post-yoga, pre-Esalen (we were already pretty blissed out, thanks to the TLC from our rock star hostess Liz)….pictured here celebrating 11 months since i met my sweetie, appropriately with a feast of sushi.
looking lovingly at Liz
October 4, 2008 at 5:03 am (Uncategorized)
Steadfast and Seeking Serenity and Strength
October 4, 2008 at 5:01 am (Uncategorized)
Recently returned from California. A blissful vacation. Many adventures, friends and family, relaxation and discovery. Mark and I took a chi kung class with a 90 year old Taoist priest who is a living inspiration. He is infinitely more limber and flexible than I but I am working on it. He has the mojo. The place and the practice sharpened amd broadened and focused my scope and perspective. Still digesting it all. I miss being submerged in steamy hot sulfur water under a dark sky with billions and billions of stars. I miss not knowing what day it is and measuring time by the sun and the rumbling of my stomach. I miss the peanut butter and apple butter. But it’s not all looking back or regret. I hold these reserves of strength and joy knowing this place and the people there and how the place affects and is affected by the people who pass through…it exists in my absence and affected who I am now. And I can cherish the stillness of moments but life is not stagnant nor would I be happy with it that way. Tonight, I had my first Cantonese lesson. Moving forward with melody.
fall flashbacks
August 11, 2008 at 11:07 pm (memory, ramblings)
opened up an old moleskine tonight to find some giddy ramblings from 11/2/2007 that i jotted while awaiting m. who was meeting me downtown for dinner and a jazz concert:
a few moments of solitude, quiet in the midst of chaotic surroundings noise of people gathering with friends or meeting for the first time and i am filled with happiness affecting my thoughts and breathing and the way my blood flows. i feel giddy and glowy and bubbly and safe and loved. contentment. thrill and possibility. and the seasons changing. the smell of autumn, the chilly night air and brilliance of the leaves changing. literally turning over a new leaf. the music has taken a turn for the worse and i notice my jaw clenching a bit in response. kinda satanic and yell-y. ick. let’s get back to the random 80’s stuff. wow, it’s been a long time since i tried to write like this. in vikram’s class! oh, phew, back to 80’s rock and roll. and a phone call from m, only a few blocks away…thinking about family since last night. how do we turn out the way we do? what points in life are the critical determinant crossroads and do we ever recognize them for what they are when standing at them, or only later in hindsight? not sure what to write or what i want to say or how to say what i want to say maybe
sultry
July 28, 2008 at 9:31 pm (Uncategorized)
Tags: children's lit, cleaning, tree grove, walking
it’s been a very industrious day. cleaned out the fridge and the kitchen sink. there’s something so immensely satisfying about clean kitchen counters… plus it makes it easier to cook when there’s a morsel of counter space. actually, i cooked* three meals at home today! (*well, more accurately prepared, really…anyhow, 3 healthy home “cooked” meals on a workday is nothing to sneeze at!)
actually, other than spending the day at work hunched over a computer, today has been a fairly healthy day. after dinner and some cleaning, i went for a long walk over to the park. there’s a path through this little grove of trees and i got over there at dusk to a magical show of twinkly little fireflies (and 2 little bunny rabbits. aww). so, it’s sauna-rific but there are some joys of summer. the little grove of trees is pure enchantment because, besides the fireflies, it reminds me of a book i used to love called the bridge to terabithia. a year or so ago, a movie version was made of it, but i have been afraid to see it because the book is really about the use of imagination and it seems like the forced visuals of the cinematographer might not live up to the wondrousness of the story.
bliss
July 17, 2008 at 12:43 am (Food, lyrics, meditation, recipe, yoga)
Tags: byrds, creme brulee, Food, lyrics, recipe, Yoga
last night, thanks to my favorite hippie chick in california, i finally found a great yoga instructor here in town, at one of the locations of the gym i belong to no less! (which means, no extra fee beyond my monthly gym membership. which helps with harmony and balance in both spirit and checkbook.) i started practicing yoga in college, and for a long time studied Sivananda style yoga with a teacher in florida who became a friend, which made the whole experience even more delightful. since moving to the DC area, i’ve tried a few yoga classes but they’ve all been “power yoga-esque” (i.e. blatant disregard for that whole concept of meditative and holding a pose to deepen the stretch, yadda yadda yadda}. now, don’t get me wrong, i enjoy aerobics…BUT to all things there is a season! a time for snowflakes, a time for cherry blossoms; a time to plant, a time to reap; a time for breathing deep, a time for ratcheting up the heart rate…
A time to build up,a time to break down
A time to dance, a time to mourn
A time to cast away stones, a time to gather stones together…
To everything (turn, turn, turn)
There is a season (turn, turn, turn)
And a time for every purpose, under heavenA time to gain, a time to lose
A time to rend, a time to sew
A time to love, a time to hate
A time for peace, I swear it’s not too late
see that? it all comes full circle back to that whole harmony and balance thing.
so i departed the gym feeling all glowy and glistening [sweaty], driving home with the windows down and the wind in my hair, beneath a nearly full moon, with that special feeling of endorphinistic bliss that overshadows the deeper anticipation of the generalized muscle achy-ness that comes a-knockin at my door the day after yoga.
i arrived home to find my most excellent sweetie pie, aka kitchen chemist, and the newest member of our family: the creme brûlée torch.
turns out, this yummy dessert has to be refrigerated for 8 hours before you can scarf it down (um, i mean, savor every tiny spoonful of goodness). Which of course meant only one thing: breakfast this morning!
hell yeah!
the imperative of wings
July 14, 2008 at 9:54 pm (poetry)
Tags: nina cassian, poetry, wings
A proper beginning.
Ordeal
~ Nina Cassian
I promise to make you more alive than you’ve ever been.
For the first time you’ll see your pores opening
like the gills of fish and you’ll hear
the noise of blood in galleries
and feel light gliding on your corneas
like the dragging of a dress across the floor.
For the first time, you’ll note gravity’s prick
like a thorn in your heel,
and your shoulder blades will hurt from the imperative of wings.
I promise to make you so alive that
the fall of dust on furniture will deafen you,
and you’ll feel your eyebrows like two wounds forming
and your memories will seem to begin
with the creation of the world.
Welcome, friends.
