Day 17: The King of Pop

Between the ages of 6 and 12 I was obsessed with Michael Jackson. OBSESSED. The most rented movie by me from our local blockbuster was The Making of Thriller. I probably saw that movie at least 20 times.  And I made sure I had my own copy of Moonwalker. Saw that one at least 50. I was proud to be a card-holding member of the official fan club. I was captivated by this man, as many others were and still are.

When news of allegations started to surface it became "uncool" to like MJ, but my love went on.  Watching his magic on stage is a big part of what lead me to explore the power of performance.  In a way, he inspired me to create Open Mic at Cafe Hey, a place where others can share their gifts.

Though I'll also admit things got a little weird in his later years, I still feel he was an invaluable gift to our world. Michael showed us both the best and the worst of human nature. The grand capacity for love as well as the depths of self-destruction. I feel confident to say I truly believe that if I were in his shoes, I would have done the same. He was a prophet with a microphone. Give Moses some talent and place him in modernity; I will bet we'd get some messy truth too.

I remember two things from him very loud and clear: I am not alone and if I want to make a change, I've got to start here.  Ain't nothing truer than that.

Day 16: Chocolate

There is only one person I know that would disagree with me, and they are just an anomaly. I love chocolate and feel lucky to get to taste that sweetness often.  For years I've kept a small dish in my treatment room with mints and dark chocolate kisses. Every so often I will sneak one for myself at the end of a long day - or a short one. I don't need much excuse for chocolate.  I suppose I learned it from my mom. She is known to say that "Every woman should have a little bit of chocolate everyday."

Oh I do.

Day 15: The Passing Storm

I rarely ever prepare for big storms. Sure, a lax attitude may come back to bite me sometime but for the most part I've spared myself the stress and hassle. I don't know if it has something to do the way Tampa Bay is shaped or the wind currents or what, but most often we prepare for the worst and all we get is a little wet.

So even though I really didn't think Isaac was going to make a full appearance in Tampa, I am thankful it seems to be off on its merry way across the Gulf.  A little inconvenience of rain is totally okay with me. I've lived in Florida my whole life; it's just another stormy, summer day.

Day 14: Wonderful Parents

I can be thankful for a lot of things, but none of that gratitude is possible without my parents because, well, they are how I got here to feel gratitude in the first place.  I'd say the fact that I've taken on a project like 101 Days of Gratitude shows what a great job they did in getting me up and going in the world. My abundant positivity and drive to create a better world has a lot to do with what I've learned from them.

Here's a few things in particular I am grateful for concerning my parents:

1. They are still together. Its getting rarer and rarer to find couples that have stayed together long term, but my parents are one of them. This year they celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary! Just like any couple who's been together that long, they've had some hard moments.  But they've continued on in their love and still show me what it means to truly love and accept someone.

2. They are totally themselves. If you've met my parents, you'll quickly learn that they have learned to be just who they are. They also allow each other to be themselves, even though they are totally different people.  In this space I've been able to learn to be myself and they support that too.

3. They are always there for me. This is a biggie. I've known others who have not always gotten support from their parents and it has made me realize what a gift this is. There has never been a need of mine that they have not helped me fulfill.  They've always believed in my dreams no matter how out there they are and because of that I've achieved some of them already.

Mom and Dad posing at their neighbor's party last weekend. They were the life of the party!

Day 13: When Something Clicks

Yesterday I was driving and someone cut me off. Not really bad, but it was definitely my right of way and they went instead. As I continued on behind them I felt my mind starting to form the thought of being upset. I saw a bumper sticker on their car for the Christian radio station and I felt myself starting to "go there" with the thought. And then in the next moment - ZAP - I felt the judgement, still not fully formed, suddenly disappear from my consciousness. The whole instance happened in only a few seconds, and all I was left with was awe.

I'm usually having to backtrack negative thought patterns; meaning I will have them, then realize it, then reframe the whole thing.  This experience yesterday was a completely different process that I had never consciously witneseds before. It was like some new metal alignment took place.

All I can say is yoga is definitely working for me.

Day 12: Truthful Praise

Last night was another great open mic at Cafe Hey. This little open mic grew out of my desire to have a place where I could freely share my art and myself, and meet others who desire the same. It has turned into an ever-shifting community of people, that is creating positive change in the world more than I could have ever imagined. I have made many friends through the open mic, or had friends convert into open mic attendees and feel blessed that every week I get to go to a place where I'm loved, accepted, and even sometimes praised.

I will acknowledge that it is difficult for me to write the last word in the previous paragraph, but after last night I think I need to get over it.  In all the amazingness that was shared last night there were two moments in particular that pulled my heart-strings to tightly I thought they might snap.

The first was when one of our hosts and good friend of mine shared a poem named after me. It's not about me per se, but about his experience with an emotional release session with me.  He shared his experience with working with me as a therapist and how it helped him tremendously in his healing. I felt blessed to have a shout out like that.

But apparently he was not the only one who felt compelled to let the people know the good news that they can feel better and that I might be the one to help them.  We had a last minute sign up by another friend of mine who happened to be in that night.  He  also shared his experience with seeing me for treatment and the resulting disappearance of crippling migraines that plagued him his entire life. That's a big claim in itself. But then it went further. He also told a story of when he was in his darkest moment, and how out of all the friends he thought of, it was me, the thought of me, that helped to pull him out of despair. Wow. He said, "Nyssa is a light in this world and you all need to know it."

The tautness of my heart-strings reached a breaking point in that moment.  My heart didn't break, it broke open.

Day 11: Water Whenever

I have access to running water everyday and almost anywhere I go. This is such a privilege that I've always had and I often forget what an amazing gift this is. But not today. 

Water is in the top three things that we can't live without for very long. Now that I've been paying a little bit of attention, I use it for everything! Drinking, cooking, showering, brushing my teeth, washing clothes or dishes, washing hands, watering plants, washing cars, mopping...the list goes on. 

Water is the basis of where life came from, and what keeps it going. I'm going to make sure I treat mine right. 

Have you thanked your water today?

Day 10: An Abundance of Food

As I got it my car, leaving the grocery store, this thought struck me: I just walked into a building containing a vast variety of food and got to wander around leisurely deciding what I'd like to eat.  This is a task I do regularly, but rarely do I think of how incredible this scenario is, or would appear, to many others in the world.

Despite moments of "there's nothing to eat" when I'm feeling lazy or desiring to eat for taste instead of nutrition, there is always so much around for me to eat. In feeling daily gratitude, gratitude for the food that nourishes me throughout the day needs to be at the top of my list.

So today, this one goes out to all the food in my life. The good, the bad, and the yummy.

Day 9: More Yoga! More Yoga!

Yesterday I met with one of my yoga teachers privately and became again enraptured with yoga's techniques in the practice of living.  I'm so thankful to have been introduced to this teacher, to be led on this path, and to be continuing my way through it. There is challenges, often, but the payoff of peace and presence makes it well worth it.

Actively incorcorating more yoga into my life is continuing to seem like one of the best things I might do. Ever. That's a lot to be thankful for.

Day 8: A Man with a Green Thumb

After seeing the purple longbeans (lower right) that seemed to just sprout up in my boyfriend's front yard yesterday, it only seemed appropriate to acknowledge this gift. I am so thankful to have a boyfriend that knows about growing things!


I still remember how the first time he came over he had beans in his pockets and planted them along the fence in my yard. Some died, some survived, and some thrived. This is where I learned maybe the most important gardening technique: Just put something in the ground and see what happens.  I guess over time, you learn more what works or doesn't. As far as I can tell, that's what my boyfriend has done. Oh, and regularly collects manure and leaves. Can't forget about that.

I still think it's magical, he's says it's just variety and persistence. Somehow I feel both are true.