Co-inky-dink

Coincidences occur in all of our lives.  I have had some enter my life lately.  One being meeting a lady at the gym that has worked in my school district.  She allowed me to sign up for the gym at the resident rate, even though I let her know the truth (I cannot lie anymore; it's all I did in my teen years) about living outside the city.  The odd thing was that she said she has worked at the gym for 15 years.  I have not noticed her one single time there.  But on the morning of signing myself and my husband up for the gym, I struck up the conversation with her, asking her if she worked at my school, which lead to this major discount that I appreciate a lot.

It's funny how being more aware can allow aspects of your daily life to fall in your favor.

Continuing forward

The beginning of this week was a little rough.  Yesterday, Friday, was the best day of the week.  I was focused on teaching, and did not worry about the common demands put on us teachers from outside the classroom (new curriculum, test prep, etc.).  I found myself laughing with my students, grabbing their undivided attention, and observing their accomplishments compared to September (writing and reading for long periods of time).  I was proud of them and proud to be their teacher, a teacher.

With my daily yoga and meditation practice, I can observe this sense of calmness and stillness that I carry with me throughout my work day.  With about 5 full weeks in of this daily practice, I cannot even imagine the future benefits.

At the end of my day yesterday, my younger brother called to check in on me.  I once said to my family that my brother-in-law was like the older brother I never had.  I have often thought of the comment, and take it back fully.  My younger brother is the older brother I have always had.  He has this ability to listen and give sound advice with ease.  His words resonate with me, and have been more powerful than he may realize, offering positive actions to take place when I most needed them.  I look up to him, and so do my two sisters I believe.

Mike & Riss

Guardians of Being

After yoga on Friday, I ventured into the library.  I found this book Guardians of Being by Eckhart Tolle with illustrations by Patrick McDonnell (creator of Mutts, my favorite comic!).  Love it.

Karma

I've been practicing Chopra's 21 day meditation challenge.  On day 10 of the challenge, yesterday, the meditation challenge was letting go about non-nurturing thoughts and habits.  Karma is talked about, and it is relative to positive energy, which is a topic I have been reading about.

When reading, I understood that this karma or positive energy is around, but to allow it into our individual world, we need to create/see it.  We need to take opportunities when they are there.

I have been more open in my surroundings.  Today, I feel that I especially have a positive energy or good karma with me, because it is within me.  It has been a day where before I would have brushed as a day where everything is going right.  The difference is that now, I see that things are going right because of my choices.  There is a positive and a negative in every action.  When something is negative, it is up to us to see the positive in it, or to allow the negative to go through us.  Not get stuck within and turn into a grievance.

The little positives that have been adding up in my day, making me smile each moment and between the moments:
1) My alarm went off @6am.  I was happy to rise for the day.
2) I accomplished Rainbeau Mars Dawn for Beauty Yoga DVD.
3) I meditated and felt more stillness than I have, which came more quickly than ever.
4) I spoke to a paralegal that works for our fertility lawyer.
5) I spoke to my substitute who has been covering for me @work and she reassured me that everything is great.
6) I met with my therapist and realized I had met my goal.
7) I spoke to (and enjoyed) a complete stranger in a doctor's office and learned something new.
8) I smiled while waiting in traffic realizing it was out of my control.
9) I received get well cards from all 10 of my students.  Every single one made me smile.
10) I emailed the staff at my school and let them know everything that has been going on health wise.

“You are your deepest desire;

as is your desire so is your will;

as is your will so is your deed;

as is your deed so is your destiny.”

Winter Weather

For the last month, I've written down 10 things I'm grateful for each morning.  Today I glanced outside my dining room windows and noticed dense fog, a saturated ground, and water droplets from the "Nor'easter" that dispersed our area the night before.  I decided in that moment that I was grateful for the fog, and the rain.  Often I dismiss rainy days as dreary and miserable, but today I was able to find beauty in the mist and water that surrounded the nature outside my windows.

Amazingly, while the rest of the northeast dealt with 20 inches of snow, which I also would have welcomed, around 3:00 pm the sun peaked out behind the clouds and it was gorgeous!  The weather temperature read 53 degrees and I grabbed my dog, Star, and took her for a beautiful walk.  She was actually panting at the end of it.

I am grateful for fog, and the rain.  I am especially grateful when the sun peaks out.

A life changing event...

What brings you down will bring you up....eventually...and much, much higher than you ever were before.

A hysterectomy @27 years old because of a cancerous fibroid, and a rare kind of cancer at that (leiomyosarcoma).  It all happened very quickly.  Today I am cancer free, still getting monitored, but I feel in my heart and body that it will not return.

I went to a dark place though before I started to head toward the light.  Today I have found yoga and meditation, along with eating more healthy, reading inspirational books, and being in the now to bring me forward, perhaps one day reaching enlightenment?  :)

Positives are happening all around us.  Including have a couple of great people come forward to become our surrogate.  The plan for now is for the magic to happen a year from the present.