restandrestore

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 19 and 20

A balmy, Saturday morning that turned suddenly cold and windy. A cold and windy Sunday with dramatic clouds and brightly lit trees.

I am grateful for:

  1. The beauty of nature that always brings me into a sacred pause and helps me hit the reset button.
  2. The honor of witnessing someone in complete vulnerability and the deep connection that can result. And how much more beautiful we all become when it happens.
  3. That so many people are beginning to respond to times of stress by carving out time for themselves.
  4. The freedom of tears and allowing myself to fully feel my experience. And the deep compassion and love that always already exist, just below the tears.

Attitude of Gratitude: day 16

Today I am grateful for:

  1. That there's always something new to be found on my yoga mat. Today it was trying to see how much of my practice I could do with my eyes closed, noticing how my body feels as it moves, and noticing how it affects my balance.
  2. Delicious soup, cooked from scratch, and sooooo nourishing.
  3. The journey of teaching and how it has enlarged me on so many levels and in so many ways.

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 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.