Author: takeawalk44

The simple truth is that seeing what is happening now is a joyful and peaceful place to be.  Not this morning, not an hour ago and not ‘today’…..right now.

These are some things that I have enjoyed the very moment I looked at their very image and so I captured it quickly and kept soaking IT in.  When we let the moment soak in and impress the details of the moment on our every cell we have the opportunity to see Source within us and outside of us.

Any moment you find yourself watching, curious, inspired or bored – soak it all in with the same detail that you might soak in your last hour on earth.  Look at it as if you are memorizing it out of pure fascination.

Practice this and with time is will start becoming a habit, one of the best pieces of childhood that we CAN have back.

Find a community this weekend.   A tribe that brings lightness and ease and fun – stick with them and get something done, whether it’s a project, meal or event.  Find some birds of a feather and FLOCK TOGETHER!!!

“It is not the cares of today, but the cares of tomorrow, that weigh a man down.”

George MacDonald

I risk showing you a piece of my ‘actively loved and cluttered house’ to show how much my 4 year old loved this Yoga channel on Youtube.  Cosmo Yoga for Kids.  Check if out this weekend with some young people in your life.  This woman brings together yoga and body movement with popular movies, stories and holidays in 3-18 min clips.

She’s brilliant.

Is there fear of anything that this world has to offer right now?  Anything in your wildest imagination…..anything?   Maybe you can fill a journal, maybe you have to really search as chances are RIGHT NOW you are completely safe.  

If something comes to mind, try not to run from it.  Sit with it like a small misunderstood child and breath.  Whether it is public speaking, a relationship ending, a terrorist attack or a health concern, it is worth your attention in small spurts.  You can bring it to mind with full color and detail and sit with the physiological feelings that it would bring.  Sit with the social affect it may have and cause.   Sit with the pain that could come emotionally.  Take 20 breathes as you sit soaking in these possibilities.

Now, raise your hands up above your head, inhale, palms firmly together, sense your moment right now, sense your true reality right now while holding that inhale.

Exhale with purpose and quickly sweep your hands down and out making a large upside down V  – holding your exhale for a short time plug your fingers down into the earth, floor, yoga mat….lengthen your neck, grounding to your shoulder blades, reach further ‘plugging in’.

These fears we have live in us, behind the scenes especially when we try ignore them with work and popular stimulants.  We fear our fear.  Sit with them individually and then let it out, plug in and breath in the present truth.

“The more we practice, the more we are gentle with our fear and are able to embrace it, the more the fear goes away.  It is possible to live a life in the present moment completely without fear.  Without fear, we are able to see more clearly our connections to others.  Without fear, we have more room for understanding and compassion.  Without fear, we are truly free.”   

Thich Nhat Hanh,   ‘Fear’

I have heard that one of the healthiest things you can do for your body and digestion is to take 3 deep slow breaths before you begin eating.  Within those 3 breaths there can be a view, an appreciation, a calming of the day and even the meal preparation.  This also lends itself to prayer before eating, no matter your faith.  Whether it is thanking God or farmers, ranchers and factory workers for all of the support that is given to keep you ALIVE.

Breathe it in.  Look, your beautiful food which is NATURE wants to be seen.  Eat, Enjoy.  Breathe again.

Germs are everywhere!  My own family just got through a week of congestion and cold which seems quite annoying to be honest.  No matter your preventative rituals, sometimes IT happens.  Your immune system has to be in SUPREME shape this season to never get sick.  When it does happen, we can think of all of the things that we are not getting done and all of the social events that we have to cancel – this is so natural it seems.  I, personally, had to switch my thinking very quickly to what wasn’t wrong with my kids and myself last week.

• what symptoms am I not having to manage, look at the HEALTH. 
• how can we CONNECT during this forced down time.  
• like a vacations what lazy times can we enjoy together or apart while we heal; fun/educational TV shows and movies, books, slow paced games, comfort food, etc. 

Pick Up sticks is one of my kids favorite new games.  They each love to try new techniques and practice breathing while they WOW us with their skills.  This is something that often we don’t take time for within a healthy and busy schedule.

So when the germs get the best of you, make the best of them.

 

Culturally we tend to put more importance and thought toward dinner.  We have recipes,  planning, we set the table and take the time to look for a colorful, balanced and nutritious plate.  Our lunch, on the other hand, can tend to look very boring, brown and often microwaved.  It’s the busy part of our day and we just want to fill our stomachs and get our work done.  The problem with this imbalance between meals is that lunch time is a prime time to continue to bulk up your immune system, fuel your body for productivity to finish the day with JOY verses exhaustion and a brain fog.

Cortisol flows through your body on a daily rhythm keeping your blood sugars in good standing to help with a productive day flowing into a good sleep.  Foods assist in this Cortisol flow.  When your food works against cortisol your body can feel chronically tired, with the added symptom of poor sleep at the end of an exhausting day.

To help with this, we start the day with protein (lean meat, nuts or nut butters, bone broth, protein smoothies, eggs) and wean the protein off as the day goes with the least amount of protein at dinnertime.

LUNCH is the perfect time to enjoy healthy proteins mixed with greens, fiber and fresh or frozen fruit to that our blood sugars stay on track and the fog never sets in.  Once we come toward dinner time we can continue with a colorful, happy plate with healthy carbohydrate and minimal protein to bring our bodies and minds naturally flowing toward sleep.

Help create a Lunch that feels like a daily PARTY for your body instead of a boring packaged detail to your work day.  It will help your afternoon choices, productivity and your sleep at night.

 

I find myself thinking, ‘Oh these times are so uncertain.  These times feel so dissonant’.  Yet ALL times have always been uncertain.  Hugely so!  Yes, there are phases in history with beautiful ‘safe’ and ‘privileged’ groups, but phases are just that.  Temporary experiences that rise and fall, and the bigger or higher they are, the harder they fall.

This large picture of life is uncertain, however, this present moment, is certain.  We are in it right now and it is exactly what it is.  Breathe in it.  Sit with it.  Love in it.  SEE people right this very moment.  Make change now whether it be a tiny offering or a large community effort.  No worry for tomorrow or next week, breathe in, soak up and bring your complete kindness to this very moment.

On any given week or weekend we usually have a list of ‘To-Do’s’.  The simple workings of life; the cleaning, the shopping and the obligations can begin to feel like an authoritarian Task Master.  This Task Master can rule all and make the days to come feel more like a dread than a gift.

What if, instead of focusing on what we HAVE to do, we focus on what we GET to do.  I want to share a paragraph from Thich Nhat Hanh’s book ‘Fear’ that explains this simple idea very well.  

So along with the obligations, make time and note this weekend what you are privileged to do here in this day by day life of yours.  Plan a few little pieces of your day that are obvious gifts for simple and pure enjoyment.  Then look at your To-Do list with eyes of appreciation that another week or weekend has come to connect with others, to serve and to soak IT up.