ordinary = extraordinary

I've been sitting here for about 15 minutes without coming up with anything to write about.

Today was an ordinary day.
Between appointments, I drove through abosolutely breathtaking countryside, this being the most beautiful time of year here.
It seems like everyone in our little family is doing fine for the moment (I think the fish oil is even starting to show some positive effects on my 5-year-old son.).
The weather was gorgeous for the umpteenth day in a row .
Tomorrow is a holiday, and we have nothing planned.

Meanwhile:
On the Discovery Channel (that my husband turned on), I watch as thousands of people dig through mountains of garbage in dumps looking for something to sell.
At McDonald's today, I stepped back to let a young, very thin girl, no more than 7 or 8, pass by in her wheelchair. Under her summer hat I could see that she had no hair.
In the newspaper, there was an obituary for the father of an aquaintance, less than two weeks after having read an obituary for the same aquaintance's brother, who died at the age of 46 by a sudden heart attack.

Tonight I'll go to bed, after a completely uneventful day, and regard myself as the luckiest person I know.
Om shanti. Peace. Fred.

bloggy inspiration

I have started exploring different blog spheres by clicking on friends' links to new pages with new links, and so on. Naturally I am drawn to blogtitles that are somehow connected to yoga. Right now I have two categories for these bloggers and their entries:

A). They write about how yoga inspires them beyond the physical practice as they, too, struggle to lay all the pieces in their life puzzle together - with varying results depending on the demands of the day.

or:

B). Others choose to dictate how many times they have worked out during a given week and whether or not they could grab their big toe in a forward bend (as always, using only the Sanskrit name).

Not to judge, but admittedly I much prefer reading category A. So much so that this tired, stiff, and stressed yogi actually pulled out her mat at 9 P.M. in her minimal hotel room/linen closet (?) to do her favorite Candlelight Yoga practice before getting into bed - all because of the positive words that were offered by other sister yogis.

Namasté

The opposite of yoga...

...is poker. Yet I couldn't resist the chance to play a free online all-girl tournament. I had quit playing poker a couple of years ago because it wreaked havoc on my bodymind. For starters, I am a terrible loser, always have been - ask anyone! My heartrate increases, I don't even want to imagine what my blood pressure is, and, if you value your life, please do not distract me when I am trying to focus.

Usch - it sounds awful, I know. I apologize. Still there's something to be said about the mental challenge (and the high experienced when your competitors are taken DOWN), and tonight the cards were there for me. See you in the finals next Sunday; I got a free ticket to an 330 Euro online tournament!

Not exactly the path to enlightenment. I wonder where this karma will lead me in my next life?

Release party, part II

I took a walk at dusk. Usually I try to take in everything around me, especially the sounds of birds chirping, my feet rhythmically hitting different surfaces, the gurgling brook I walk along, and my breath.

Today I let the music in my Mp3 drown it all out. And since I heard no footsteps, it was as though the friction between my shoes and the ground disappeared. I was floating, sometimes closing my eyes, completely immersed in my secret world.

Release party, part I

This morning we watched as 80 cows were released, out to the pasture, for the first time this spring. Who knew that huge milking cows could prance about like butterflies? It was quite a sight for the hundreds of us gathered to take part in this natural celebration, and somehow their (the happy cows) joy and enthusiasm connected us all.

Cloud nine

I was exhausted this afternoon. However, that was not going to stop me from doing my yoga today.

I started in child's pose. I stayed there for several minutes, thinking how nice it would be to just stay there throughout my entire session today. But then I don't think I could do that with a clear conscience to my class on Sunday, so I got started, S-L-O-W-L-Y moving in and out of the poses. Today's focus was forward bends, and I did my best to find roots and wings in every position.

Basically it was a good session for my lethargic bodymind since I got to use gravity to my advantage.

Afterwards my hips felt as though they were filled with cotton candy - nice.

A good morning

This morning started perfectly. I woke up on my own in MY bed beside my husband (who was kindly enough not snoring in my ear at the time) and was immediately greeted by my purring four-legged-friend. I got up and managed to sit in a mini-meditation for about ten minutes; then my daughter came out of her room. There's nothing like holding your child close and kissing her on the head when you've been away travelling.

I got to open a new package of my FAVORITE coffee (from Denmark, courtesy of my father-in-law). As the aroma of freshly brewed coffee filled the kitchen, I walked into my son's room and laid down in his bed. As he pendled between sleeping and waking, I kissed his sweet cherub lips.

Somehow, when everyone was up and in the midst of eating breakfast, my husband and I started to wage in the classic "Here's an idiotic melody that I am going to plant into your brain so that you can't stop thinking about it all day" war. His contribution was Björn Skifs "Hooked On a Feeling". I quickly countered with Right Said Fred's "I'm Too Sexy". My son enjoyed both thoroughly and proceeded to do his famed "monkey-dance" as his partially chewed sandwich fell out of his mouth to the floor.

Finally, under a cloudless sky filled with sunshine, birdsong, and a promise of warm, spring weather, I had the privilege of walking my children to school.

Reminder to self - keep these images close at hand as you begin to work and inevitably embark upon freaking out about the upcoming weeks of chaos.

P.S. Not my fault - it was performed at a cabaret I attended on Wednesday!!