"Don't stop, believing... Hold on to that feeling..." ok, not that journey - though they are awesome ;) We're talking about the journey of life, the path, whatever you want to call it. What I've noticed in my life is that the same lessons resurface over and over, until they are cleared out and dealt with. It's awesome, because all of our life experiences have brought us to this point, and the things we are thinking, doing, and acting on now will shape our future. Super cool and powerful stuff! It's sounds so simple - we all know this about our journey, and sometimes it's nice to have that reminder.
photo: Lindsay France for Mighty Yoga
Look at all of the smiling faces in this picture! I love it - I love watching each of you on your journey each week :)
This week I've been asking people in class to think back upon the week and, without judgement, think of one thing per day that was just great, and then offer gratitude to that thing. You can do it too! You might even decide to write down each day's thing - it doesn't have to be a giant thing, just something that you feel was a great part of your day.
There's an awesome lady that attends my healthy aging class at Cornell, and after I asked my class to practice this she said "Rachel, is it ok for me to share mine from Monday?" Of course! She went on to describe how on Monday she had finished an afghan she was making for a friend, she sent it out on Tuesday in the mail, and upon receiving the afghan on Thursday the friend called with all of the most wonderful adjectives to describe how the afghan made her feel. <3 <3 <3
I feel so inspired by that :) and also by this -one of my absolute favorite poems by Mary Oliver:
"One day you finally knew what you had to do, and began, though the voices around you kept shouting their bad advice, though the whole house began to tremble and you felt the old tug at your ankles. "Mend MY life!" each voice cried.
But you didn't stop.
You knew what you had to do, though the wind pried with it's stiff fingers at the very foundations, though their melancholy was terrible. It was already late enough, and a wild night - the road full of fallen branches and stones.
But little by little, as you left their voices behind, the stars began to burn through the sheets of clouds, and there was a new voice, which you slowly recognized as your own, that kept you company as you strode deeper and deeper into the world, determined to do the only thing you could do - determined to save the only life you could save."
Have a great week everyone!
Xo, R