A Cloudy Day Walk

Walking again for the first time in many months with absolutely no excuse except laziness.  I started by walking the labyrinth and then a short walk down the road and back.  Wished I'd taken a plastic bag - saw at least 6 beer cans on the side of the road in just a couple hundred yards.  Next walk I'll take a bag and my pick-up stick to get as much as I can without scrambling down in the wet ditches.  It is truly amazing to me that my neighbors are not thinking of Mother Earth or me when they dump their beer cans beside the road.  All I can do is justify it by assuming they don't want someone at home to know they have been drinking a beer…….How do we justify such inconsiderate acts?  Perhaps the only answer is charging fines but I daresay few ever receive fines…..Anyway, getting back to walking daily is my goal right now - at least as long as the weather is agreeable.  That means 50 degrees or above for me.  I'll share the glory of the cloudy day view from the other side of The Pond where lies the labyrinth.

Snow morning

Well, we've had our first snow.  It almost covered the ground but now, at 2 pm the sun is out!  Just the way I love our snows - although I wish it had been a bit deeper so that the whole area had been white.  Spending the day reading "Zealot"  in preparation for our spiritual growth group meeting the end of next month.  Frank and I will be leaving on February 4 for South Padre Island, TX and visits with several of his friends who live in the area.  The two weeks away will be a wonderful winter break for us.  If we are to have an ice storm, I hope it is while we are away!  Last year it was - we were in Costa Rica with Susan Bentley when the power outage occurred.  Fortunately Tobias was here and handled the buildings.  This year, we will rely on Eric, our new tenant in the Cabin.  He has offered to help and I'm sure we will find ways to take him up on that.

The Yogatorium Community

Wonders never cease.  Sarah left on the 10th, and here, seven days later….. I have a new tenant in the Cabin!  Eric is the son of one of my dear yoga students.   It is amazing to me what a beautiful community of people has developed over the past nine years.  It seems that all I have to do is express a desire and it comes to fruition through this yoga community of friends!   What can I say but thank you, thank you, thank you!  Thirteen thankyous! And, thanks be to the Universe….

Your Karma is Your Dharma

Just so you don't forget, I do sometimes actually read spiritual writings related to yoga.  Recently I've been working on expanding my understanding of karma and dharma with Ram Dass's Polishiing the Mirror.  Here's a poem he quoted from Tagore I find worth repeating:
I slept and dreamt that life was joy
I awoke and saw that life was service
I acted and behold, service was joy.
The title of this section is also worth repeating:   Your karma is your dharma.
Namaste.

Reconnecting

I'm sure by now many of you have decided I'm not ever gonna write again - but I am.  Today has been a really fun one winterizing the cottage.  Each year I put up clear plastic over the inside of all the windows with a double-sided tape and today was the beginning.  Got the living area and bathroom but no bedrooms yet - that's for tomorrow…….  The ducks seem to be visiting but not staying long each time.  Two or three days we didn't see them at all, but a short visit today.  The shotgun blasts apparently scared them off for a while at least.  Now when Frank walks outside and they see him, they take off….Reading a daily reading from a very inspirational book Joanne Burkett gave to me - Jesus Calling.  I recommend it for those of us who are trying to get a closer connection to Jesus….Also into Ram Dass's Polishing the Mirror, a good collection of some of his best ideas, in my opinion.  A very readable book.  Much more so than Be Here Now. ….In general, I'm thoroughly enjoying the calm of the winter months - at least for now - even enjoying managing to stay warm and relatively upbeat in spite of cloudy days… How can I complain when I had three lovely December days of sunning in the hammock for more than an hour!