Attitude of Gratitude: day 18

Today turned into a busier day than I anticipated. It's funny how time can do that... feel like you have all the time in the world and then, all of a sudden, disappear and leave you wondering how on earth you'll accomplish everything you need to. And yet, there is still room for gratitude.

1. This morning, I passed an accident and while there was a very small, mean part of my mind - the part that believes we are all separate - that was moaning about the extra time that added into my drive, this practice of gratitude shifted it pretty much immediately to being grateful for all the times I get in my car and get where I am going safely and without incident.
2. The warmth of the sun and the lightness of the breeze on my face. I was outside this morning, hands dirty, harvesting food and I wouldn't have wanted to be anywhere else.
3. Butternut Curry Coconut soup... because, yum.

Attitude of Gratitude: day 2

Gratitude has the power to shift your mood and is available to you at any time. Even in the midst of hurt, you can always ask yourself the question: what do I have to be grateful for in this moment?

When I pause and ask myself that question, my heart rate drops, at least some of my stress melts away, and I find that I am more fortunate and richer than I realized.

Today I am grateful for:

1. The warm breeze and sun on my face.
2. Silence and space to be truly and deeply with myself, even the parts of me I don't always love.
3. Nourishing food. I've been eating simple and cleansing foods for over a week now and really listening in to what my body is carving, versus what I just put into it. When we listen, the difference between real foods and junk foods is quite apparent. No judgement, just a question of serving and nourishing or not.

What are you grateful for today?

Wild Sacred Journey: day 3

Today I felt tired. Don't get me wrong, I got up and had quite a productive morning. I didn't even realize how tired I was until I got to yoga and rested my forehead down in child's pose and realized that I could stay right there for the entire 60minutes and feel really good about it.

Turns out I didn't stay in Child's pose for the entire class, but I also had no agenda and no goals and had given myself complete permission to quit at any time I wanted. And so it was a very peaceful practice - strong, but unbelievably gentle and accepting and compassionate. It felt good in my body, it felt good in my mind, it felt good in my breath.

Then I got home and I was so in my body that eating lunch was an absolute joy - completely nourishing on all levels. I had made potato gratin last night (it's bangin'... in case you were wondering) and finally got to eat it today, along with a nice big salad. I put dried fruit and tuna and avocado on my salad so there were different textures and flavors. Every part of this lunch felt good - senses engaged and satiated and belly happily full.

I was going to take a picture of my beautifully delicious lunch to share with you all... but then I got caught up in eating it. And so all you get is the empty plates. And I'm not even sorry.

We are meant to live in our bodies. We are meant to experience pleasure and joy in our bodies. Even when the news is full of the devastation caused by nature and humans. Even when surrounded by fear and anger. We can breath a little deeper. We can fully validate our own experiences with no need to justify or explain. We can nourish ourselves. And in so doing, we can transcend, even if just for the moment it takes to chew.