a bit of bubble to not have had any inkling of how separate and unheard half of our population feels. It makes me sad. I truly don’t understand, but have I tried? The message that keeps coming to me is – ‘Open up and listen. There is still much work to be done.’

So where do we go from here? Anger, verbal assaults and labeling others may make us feel better for a while, but will keep this gaping wound open. Healing will take the courage to get quiet and listen within. Pulling forth the values each one of us hold and living them. Seeing what we want and visioning that world vs all the talk of what we don’t want. Getting involved to reach out and make a difference. Supporting causes that we believe in. Compassionate action that includes vs hurtful divisive reaction that rips the tear further. 

The same moon that I watched rise tonight over the ocean will shine on you, the geese, the duck and every human in these United States. These times ahead may not be easy, but I will remember the messages from the lake and will not be disturbed. I have a life to live and others to embrace……..I see and know what I want and will walk the path forward strongly with complete faith.

Arms around all of you,
SARAH

.....the leaves

Yogis,

Anyone else feel like this?  To me, the day after the clocks turn back feels eternally long.  As if 5 hours were tacked on, not a mere 1.  It starts in the morning after I have “slept in” until 8 and drags on from there.   In the afternoon I glance to the clock sure it will say 3 and its only 1. By 5:00 the sun has set and by 7, well……… I begin to wonder if it is too early to go to bed.

Up until today I am able to pretend that fall will go on forever with winter only some crazy far-fetched idea. But this shift of the clock is a stark reminder. Change is a coming. Where are those fuzzy slippers?

Today I watched a leaf fall from a tree. Then another, then another and then another……  How does a tree make it looks so easy?  With grace and ease it simply lets the leaf go.  The leaves have served their purpose and they must be released so that the tree’s energy can begin its journey back down.  Back into its roots. Where for months it will lie in wait, gathering nourishment until the time comes to rise again and burst forth, creating new life.  

The plants too know when it is time to let go. Flowers don’t have an attachment to their beauty, as they allow their blossoms to brown and shrivel, exposing the seeds that will soon fall to the earth.  The herbs feel no pressure to remain upright, and any remaining vegetables on the vines are not ashamed to simply rot in place and return from where they came.

The birds leave town and the chipmunks have buried enough seeds and nuts to get them through a couple of years in case somehow spring gets delayed. Their social life abruptly comes to an end as they pull some leaves over their burrow opening, almost like a ‘closed for the season’ sign at the beach. Even the sun lays low in the sky no longer feeling compelled to take center stage. 

Fall is a death. A necessary one that provides us all the chance to let go as elegantly as the example the nature around us provides. The exhale that follows the tremendous inhale of spring and summer.  A time to reflect on what leaves we have that should be dropped. Leaving us room to nourish our own roots over the winter which will give rise to that which we choose to create in the light of spring.

Occasionally someone asks me how my neck is doing.  My rote answer is always that it is about 95% healed.  The 5% being the tightness I still often feel in my upper back.  No pain, but there whispering in the background.  Quite livable.  But how often do we do that?  Where we settle for ‘good enough’ after a healing.  Not only physical, but emotional healings as well.  But then over the years all of those little ‘good enoughs’ that we have learned to live with pile up. I don’t want this to be one of them.  And for as long as it is present, it takes up room for new growth. 

The back body is our past.  What’s behind us.  And because it is in the rear view mirror in our constantly forward driving lives, it often goes unnoticed.  I’m sensing that some leaves back there have died and I haven’t allowed them to fall. So I watch the trees. Their steadfastness and calm. The way they move from season to season so effortlessly. What am I clutching so tightly in my back body for fear that if I let it go I may lose it?

This change of seasons gently prods all of us to pick back up in the letting go department.  The imagery I use as I close my eyes is of leaves floating lightly through air as they descend down my back.  One, after another, after another……….

The trees are about to show us how lovely it is to let dead things go…………..

                ~Unknown

Exhaling,
SARAH

......the election

Yogis,

As the election begins to draw to a close, I reflect.  I felt the tension in the air, saw the worry so heavy on those around me, heard the harsh words and tasted the bitterness.  But as with everything in this journey of life there is another side.  The teaching and growth that inevitably comes from a challenge.  Even from this one…….

“Hate” was a word so casually thrown around these last several months.  We uncovered within ourselves, our country and our world the divisions that still remain among us.  Color, gender, religion, economic status, appearance.  So deeply rooted that we must keep unearthing and shining a light on each of them, for hate grows from fear, and fear revels in the dark.  Every action we take, every word we speak comes from one of two wells buried deep within……love and fear.  Only when we draw them to the surface – when we voice them out loud - can fear be calmed and love wrap its arms around it.  The election did the digging and shone some mighty spotlights providing us the gift of seeing.  Resist the urge to bury them back down.  Let’s step closer and look.

During this same time the new African American History museum was unveiled in DC.  I have listened to those who have visited. Whites, for once in the minority, as they travel together with those of color, witnessing our combined history. From the early days of slavery to our current president….yet we have so far to go.  Fear of differences.  Fear of the unknown.  Let’s step closer and look into each other’s eyes. 

A video arrives in my path that highlights the greed we all have for more, which must be fed with oil.  The Native Americans desperately trying once again to keep their ground sacred as bulldozers clear the path to make way for the Dakota pipeline.  “It's about our rights as native people to this land. It's about our rights to worship. It's about our rights to be able to call a place home, and it's our rights to water.”  Friday I see we are arresting them.  Instead we should be embracing them as their elders hold much wisdom on honoring the earth.  Another unveiling. Let’s step closer to listen. 

And because one of the candidates happens to be a woman, I watched as the continued, yet often unconscious stifling of women was brought to the forefront.  Interruptions, analysis of her appearance and whether she smiles enough. Not only by men……no we do it to each other as well.  Yet here we sit at the brink of change.  Excitement for some and fear for many others.  Fear showing its face as hate.  No longer discussed behind the curtain but out in the world for all to see.  Instead of pushing it away, let’s step even closer to feel that.   

Perhaps the day will come where we can all be who we are without fear.  As a woman I have leaned into my femininity, letting go of the fear of being perceived as weak.  I welcome these raw discussions and rants we have all watched as they cause us to face what we believe.  What we then do with it is up to each of us.  I choose not to fear, but to live fully in my female power of intuition, of compassion, of sensuality, of creativity, of kindness because it is my strength…..not a weakness.  My birthright.

“Come down here so I can kill you, the man said to the moon, for you have stolen my wife. The moon laughed. Every woman is my wife first, he said. So in fact you stole this wife from me. This only made the man angrier and he climbed the tree to the highest branch and pulled at the raffia string. It would not move so he began to climb the string toward the moon. Soon his arms grew heavy and though he had climbed far from the tree he still was no closer to the moon. Let go now, the moon said. And the man, who had no more strength left, let go and fell directly into his canoe and paddled home to share his wife, as all men did, with the moon.” 

― Lily King, Euphoria

Let us all let go and share this incredible space we live in with each other.

Standing under the spotlight of the moon,
SARAH

.....her arrival

Yogis,

It arrived.  I am not sure of the exact moment.  Perhaps it was while I slept.  But there is no mistake…….it has come.

Fall.

The calendar told us that fall began on September 21, but nature has her own calendar.  One that shifts and flows with her whims. But here on the east coast fall arrived and settled herself in over these last couple of days.

Thursday I was wearing a tank top, hair up and barefoot as I trimmed the garden. Today finds me in jeans, long sleeves and sneakers, as my feet sadly say goodbye to the earth for a while. The blanket has been put back on the bed and the wide open bedroom window has been lowered to a crack.

She rode in on the gusty winds.  Over one afternoon the car was blanketed in pine needles and the endless fall game of ‘pick up sticks’ began in earnest.  Natures pruning.  Leaves which were still deep green early this week suddenly became tinged with yellow, orange and scarlet…….a preview of what lies ahead.  Each step I take now crackles with dried leaves and acorn shells.  And each morning I find the piles of dirt dug out from my potted plants as the squirrels try to remember where the heck they hid those nuts. The pumpkin ales which have been on the shelves for several weeks now, finally appear appealing. 

One of my favorite experiences in the coming of fall are the dense flocks of blackbirds that migrate through my property. Hundreds, perhaps thousands arrive all at once darkening the sky.  Landing in the trees, shaking out the acorns. Squawking and flapping the noise is deafening. As soon as I hear them in the distance I run out to be in their midst.  It feels as if a cyclone has arrived. Then just as quickly they take off leaving behind a sense of quiet and emptiness. They know fall is here.

Fall is the drying season. You can see that clearly in the leaves and plants, but you can also feel it in your skin.  Time to bring back out the sesame and coconut oils to lather on.  The season to begin putting more warmth and substance into the diet. A move from raw to cooked, from light foods to those with substance. Stews and soups. Curries. An afternoon cup of tea. 

Oh, I almost forgot.  One more sure sign of the coming of fall (..ahem) is when these guys begin to rise from my mulch pile……………….no words necessary.

Fall is here.  I can hear, smell and taste her.  Welcome!

Butternut squash soup tonight,
SARAH

......feeling life

Yogis,

I went.  I experienced.  I noticed.  I loved.  Greece.  Aaaaahhhhhhh………………..

I have spent these last few days in the firestorm of re-entry, feeling the tension slowly finding its way back into my shoulders.  I close my eyes to remember.  Breathing and reopening my senses. What did I ……..

See……..

Sunsets so spectacular that no human could possibly imagine such a thing existed if they hadn’t witnessed one.  Thank you Universe! The lighting of the Parthenon from a rooftop restaurant as the sky turned pink.  Stunning red cliffs.  Barren hills. What I didn’t see….policemen.

Smell……

Donkey.  Wherever I ventured in Santorini it was clear when I was getting close. Earthy. Real. Spices. Lit candles in the churches.  A variety of olive oil soaps as I selected my favorite one.

Taste…….

More Greek salads in one week then I believe I have had in my life.  Each with its own subtle variation in flavor.  Feta. Olives. Honey. The saltiness of the Mediterranean.  A shot of grappa at lunch courtesy of the waiter.  My late afternoon cappuccino fredos. Crazy Donkey beer.

Hear……

A bird that sings in the middle of the night as I lie there hoping to at some point actually sleep.  Ringing church bells as I open my eyes on Sunday.  Greek.  Lots of Greek.  And since I speak not one word of the language, while the vendors talked at me as I strolled by, their voices became more of a serenade.  It allowed me to hear without listening. What I didn’t hear…..any honking of horns even in rush hour. The sound of civilized traffic.

                                                                                                                                 

Feel…….

The exhilaration of a pack of mules thundering past me as I flattened myself against the wall, their tails brushing me as the earth beneath shook.  The warmth of the people.  Their disbelief of our current election. The burning of my quads and pounding of my heart as I walked the final steps of a 550 step climb.  The buoyancy of floating on my back.  The heat of the sun.  The speed of the taxi rides as laws such as speeding are not enforced (ah yes….no policemen)

Can I remain as open to sensation here, back in my daily schedule?  I am setting this as my intention.  To lie in bed each night, close my eyes and remember what I saw, heard, smelled, tasted and felt that day.  To experience life by living it with all of my senses.  Not allowing all of the ‘doing’ and ‘thinking’ to shut out the intensity of feeling. 

Well tonight will be easy.  My friend is in town and treated me to a morning at the Korean Spa.  Now that’s a true deep dive into sensation.  Lying there with a towel covering only my eyes, being scrubbed from head to toe (including places I didn’t even know I had), doused with hot water and lathered with scented oils I thought to myself……yes I am most certainly alive!

What did you experience today?  Close your eyes and remember. 

Hello full moon,
SARAH

......bathing in being

Yogis,

Greece, here I come! The bags are packed and the Uber app is downloaded (am I the last one on earth?).  Ready to fly out shortly for eight glorious days.

A trip prompted by my college roommate stationed in Athens for three years. With each assignment she has had over the years, I hoped to visit and never made it happen. But this time I visualized, said aloud I was going and then took the leap. Picked a date and booked the flights. 

Then it was time to plan the trip.  Various suggestions came my way.  A three day bus trip to several archaeological sites.  A day long ferry that visited three islands.  Mykonos, Crete, Delphi, Rhodes……. All must sees. I began feeling overwhelmed.  Picturing getting up each day to rush to some form of transportation to get me to my next destination.  Buses, planes and boats. Looking at and hearing a lot of history and then dropping into bed at night. It didn’t feel right.

We settled on having only two locations so we can unpack and stay. Athens and Santorini. Ok, first decision made. But then what?

The last few weeks have gone by. I thought maybe I should buy a book on Greece. Trip Advisor could tell me what I shouldn’t miss. I could call friends who have gone. But I did nothing. Nothing. Everyone I told about the trip has asked what we are going to ‘do’ there.  I had no answers.

It finally hit me. I don’t want to ‘do’ Greece.  I want to ‘experience’ Greece.  I want to soak in her energy. 

My life at home requires quite a bit of doing so it takes consistent conscious effort to find the space for experiencing. Reserving the sacred time each day to live life as a human ‘be-ing’. When deep in the ‘doing’ the senses dull. When bathing in ‘being’ they bloom to become the gateway to experiencing life.

So I leave with no plans. No expectations. I want to rise when it feels right. Wander the streets and the shops. Sit in the cafes. Smell the olive oils and cheeses and float at least once in the Mediterranean Sea.  Climb the steps and sit in the temples. A blank canvas lies ahead on which the colors, smells, tastes and sounds will weave together to create a feeling sense. I want to feel Greece. 

So there will be no post next Sunday as I will still be there……perhaps eating a Greek salad and watching the sunset.

Greece, here I come,
SARAH

......falling down

Yogis,

I have fallen a few times this year.  Fortunately they all resulted  in some minor scrapes, bumps and a bruised ego, but no major issues (thank you yoga!!) Falling is part of life. It happens to all of us. 

As kids we fall all of the time. Having three sons I learned that falling can even be an art, practiced over and over in front of an adoring audience. Children fall with grace and humor. Falling as an adult is lot less elegant. Thud.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GrOSwCTXGqg   (some good falls in this one)

I was thinking about this as on my morning run.  The fact that I am aging and will eventually down the road be referred to as ‘old’.  And older people are always told to – be careful.  Yikes. The vision of living ‘carefully’ each day is not one that gets me leaping out of bed in the morning.  I prefer to believe the path forward is living ‘mindfully’.

Careful vs Mindful.  What exactly is the difference?

Careful - making sure of avoiding potential danger, mishap, or harm; cautious (synonyms – beware, wary, on guard, watch out)

Mindful – conscious; aware of something; present (synonym – watchful, respectful, observant)

One of my falls was while running with Phoebe. We were passing another dog on a leash and I was pulling her toward me while she strained in the other direction. One of her feet and one of mine became tangled and down I went.  Hello pavement! After that incident my well-meaning concerned friends told me to ‘be careful’. 

That gives me two options. Don’t run in the dark with Phoebe or be attentive to danger while heeding my every step. Neither one works for me. But being mindful does. Being present and aware, not lost in thought. Being more in tune with her movements and energy.  Noticing where my feet strike the earth.  ‘Careful’ to me feels heavy and suggests fear of possibilities, where ‘mindful’ hints at wide awake and knowing. Neither one will eliminate our spills but each lends a different life feeling tone when we are upright. 

My 90 year old mother-in-law has also had some falls. Unfortunately hers did result in some broken bones. Everyone keeps cautioning her to ‘be careful’. Don’t do this, call help for that, stop going there. She nods but then continues on with life.  I have watched and talked to her. She shares that she is fine and knows what feels right and what doesn’t. Taking her time. Respecting her body’s new limitations.  I watch her make her way to the kitchen to make a cup of coffee and I quickly offer to carry it back to the couch for her – wanting her to ‘be careful’.  “No thank you dear, I can do it”  And she does……  Mindfully.  She has chosen living over worry. 

I walk barefoot……be careful they say.  I spend time in the woods…..be careful they say. I don’t wear bug spray….be careful they say.  I talk to the fox….be careful they say.  I don’t lock my car…..be careful they say. I trust people…..oh boy, be careful they say. 

Should I be careful who I fall in love with – or - be mindful of how much love I have to share and shine it out on all.

A mindful life or a careful life?  Which do you choose?

I’ll take one of the mindful thank you,
SARAH

.....pinwheels

Yogis,

Lately pinwheels have been appearing in my life.  You know…….the ones we were given at the beach and birthday parties. Fourth of July and pool events. You blew them or held them to the wind to start them spinning.

                                                                                                             

The main street in our small town underwent a widening project last year that was somewhat unsuccessful. A grass median was redone which separates the road from the walking path.  The unintended consequence was the dirt used was too soft and we had torrential rains in both fall and spring, so it became a mud pit. Filled with weeds and tire tracks (it always amazes me how many cars use grass medians to turn around on or run over). 

Finally it was redone once again and this time small metal poles were stuck along the edge to discourage ‘off-roading’. Still a bit of an eyesore. So some underground town helper has been placing pinwheels into the tops of the poles. Pinwheels with sparkles.

On my morning runs I pass this stretch of the road. It is dark, quiet and still, but if a car happens by or a breeze blows the pinwheels begin to spin one by one until the whole row is glistening. 

My teaching of the spiritual path uses the chakras as its foundation. Chakras are spinning energy centers that run along an energy line in front of the spine from the tailbone to the crown of the head.  Each one unique in its function and effect on our health, emotions, mental wellbeing and ability to connect to our own soul and to the Universe. I realized this week that they are quite similar to pinwheels.

Remember how after you had a pinwheel for a few days it inevitably got bent or out of line with the stick? No matter how hard you blew it would never again find the ease it had when you first held it up. It became stuck.

The same thing happens in our chakras. When the earth chakra spins too slow we feel ungrounded and unsafe.  If our water center isn’t flowing we don’t feel good in our skin. Fire energy can cause us to harbor anger and low heart energy makes us distrustful and closed. Too much talking from uneven throat energy and trying to think our way through this mystery of life instead of ‘seeing’ and receiving the unseen outside sources guiding us along the way. We become stuck.

But when we do the internal work to have all of these energy centers aligned and spinning freely, we too glisten!  All it takes is a small breeze of breath to blow for life to feel effortless. 

I am leading “Fall into Meditation” this month, and meditation is one of the many practices, along with asana (yoga postures), pranayama (breath practice), mantra (chanting) and self-care that keep our pinwheels spinning in the wind.  And they also keep others from ‘off roading’ over us :)

Sparkling,
SARAH

......room for all

Yogis,

I spent my final summer vacation at our beach place in Rehoboth.  For those of you not familiar with Rehoboth, it is a small town on the Delaware shore.  A main street lined with eclectic shops and restaurants take you from the edge of town to the beach.  The beach itself is bordered by a mile long boardwalk complete with small rides, games, ice cream and of course, the famous Thrashers fries.  It is often referred to as “The Nations Summer Capital” being the closest beach to downtown DC. 

But it also has another reference.  The word ‘Rehoboth’ is in the book of Genesis and some have translated it to mean “room for all”.  And so it is……………….

We have owned our cottage there for 15 years now and I have always noticed something unique about the town, but for some reason this year it played out for me in Technicolor. You see the Rehoboth beach and boardwalk offer some of the best people watching around. The diversity brought in on the daily busses is amazing.

Every color is represented.  Every imaginable size and shape. Rich and poor. Infants through the old timers who meet with sneakers on to do their daily walk.  Preppy attire, teenagers with the low riding pants, and the Amish in their humble and modest long dresses and caps, right next to the girls in the tiny shorts. Generous amounts of piercings and tattoos. Languages from across the world spoken as pizza is ordered and  don’t forget the large gay population.  Amidst this sea of humanity are men holding hands and women couples beaming with pride. Throw in a smattering of transgender individuals and you get the picture. 

Yet in my 15 years there I have never seen as much as a harsh word, jostling, shoving, taunting or teasing.  Zero. How is that possible? One may say it is because it is the beach and everyone is having fun, but I would challenge that I have been to other diverse beach towns where once the sun begins to set the energy changes. Or where they have clear police presence to keep the peace, while Rehoboth police, when you do see them are in a beachy looking uniform with no visible weapons other than perhaps a stick. In fact their mode of transportation is most often bikes. 

In a country right now that is expressing such intolerance to anyone ‘not like me’, how refreshing it is to see the clear joy in a gay young man’s face because he has a place where he can be free to be exactly who he is.  Isn’t that what we all want? Shouldn’t that be a basic human right? That there is “room for me”  and for you, and for you, and for you.

Rehoboth has a unique and wonderful energy.  Perhaps it is because it was originally established as a spiritual/religious center by a man who saw it in his dream and set out to find it. Or maybe the energy was always there and that’s what called to him as he slept.  Whatever the origin, let’s all find a way to bottle it and bring it to our workplaces, shopping centers and government.  Because there truly is “room for all”.

Two slices for me please,
SARAH

.....sweeping

Yogis,

Thursday’s yoga practice.  I’m lying on my back.  I’m in bridge pose on the beach house deck when I notice the dead wood in the tree above that watches over me while I practice.  I will have to get to that. Time to call the tree guy.  Some cleaning out is needed!

Two days later tropical storm Hermine blew in bringing with her some gusty winds.  Boom!!  What was that?  As I peer out the back, broken limbs are now scattered on the deck where I once lay.  Mother Nature doing her own housekeeping.  Pruning, thinning and clearing out that which no longer serves her.  No need for the phone call…..just a broom.

At home I have a front porch.  It collects leaves, bugs, spider webs, dust and pine needles.  It too needs cleaning.  So I keep a broom out there.  Often I will go out to  sweep.  Sweeping to one side. Sweeping to the other side.  Methodically moving back and forth until it all looks clear.  Fresh and new.  Out with the old and in with the new.

The next day….it looks like I was never out there. Covered again. The tree and the porch are like our mind.  

The dirt, leaves, dead wood and pine needles are life.  Deadlines, misunderstandings, ailments, traffic and unfulfilled longings.  Shame, an old resentment.  All piling up until we feel unclear.  All taking up space not leaving much room for the new.  In need of a broom.

Wind is Mother Nature’s broom.  The breath is our broom.  The inhale moves everything up to one side.  The exhale moves it down to the other.  Methodically moving it back and forth until everything is gathered up and can move out.  Leaving us free and clear.

Meditation is this sweeping of the mind.  Noticing the dead wood and the dirt that has built up in the hidden corners.  Choosing to sweep those out with breath.  To let them go.  Free and clear after each session so that the new can pour in. 

Mother Nature does this so naturally.  Us…not so much.  She doesn’t hesitate to sweep out what is stagnant (including us if we don’t shape up and start treating her with a little more reverence.)  With a sudden gust of wind, a torrent of water, a blazing fire or a powerful shake she lets things go.  Out with the old and in with the new.

Life builds up.  I sweep it out with breath each day as I sit.

Aaaaahhhhhhh………………..
SARAH

.....an ode to change

Dear Change,

Why, oh why do I resist you……You have been the sole unchanging partner in my walk through life, yet I forget. Your turns often catch me unguarded and your closeness at times can smother.  But without you there would be no me. So I humbly offer these words. 

Each day you pay your visits in unexpected ways.  My Friday night yoga class evolves from 1 ½ hours, to 1 ¼ hours, to 1 hour.  Sigh.  The new teachers come and as I become attached, they move on.  I head out after class for dinner to discover they no longer serve my favorite olives.  Yes….there you are one step ahead. Alright, I will have the blue cheese. Weeks later that too is gone. 

At other times I scream your name and insist on your immediate attention. Fix my neck. Change the light to green.  Take this grief from me now. But you don’t work that way. You have your own rhythm. A current.  I can hear it when I get quiet. The hum of the Universe. 

As a women you and I are on intimate terms.  You carried me as a young girl over the bridge from maiden to mother…..and now you are hard at work transforming me from mother to crone.  The blood comes and the blood goes.  I wake in the middle of night to feel you there.  The tossing and turning, dreams, heat.  I resist.  Not me.  No, I won’t age. But you know better. ‘Let go’ you whisper. Change. 

I see you in action as I watch my friends drop their youngest off to college. Marriages beginning and others ending. The yellowing of the corn stalks, the freshly spun spider webs that catch me on my morning run and even in the new Pokemon game (which I still don’t understand). None good or bad.  You, change, simply are. 

When I struggle against, testing like a toddler, you won’t push back. No that is not your style. With my out of tune note you let me sing loudly until I can hear myself so I can tune in.  When in harmony we make beautiful music together. Taking that current of change and shaping it into something new. Something brilliant.

Suddenly I remember how much I love you.  For without change, the cucumber seeds I so lovingly set in the soil would not sprout and produce such an abundance of cucumbers that I give them as gifts.  And unless I stood back to let my boys spread their wings and fly away, I would never feel the joy of holding a newborn grandson.  And winter…..would never become spring.

Ahhhhhh……..change.  Because of you every day is amazingly different. Each moment unique. Every breath precious. I am thankful to you change…..when I remember.

“Just when the caterpillar thought the world was over, it became a butterfly.”

                ~A Proverb

A new me every day,
SARAH

....a storm

Yogis,

I have always loved weather.  Heat, wind, snowstorms, lightening and heavy rain. I love them all. They don’t scare me.  To the contrary they make me feel alive and remind me that for all the planning and organizing I do, there are much greater forces at work around me.  Thank goodness. 

There is nothing like a good thunderstorm to awaken the senses. The other evening I could hear one off in the distance so I headed out to snuggle into the rocker on the front porch. Every so slowly it approached with its flashes of light and distant rumble. The anticipation of it like climbing that first big hill on a roller coaster.  The temperature drops.  Leaves begin to sway and fat rain drops fall from the sky.  The smell of rain. Then in an instant the wind roars in like a freight train swaying even the largest oaks and with it come the sheets of rain, now blowing sideways. 

I move from the chair to place my back against the house wall to get out of the rains path as I don’t want to go in quite yet.  A lightening crack makes the hair on my arms stand tall and then finally…….the deep boom that shakes the earth.  The reverberation entering through my feet and rising until it reaches my heart. Cracking it open. I close my eyes to feel. The storms power now within me. Waiting, hoping it will happen again. 

The torrential rain that follows provides a sense of heaviness.  Like the plants in the yard, I feel the rains incredible strength pushing me firmly into the ground.  Feeling my weight and watching. 

And then it moves on.  Leaving a sudden sense of calm and stillness behind in its wake.  For a moment the world is quiet.  One by one the birds begin to chirp once again .  Animals come out of hiding.  The cicadas resume their song.  A plane flies overhead and I go back to my evening.  She came and she went.  Blowing through with might. Asking us all to pause and notice. For no matter how separate we are, when the storm rolls through we experience it as one.

Weather, and storms in particular, are a great reminder that I am not in charge. That I am safe.  That it's ok let go of the handlebars at times and ride with my hands in the air.  Maybe it’s the very fact that I can’t be in charge that releases me to feel free to be swept into her fierceness and enjoy this ride of life. 

And the icing on the cake is when the sun paints a rainbow in the storms honor………

She’s a thunderstorm wrapped in beautiful flesh, looking to be felt and understood in a world that loves sunny days.

                ~JM Storm

Boom,
SARAH

.......an onion

Yogis,

I love onions!  Most dishes done on my stovetop have their beginning with me sautéing the onions.  My summer salad combinations made with cucumbers from my garden, tomatoes, beans, peppers and feta almost always include some finely sliced vidalias or red onions. Onions in soups and onions in sandwiches.  Therefore I slice and chop a lot of onions!

And the first thing you notice about an onion is how many layers it has……………………

Right now in class we are noticing and awakening the energy of our third eye center.  Ajna chakra.  Our ability to ‘see’ without the use of the physical eyes.  Shining the light within and seeing truth.  Shining the light outward to connect with all that is.  So I have chosen to lead Yin type classes as an aide.  The more widely known yoga styles are Yan – active movement with breath, opening, lengthening and strengthening our muscles.  Building internal heat to create change.  Yin yoga, on the other hand, is receptive.  Coming into a position and letting go to stay there for several minutes.  Letting go of the muscles to tend to the layers beneath – the ligaments, fascia and tendons.  Letting go of trying.  Opening new channels for energy to flow. 

Going in.  Because we, like the onion, have many layers.  Physical layers of course, but more importantly emotional and mental layers.  All that is held within.

As I have been doing the Yin practice myself I am recognizing some of the layers that have to be attended to before the journey deeper can even begin. Like the skin. The skin is that outer layer that everyone sees and believes is you!  What you wear, how you move, what you say.  But in truth that is simply the role you have chosen to play in this theater we call life. And it is easy to toughen that skin up where no one…. not even you…..can glimpse what lies beneath.  Have you ever cut into a perfect looking onion, only to find the inside not so perfect?  So as I sink into a pose and begin to settle I release ‘Sarah’ to instead feel my body and the mat beneath it.  Feeling my humanness.  Ever so gently peeling back the skin. 

The next layer is my thoughts. Oh boy are they racing.  “I like this pose…..I hate this pose….I don’t think I am doing this right…….my hip is uncomfortable……I should move……..has it only been one minute…..my nose itches……I’m thirsty…….what should I make for dinner tonight……I’m not getting a workout………when is this practice going to be over.”   This thick layer also contains the ‘what others think of me’ which is omnipresent.  That is a tough one to relax.  I stay.  Oh, there is my breath.  That steady teacher that guides the way in whenever, wherever I choose to watch. Whenever I am willing to surrender the reins to a force larger than me. 

As I begin to soften my jaw and let the muscles take a much needed break there is an unmistakable melting feeling.  A traveling inward. The thoughts, while still there, seem further away.  Softer.  With a little distance I can now see them and realize they aren’t me.  I haven’t stopped my thoughts I have moved beyond them so they are now a layer above me. 

And so it goes.  Layer by layer.  Each one challenging in its own way.  Some shouting for us to put back on that skin so we don’t have to feel.  Coming to the layer we all have that is tinged with sadness.  Not an easy one to sit with.  But sit we must.  The layers of self-worth, longing and trust.  Staying in each one even with the discomfort…. and the uncomfortable hip. Letting them be what they are.  Each layer drawing us closer to the center. Our core. Whole, safe, fulfilled and at absolute peace. The inner stillness.  Me. 

And it’s Me that wants to meet You.

Let’s shed our skin sometime,
SARAH

......going

Yogis,

I love August!  Most Washingtonians flee this town in August, but I always want to be right here.  Everything slows way……down. Since everyone else is gone there is less traffic, fewer emails and plenty of room at the bar.  The vibration of human busyness is replaced by one of my favorite sounds….the drone of the August insects. 

It is a virtual symphony.  The bass notes underplaying the ones who hold the consistent beat, overlaid by the ones with the sporadic staccato notes.  When you get still and listen, just like a song, there are points where they build into a crescendo, reaching the peak and then slowly settling back into a steady rhythm.   I wake to them, spend time in my garden with them, work with my windows open to hear their song, and fall asleep to their tune.  But you can not only hear their voices, you can feel them.  Their frequency so in tune with the August heat and the harvest of the garden.  I am drawn to them.  I sit still and soak it all in…..mixing their vibration with mine. 

I am drawn to them……..

What does that mean to be ‘drawn’ to something?  It certainly isn’t something that comes from the mind.  Not something that is thought out. To me it feels like the energy of a magnet. Something or someone out there is vibrating at a frequency that either I want to feel or that I resonate with. The sensation of wanting to lean in. 

This week a received a ‘Note From The Universe’ in my inbox that said:

When you are drawn to something……Go!  That is me (the universe) speaking to you.

Go!  So I went. 

For this past year I have been hearing stories from all of my ‘river rat’ friends about the sheer joy they feel when they are on the water. Although I go to the river often, sitting on its banks and usually receiving the gift of incredible insights, I don’t leave the shore. I am a fish when it comes to a swimming pool, but more of a cat when it involves water with current or waves.  A fear I developed quite young after being knocked down by waves on several occasions. That feeling of being pushed down against my will causes me to panic that in one more second I am going to have to inhale the water. So I have avoided water sports.

The email was sitting there staring me in the face.  Yes, I am drawn to the water.  But ‘going’ often means having to step out of the comfort box, or doing something that is not ‘expected’ from you. Maybe it isn’t logical or doesn’t fit in with where you thought your life was heading.  But the feeling of being drawn is unmistakable.  And I did just write that it was time to face this one fear in particular.  So without any additional thought I found a stand up paddle board class on the river and went. Go!

And there I was.  On my knees on the board in the middle of the river and I stood up.  My knees shaking.  My breath shallow. But I was up.  An hour later I was finding my rhythm and could actually look around and see what I had been hearing so much about.  The osprey landed near us.  Kayakers and rafters yelled their hellos.  It was awesome. Another whole world with its own vibration.  

Now back at home I am once again surrounded by the August song.  A wee bit more open now to see what else I am drawn to.  What other frequencies are singing my song? Kayaking perhaps?

Going,

SARAH

.....the view from afar

Dear Yogis,

Arriving home from a week at the beach! 

As I exit the highway and begin weaving my way into the neighborhood, slowly winding up our hilly street, I am suddenly surrounded by green.  The trees and bushes dense and lush.  The car shaded by a thick canopy as if I am entering the forest.  Such a sharp contrast to the barren landscape of sand dunes, sea grass and cacti that line the Outer Banks.  So much life here.  Every year I notice it but every year it surprises me. 

Seeing what I wouldn’t notice if I hadn’t stepped away……..

Vacations are a wonderful time for reflection.  Plucked out of our normal environment and routine we can sometimes see things we otherwise couldn’t.  I have been watching this week and here is some of what I spotted.  Many just affirmations of what I already knew and others reminders of tweaks I may want to consider.

The first is that I don’t look up enough. I love the dirt and the stones and the wild weeds so much that I am always scanning the ground……and missing the vastness of the sky.  While doing yoga on the beach each time my arms reached overhead and the eyes followed, the white clouds against the piercing blue sky  made my heart flutter.  In down dog I watched pelicans fly overhead and in boat pose my gaze was focused on where the sky meets the ocean.  The stars at night and the flashes of lightening in the low lying clouds.  All asking me to look up.  Seeing what is here but also opening to the infinite potential above. 

You all know I love to be barefoot.  Since I work from home and do everything outside without shoes, my feet and shoes become strangers in the summer.  So one day this week when I was running to the grocery store, it wasn’t until I had already gotten in the car and moved it, ran back in for something and was getting back into the car that I realized I had no shoes on. Not sure the grocery store would have appreciated my naked feet.  But I sure do appreciate them.

Even on vacation I fall into a routine within a couple of days.  I realize that not only do I not feel confined by routine, I flourish in it.  Granted my beach routine looks different from my one at home (daily hot tub and an afternoon bag of Cheetos), but both provide me with a structure so that the daily to-dos fall into place without thought, leaving me feeling more free to be.  I know for others having no routine is what makes it vacation.  But my morning beach walk, like clockwork, sends me forward in my day. And now I will have an eye on my home daily routine and see if perhaps any portion has become stale. 

What else?  I confirmed that I LOVE heat.  90’s every day and I couldn’t be happier……On arrival I always have to unpack everything and get it all set up before I feel I can go to the beach…...The part of my body that creates too much thought and angst (we all have one) is my belly, and a menopausal one has ratcheted that up (more on that topic in another post)……….  Home is wherever I am (thanks Mom and Dad)…………I don’t think about work at all when I am away. Not one bit.……….I have fears regarding water. I want to face them. It's time.  

Finally, the trip home is where what lies ahead reenters your viewfinder.  Seeing your life as you head back toward it.  An excellent barometer of what is and isn’t working. If there is any sense of dread take time with it.  Look deeper before simply jumping back in. The view from afar can enlighten.

When I arrived home my garden welcomed me with 7 rather large cucumbers! Time to learn how to make pickles!

Stepping away to see more clearly,
SARAH