More Hopeful with Sunshine

Last week the sun seemed to want to hide forever and the rain kept coming down. Trees were toppling over just from thier roots being so wet. Its over now and I am feeling much sunnier about life. Today I was listening to NPR with a cup of "joe" and looking out the window at the blue sky and the lime green trees and grass and thought "I couldn't ask for anything more right now. I couldn't be happier".
My job is teaching yoga and meditation. Honestly for me there couldn't be anything better. When I work about 95% of the time I am in the "Zone". I get lost in the hour everytime. Everything outside of the yoga experience leaves me. 95% of the time I pray before I teach and ask God to take over my voice and my body and let me teach what the students need. My "Prayer in the Zone" quotient is right on. When life is busy its harder for me to quite my mind and be in this space. Often times when listening to a sermon or something interseting on the radio I just close my eyes and let my ears grow bigger and my mind becomes like a sponge where I fully absorb what I hear. Right now I am on Sabbatical from teaching: on purpose. Teaching was becoming to repitious and I was beginning to dread the constant time drain. However once in the moment it was bliss. Taking a break is often needed and as I learn to let go of my ego and be happy being Courtney not "Courtney the yoga teacher, volunteer, mother, wife, etc..." just me.
Letting go of physcial stuff is the first step to this freedom but letting go of emotional stuff well that is the second through one hundreth step for me. A step I wasn't really that aware of.
My goal was actually to share the skills of frugality and simple living and what I recognized as the more I got asked to head this or that the more weighted down I became. The people who actually wanted it and needed it fuel me yet the ones who want it because "GREEN" is in and green means $$$$$$$$$$$$$$ drain me. SO it starts with me being me and as Ceasar Chavez said when asked how he organized " I talk to one person and then to another person". For now Chavez idea is good for me. No accolades necessary because God knows my heart and if my heart is good enough for him its good enough for me.


Tips for today: Simple living and the mind.

1.Take some time to sit down and just be Nature. Yes we are Nature; the earth, plants, animals -humans we are nature. When we talk about the environment we are talking about us and everything around us. Feeling your connection is powerful.
You don't even need to think just sit, watch, and breathe in life. Try it for 5 minutes today and then increase your time as you can.

2. Examine why you are so busy. Are you to busy to do what you really want. What are the reasons behind this. Sometimes are reasons are admirable yet we have reasons (like me) that are trying to fill an emotional hole. A hole that is there because we don't believe we are enough just as we are. A sabbatical may be in order. Plan for one if need be.

3. Decide to go to the store or run errands certain days each week. Plan to be home at least one day a week without leaving. Sometimes are going to and fro is because we are bored or unsatisfied with life. Boredom sparks creativity, my poor kids hear this all the time but you know its so true. They get bored enough on " No Screen Sundays' you will see them pull out the bored games or ride thier bikes. Boredom is good for adults too. If you have to face yourself you might just find that you actually like what you see and if not you will have the oppurtuniy to think about change.

4. Get rid of cable. For two and a half years we had no cable or access to any stations and I loved it. My husband didn't have a laptop then so he couldn't substitue. However technology is his profession so he has more gadgets than Professor Gadget. We now have 4 stations when the weather is good but we rarly turn it on. Your access to commercials makes us feel that we need things we really don't. There is some good t.v. but its only about 1% from what I see.

5. Take a walk as often as possible and be quite and watch wildlife. My friend John gave a short lecture on this Sunday. He talked about awareness in nature and it was amazing how much more wildlife I have noticed on my walks the past two days.

Namaste"
Courtney