Love That Body

I was so happy to be asked to lead the young ladies from church in yoga again.  It's the new year so I'm sure that the leaders were asking from a goal or fitness perspective, but I wanted the class to be all about being so grateful for our fabulous earth vessels, for all of the things they can do -- and not what they can't do or what they don't look like, ugh.  We talked about self-acceptance and self-love, trying to stay out of our heads and present in our bodies throughout the practice.  In my training at Bodhi Yoga, Syl told us that we would be better teachers if stayed open and and non -critical of ourselves, it would allow us to recognize our own inner divinity.  Well, of course, that is true with everything!  And I hope that I was able to communicate a little of that to the girls.  It was especially fun having my own two sweeties there with me!

I Crave Light

Some people
find it soothing,
the grayness,
but I find it suffocating --
draining the world
of its variety and color
smudging the details
at the edges.

I crave light.

Once an opaque plane,
the ice on the
kitchen window transforms
into a thousand glittering
crystals, each one a
snowflake of
incomprehensible beauty,
captured on glass
to extend its fleeting
existence.

I crave light.

Once dark, abbreviated days
at year's end,
illuminated by
singing, bells, old
friendships renewed --
by a thousand
acts of glittering
kindness.

Not all grayness
Not all light
is surface: we allow one --
or the other --
to infuse, consume
become part of us,

Pay Attention

I found you again!
stretched out cozy
dark evenings, temperatures 
falling, radiators hissing
nature patiently prodding,
pushing us to ponder
(reflect) on this latest
rung in our life
spiral, as we spin
headlong into the
next layer.

Holiday busy-ness
fills each moment --
cards caroling crafts
concerts -- (deflect)ing
introspection.

The perennial rhythm --
hushed tones, muffled
palette, the cocoon of
muted light, remind us:
pause, plan,

pay attention.

Strings!

Phin started taking cello this fall and he had his first concert today.  It was so nice to be with lots of our other homeschool friends!  And the boys loved the reception afterward, of course.

Sob Stories

I don't think I've been to a movie in a theater since last Thanksgiving, but in the past week we've seen Arrival (bawled!), Moonlight (so heart-wrenching!), and just saw A Man Called Ove (sobbing -- and I'd even read the book!) The last one was at a little local theater and they turned on the lights immediately -- geesh, give a girl time to recover during the credits, s'il vous plait 😂😭😞

Edit

First Snow

Paperwhite!