lessonsfromnature

Attitude of Gratitude: day 23-30

Where I often spend Thanksgiving is pretty rustic with no internet. The smart phone I got a little over a year ago has changed that for me and I'm no longer quiet as 'disconnected'... but it's still lovely to have an excuse to not check email or post to my website. These things are possible, but slightly annoying on a phone, so I practice my connection in other, more solitary ways. I take my camera with me and record for myself. It also means I can later update you on what I saw and was grateful for:

  1. Waking up on a lazy morning with nowhere to be and nothing to do.
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2. Feeling the sun and quiet while meditating without any of the pressure to 'get started with the rest of my day.'

3. A cozy fire in the fireplace and a relaxed study buddy.

4. Abundance in food and family with lots of love and laughter and nourishment and an awareness and gratitude for where this food comes from and everything that went into growing it and preparing it for me to eat.

5. Sun coming out after several days of rain, providing warmth and a different light in which to see things.

6. A walk in the woods and my grandma's stories of elves and gnomes and magic echoing through my head.

7. Messages left for us by nature... if we're listening in.

8. Familiar spaces and all the memories that go with them. A sense of history and connection without obligation or attachment.

9. Cozy shelter, surrounded by plenty of fresh air and wide-open spaces. Home and wild, all rolled into one - just the way I like it. And gratitude for the love of others that keeps it maintained and enjoyable.

10. Trees that teach us to root down, stand tall, grow upwards, bend with the wind, die to be reborn. There is something beautiful in how they stand and yet flow.

Coming out of this holiday and this month of gratitude, I know I have much to be thankful for everyday. I hope you had a wonderful celebration and as the focus now turns to gifts and giving, I hope you find it in you to give to those who challenge you, to love those you're not always sure you're able to (especially yourself), and to receive all that the Universe wants you to be open to. This is a time of unrest in our country. May we all be a listening ear, even when we think we 'know' and may we stand like a tree or a mountain, in the name of Love, when it comes to what is right.

Attitude of Gratitude: day 3

I sit here in this unseasonably warm day, enjoying the breeze and all the colors rattling in the air and floating down in the breeze and I am grateful:

  1. The constantly shifting beauty of this world that is always present, always patient, and always forgiving.
  2. True connections - the kind where two people stand, and share, and make eye contact without thinking of what they are going to say next or where they have to be.
  3. The tears that fall when I see unjustified acts of violence perpetrated against innocent humans going about their business or standing up for their truth. It hurts me deep to my soul and it is through that hurt that I know that I am alive and capable of love.

Wild Sacred Journey: day 10

This time of year is challenging for me. Our society has adapted itself well to electricity and climate control and assumes that we humans can maintain the same levels of productivity year-round. Maybe you can. When I first started working on farms, and eating and living closer to nature and more in tune with the rhythms of the seasons, I learned that I cannot.

We exist in the natural world. We are of it. And yet we distance ourselves and shut ourselves off and live life disconnected. Don't get me wrong, I am grateful for shelter that protects me and lets me live comfortably. I am grateful for the convenience of electricity. And I am also aware of how the difference between my internal environment and external environment affect me. As the days get shorter and the weather colder, my body switches which foods it wants to eat and the quantity. I have less energy to work as many hours and crave a little bit more sleep. I want to move slower and spend more time in quiet. Why not? Perennial plants hibernate. Many animals hibernate or at least slow down their activity in winter. Even water flows more slowly as temperatures drop and it comes closer to freezing. All around us, nature gives us signs that it's OK to pause, reflect, take rest, restore. 

And even though I know this, every year I find myself fighting it and judging myself as wrong or lazy for something that comes as naturally to my body as breathing - responding to its environment. Yoga is the practice of harmonizing our inner and outer experiences so that we live life an authentic and aligned life. That means honoring ourselves where we are. So today I accept - I accept my 'failure' to accomplish the same amount now as I do in the summer. I accept that I may not make all my self-set deadlines. I accept that I need nourishing and restoration. I am, after all, both wild and sacred. And I am always unfolding at the right time... it just may not be my time. And I accept that, too.

Wild Sacred Journey: day 7

Today was sunny and blustery and a great day for soaring. At least, that's what the buzzards told me. Surely you've felt it to: that swooping feeling in the pit of your stomach when a big gust of wind blows past and around you. Did you know buzzards can actually see air currents? Although they have powerful wings, they prefer to soar, without flapping, and so they ride those currents around in the sky - demonstrating what it means to 'go with the flow' and achieve great results with a minimum of effort and a decided lack of struggle. What powerful reminders for me, as I teach and prepare for a forty-day program that starts Monday. Freedom through ease. Yes, please!

The leaves were crunchy, the air was frisky, the sun was strong, and it was a perfect day for rolling. At least, that's what the dog told me. Fully present and fully expressive of his inner joy - through his body. How do you express your joy? Do you allow yourself spontaneous, physical expressions of it? Or is it through words? Everything we feel, everything we think, everything we experience lands in our body in some way. If we do not give full expression to it and allow it to pass through (yes, even the good stuff) that energy gets stuck and we become less present and more likely to manifest dis-ease. So today, I was right there with that dog: rolling and doing yoga poses and expressing joy. But I express to let go because who knows what this next moment might bring and presence brings peace more than trying to hold on... even to what feels good.