Day 37: Wood Floors

I came home to dog poop on the floor. That is no fun for anyone. Well, my dog seems ambivalent about it, actually a little joyful. She's had dinner now and a well over-due trip outside. She keeps smiling at me. I'm annoyed.

After I cleaned up and lit some incense to help get the smell out, my roommate and her boyfriend came home. I explained what happened and he said, "At least you don't have carpet." Ahhh...

perspective

. It's true, clean-up would have been a lot worse. I'd still be scrubbing but instead I'm writing about how I found gratitude even in dog poop.

I think this project is working.

Day 36: Reading in the Morning

Last night I was reading in my journal about how much I miss reading in the morning. I still do! When I was in school and had class in the afternoon or a day off, I would start my day with reading.  Most often it was stuff for school, but I loved it! I've come to realize those were really special times.

I had my ritual of fixing breakfast, then a cup of coffee and finding that space on the couch or maybe outside where I would sit for the next hour or two reading through my assigments for the day.  I loved being there with my thoughts, journal nearby in case anything started to churn. I'd occationally gaze out the window and assimilate what I had just read.

This morning I had a little bit of time before I had to leave and I thought, "Ah! I can read!" I only spent about 15 minutes on the couch but it was fabulous. It really helped to center my day, not feeling like I had to rush out, and just being with my thoughts...its the simple things that I don't want to miss!

Day 35: Hand-me-down Clothes

I am proud to say that many of my clothes, especially the ones that I wear often, are hand-me-downs. That means, I didn't pay a cent for them. Sure, I do go shopping every once in a while.  And when I do it is mostly for work clothes. But for the most part I am happy to be the recipient of the garbage bags of garments that result from spring cleaning.  Whatever I don't take, I share with my roommates or other female friends, or take to donate. It's really been great on my budget and I end up learning that I like things I wouldn't have bought for myself.

So next time you think, "I don't have anything to wear," maybe ask your friends if they need to clean our their closet.

Day 34: Deb!

Today I had to say "See Ya Later" ("good bye" just makes me sad) to a great friend of mine, Deb Muller. Tomorrow morning she embarks on a journey to travel, work, and discover. Her and her girlfriend, Cricky, have found new homes for most of their possessions, tied up their loose ends in Tampa, and have been asking themselves what they really what to experience in this life. So they are leaving everything they know to explore their passions. We all can take inspiration from that.

Deb has been instrumental in my yoga practice the past year and a half.  When we first started to become friends she had just finished her yoga teacher training and really encouraged me to take that step in my life.  She introduced me to LeShan, the teacher I am now working with, and supported me in my slow journey to beginning the training. Deb's yoga classes have been some of my favorite to attend and have helped me a lot in my practice.

But also Deb is a friend in the truest sense of the word. Maybe its the yoga, maybe it's just who she is, and probably a little bit of both. She is one of the few people that I feel really knows how to listen.  Knowing that people like Deb are out in the world (even if it's out in the world away from where I am), I feel things are going to be okay.

Deb and Cricky started a blog to share on as they journey. Check out

The Farmer and the Yogi

. Follow them. Love them. I know I will!

Day 33: My Practice

The past few days have presented me with a few challenging situations in which my mindfulness practice has become invaluable. All in all, things are great.  There is really one incident in particular that has been calling for way more of my mental attention it deserves. Being able to focus on what I am doing instead of steaming in what I should say now or should've done before is what is getting me through it. And without the mindfulness, I would have already said things I shouldn't. So instead, I am being with the amazement of another person's "stuff" and how they want to place it on me.  Being with the amazement of it doesn't mean I am wearing it. It just means I am working on my compassion and being thankful for this opportunity to learn how other people like to wear their "stuff" accumulated in this like. I'm thankful I can recognize what is under the surface without being pulled under also. My practice is my life raft.

This is why we meditate and do yoga. When we practice being with what is when 'what is' is fairly neutral, then we are more like to be with what is when it is freaking crazy.

Day 32: My Job

I don't think I posted this gratitude exactly yet, but it was coming. I've said it before and I will say it again:

I LOVE MY JOB!!!

This is what I did at work today:

First I saw a client who is recovering from a concussion.  He has been seeing me every week for therapeutic bodywork, which has been fun because I have been experimenting with various techniques and approaches. Today I incorporated vibrational healing from a Tibetan Bowl and a chime, both with sounds that evoke the sacred space within. After the session he said that it was the best session he's had so far. Yeah!

Then I saw my weekly Traumatic Brain Injury client. I've wrote about him before on the Upward Spiral blog.  Though his movement and communication is limited, we've worked together so much that I feel a fond friendship with him. Today when he came in he said hi to me for the first time. It may not have sounded like that to someone else, but I heard him. For an hour I got to help him feel relaxed in his body that he may often otherwise feel trapped in.  I even got some good laughs from him in sharing some funny stories.  He may not say much but he sure loves to laugh.

Last I saw a client that came to me originally for physical pain and in that we've found other emotional traumas that were tied up with it. We had a long discussion about where she's at and where she'd like to be. She left saying that it was like counseling and massage all-in-one place, and that she feels like she can get through the rough road she's been traveling. We brought in some light where there was darkness. To top it all off, we helped make significant difference in her chronic pain.

And I get paid for all of this!  That's just the icing on the cake of transformation. More please!

Day 31: Tea + Meditation

Yay! Those in attendance to tonight's first ever Tea + Meditation event at Kaleisia Tea Lounge may not have known this but I was a little nervous leading up to this event. Of course, I KNEW it would go great but it was a new experience that I was in charge of and that's a little bit nerve racking. This is the first time I led a meditation event (I've done meditation/mindfulness within other events, but not where it was the event itself) and like when we do anything new, I was a bit unsure of how it would go. I mean, I had 21 people's internal world in my hands. I didn't want to let them down.

So I am proud to say it was a success! We had a few glitches, but that is to be expected and will make it better next time (which will be October 10th).

We all shared "one pot, one moment," and practiced cherishing the moments, our breath, as the breezed by. Even though I was leading it, I caught the vibe too and felt GREAT afterwards. Already looking forward to next time...

Day 30: Call to Action

Last year on the 10th anniversary of the events on September 11th, I posted about how this event has a lot to do with why I am a massage therapist.  I spent several weeks in late 2001 and early 2002 in NYC working with a volunteer massage team.  My mom had gone up a month before and got the call to start the United Aromatherapy Effort. In addition in chair massage provided by at least 20 different therapists from all over the country and beyond, we also collected and disseminated aromatherapy supplies. Here is a video slideshow of pictures from our trips.

UAEvideo

More PowerPoint presentations from sylla

I can't find words to describe how this changed my life. Suffice it to say I am infinitely grateful for a grand opportunity to help others in need and feel the motivating fire that lights the human spirit.  

Day 29: Perspective

Sometimes all you need is a little perspective. Perspective is like gratitude; once you start to acknowledge it, it pops up everywhere.

I had several moments today where a little shift in my perspective transformed my emotional outlook. The more I try to think of examples, the more I see that my whole day was a bunch of new perspectives. Visiting the dentist, listening to stories from clients, visiting Kaleisia's new tea room (where we will hold Tea + Meditation this Wednesday), stories from my roommate's trip to Malaysia, the longest phone wait I've had trying to contact my credit card company.  Each experience gave me a new perspective on some aspect of my life. Today will affect how I view tomorrow, the combination of which will affect the day after.

Now I realize that I can view each day as an opportunity to see the world differently.  I wonder what tomorrow may show me?

Day 28: Rainy Sunday Mornings

The past few weeks I have been working on willing myself to be a morning person.  I'm halfway there. I love morning time. When I am up for it I enjoy the slowly brightening day and my stirring mind, an easy transition into the day.

But I'm not consistently there yet.  I stay up too late and am so comfy in the morning, it's difficult to get up and going. I am happy to say I was successful with getting up way earlier than my usual time without an alarm yesterday morning. It was fabulous! More please, I thought to myself.

This morning was a whole different story. I woke up to the gentle light of a rainy morning, the sound calming my consciousness, and didn't even worry about what time is was or was not. Usually immediately upon awakening, I am churning through my to-dos and strategizing from the get-go. This can create an almost traumatic emergence from sleep and generally stresses me out if I don't watch it.

So when I awoke to the soft tap of rain drops and a sunrise of cloudy skies, it only seemed right to enjoy some Sunday morning time just laying in bed. Spending the first 20 minutes of my day just enjoying where I was at helped set the feeling for the rest of my day. It makes me think I should do that more often, rain or shine.

Nature is teaching me right.