Pure Potential

From the outside, it may not have looked like I did much in tonight’s yoga class with OmGal. I took it slow, skipped each and every chautauranga, sunk deeply into many a child’s pose for minutes at a time, and kept both feet on the ground in the balancing poses.

I was dehydrated and depleted. My body wanted to go home, but my mind needed the sanctuary. So, instead, I dedicated tonight’s class to recharging my body through my thoughts.

By coaching myself into remembering how I feel when I’m “at my best” on the mat, I was able to come up with a few grounding words, which became my mantra for the evening.

Deep breath in . . . I am graceful. Exhale . . . I am strong. Inhale . . . I am pure potential . . .

For 90 minutes, I breathed these words in and I breathed these words out. Even without my wonderfully familiar power yoga flow, I was graceful and strong. And my potential? Limitless.

Best yoga class ever? I dare say so.

"And now here is my secret, a very simple secret; it is only with the heart that one can see rightly, what is essential is invisible to the eye."                                                                         -- Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

_________________________________________________________________________ © 2010 Good Karma Housekeeping. Because stillness can be expansive. (Photo by lululemon athletica via Creative Commons.)

Redoing the To-Do List

“There is much to get done; therefore, we must go slowly.” I can’t remember who said it first, but boy was he (or she) right!

When the to-do list is a mile and a quarter long (And, really, whose isn’t?) the only chance we have of really getting things done is to slow waaaay down.

Less is more. Remember?

Today, instead of rushing to work to get crackin’ on that to-do list, I chose to hit the coffee shop. After getting my drink, I pulled out a blank sheet of paper and started writing. I wasn’t just wrapping my head around what I had to do; rather, I was getting clear on how I was going to do it. More intention, less agenda. Fifteen minutes later, I was ready to face my workday.

With a clear intention, we stand a much better chance of getting to the items on our own to-do lists—even when other people are adding their own items to it.

Want to re-do your to-do list? Here's my approach for getting things done:

  • Start with a blank sheet of paper and take a few minutes to unload whatever thoughts are jumbling around in your head.
  • Remind yourself of your intention. (What are you working toward? What gets you energized?)
  • Create a short to-do list for the day. (3 to 5 items is realistic.)
  • Review each item and ask yourself, “If this was the only thing I got done today, how would I feel?” Make sure that something on your to-do list is fueling your intention.
  • Take a moment to think about how you’d like to feel (Calm? Productive? Connected?) and imagine yourself doing each of the items on your to-do list in this manner
  • Go out there and live your day.

If things don’t go as planned, that’s okay. Tomorrow you get to try all over again.

“Love of bustle is not industry.”                                   --Seneca

_________________________________________________________________________ © 2010 Good Karma Housekeeping. Because less on your to-do list can make you more productive. Whodda thunk? (Photo by Shereen M via Creative Commons.)

Playlist: Just Purr and Sing Along

[youtube]Lhop9Pd4xfQ[/youtube] Ah, the Meow Meow Lullaby. Such a silly, simple, sweet song. Makes me smile every time I hear it. Reminds me of my own little fella . . .

Definitely an atypical tune from Nada Surf. Most of the videos out there for the song are of some scrappy concert footage, tots and tweens giving it a go, and slideshows cobbled together from Google images. The link above was the best of the bunch. Be sure to listen close to the end of the song. Melts the ol’ heart.

* * *

I stumbled across this blog post, On Losing a Beloved Pet, from Christine Kane last summer and promptly bookmarked it—after reading it twice and shedding a few tears, of course.

It’s about guilt and second guessing and knowing (or not knowing) when “it’s time.” It’s about life and the gift of time, surrender and experiencing the release of this furry being you treasure.

If you’re a pet parent, bookmark it. If you have friends who are pet parents, bookmark it for them. The wisdom runs deep. In the meantime, just purr and sing along . . .

_________________________________________________________________________ © 2010 Good Karma Housekeeping. Because I wholeheartedly believe that pets are the secret to having a happy home.

This Thing I Love: The PS22 Chorus

*swoooon* [youtube] OKPC-T3jjRg[/youtube]

Have you heard about these kids? The PS22 Chorus is a group of fifth graders from a public school in Staten Island, NY. Their ebullient teacher, Gregg Breinberg, encouraged the school to let him start a chorus back in 2000—despite previous financial cutbacks to the arts. Fueled by a whole lot of heart and moxie, Breinberg launched a program that is nothing short of remarkable.

Mr. B., as he’s known, has introduced these kids to an unexpected repertoire: Tori Amos b-sides, haunting melodies from Bjork, iconic ’80s tunes, and big hits from artists like Lady Gaga and Coldplay. Sophisticated lyrics, but there’s something about the kids’ renditions that showcases their innocence and pure potential—and makes you want to write a huge check to the Save the Music Foundation.

So inspiring!

Not to mention, I just adore their Peanuts character dance moves.

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Check out all of the PS22 videos (there are hundreds more just as cool as these) at www.youtube.com/user/agreggofsociety.

_________________________________________________________________________ © 2010 Good Karma Housekeeping. Because even though I believe the children are our future--I don't need to hear them sing any Whitney. That would be whack.

Decisions, Decisions

Fiber flakes or multigrain squares? Black skirt or black pants? Bus or drive? Highway or back roads? Lunch break or eat at my desk? Yoga class or sleep in? Cone or cup? Reply or wait? Golden cake or red velvet? Make dinner or munch on cheese and crackers? Buy the sweater or make do with what I have? Veg out or write? Bring the camera or enjoy being unencumbered?

My days are filled with decisions, most of which are small potatoes. Yet I can weigh their pros and cons endlessly—as if my entire future rides on this one moment. Are the eggs cage-free? Did I wear the black pants on Tuesday? Do they use beet juice or red food coloring? It’s exhausting being me!

I know better. I really do. And I trust myself enough to know that any option I’m weighing has got to be pretty darn good.

So here, as a note to myself—and perhaps you, too—is my very own refresher course on decision making.

Step one:

  • Just do it.

That’s it. Pick one option and run with it. Embrace it fully. Don’t look back. Go!

Thinking should inspire doing, not get in the way of it. These daily decisions are an opportunity to practice taking conscious action.

_________________________________________________________________________ © 2010 Good Karma Housekeeping. Because less deliberating means more time for fun things. Or productive things. Or naps. Naps are good. (Photo by thesleepydumpling via Creative Commons.)

Gifted with Love, with Patience, and with Faith

Back in grad school, I was researching motherhood for a story I was thinking about writing. In the process of doing so, I stumbled across scotthousehold.com, where a Texas couple, Jenny and Andrew Scott, shared photos of their cherubic first-born daughter Allie with friends and family.

I discovered the site in the summer of 2004—shortly after their daughter was diagnosed with leukemia at five months of age. On the family website, Jenny provided daily updates on Allie’s health. I read through the archives and kept this little girl and her brave family tucked warmly in my heart.

Every day, I checked in to see how Allie was doing. There were hundreds, if not thousands, of others doing the same. Through Jenny’s updates, I witnessed what it meant to have a strong spirit—and to be gifted with love, patience, and faith.

I remember checking Allie’s website when I woke up in the morning on September 14 and learned of her passing the night before. I remember shedding tears for this mother whom I had never met. I sent out a lot of positive vibes over the few months that I followed Allie’s fight with cancer, and her parent’s struggle to make sense of it all.

On that morning six years ago, when purchasing my morning bagel and iced coffee at Bruegger’s before heading to class, the song “Wonder” by Natalie Merchant came on over the speakers. The same song Jenny had sung to Allie during her final moments of life. Whenever I hear that song—and I seem to hear it more often than you might think—I am reminded that life is indeed an ephemeral gift.

_________________________________________________________________________ © 2010 Good Karma Housekeeping. Because memories are filled with life. (Photo by Frank Peters via Creative Commons.)

Quotation: On Taking Action

“In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing.”                                                                                                               --Theodore Roosevelt

I recently came across a to-do/goals list from a few years ago—and was stunned to see just how many of those items I was still working toward. Lofty ambitions, largely untouched. And I suspect, if I looked through my old notebooks, these same things would be on my wish list.

What if I had tackled these things in small bits—bird by bird, as Anne LaMott would say—where would I be now? What amazing feats could I have accomplished?

What I’ve finally learned is that there is no such thing as the “right” time. Perfectionism is procrastination. If I give myself permission to do things imperfectly, I get things done. And the funny thing is that the outcome is usually pretty darn good.

_________________________________________________________________________ © 2010 Good Karma Housekeeping. Because you never know unless you try. (Photo by other cities via Creative Commons.)

I Remember

  My favorite souvenirs are my memories. I scoop them up, everywhere I go—filing away the words, gestures, facial expressions, scents, sights, and sounds. Later, and again and again over the years, I’ll page through these memories. Their details so crystalline, they instantly transport me back.

A cloudless cornflower-blue sky is my anchor to September 11.

I remember walking down the sidewalk to work. The sun was warm on my shoulders, but there was a tinge of autumn in the air. It would likely be the last time I’d wear my magenta sleeveless blouse for the season. The same blouse I wore on my first date with Andrew. Soaking in that Crayola-like blue before stepping into my office building, I remarked to myself what a positively gorgeous day this was.

I clicked on my e-mail inbox. The Scotsman had sent a message to everyone in my small group. “THEY DID IT AGAIN. THIS TIME ITS REALLY BAD.” I clicked on the hotlink to the New York Times, not at all sure who “they” were. I hurriedly tapped the refresh button until I could get through to the webcam atop the twin towers. A swirling smoke cloud filled the screen.

My colleagues and I crowded around the small TV in the café downstairs, clenching coffee cups until they were lukewarm. Another building down. Another swirling cloud. A storm of debris raining over the streets. The Scotsman tells us about 1993. He was there. It was horrible. But it didn’t even compare.

New York. Pennsylvania. DC. Boston held its breath as its people retreated home to watch the uncertainty unfold on TV.

When I got home, there was a UPS package on my front step—one of the last to be delivered for a week as the fifty nifty (and beyond) was deemed a no-fly zone. With my new laptop, I looked up all of these unfamiliar words on the news: Al Jazeera, Al Qaeda, Bin Laden.

The next morning, the sky was that same shade of cornflower blue. And the day after that. The news footage was on repeat, too. People’s loved ones were missing. Colleen, one of my old college classmates was missing. We had traded bottles of shampoo our sophomore year. And she had that green and purple Laura Ashley comforter I had always admired . . . and eyelashes as thick and curled as a blinky baby doll.

* * *

To remember, quite literally means “to put memories back together.” Recalling what once was.

And so I do. Today it’s the candy-sweet scent of Finesse that I got in exchange for my Pantene. Which, incidentally, is also cornflower blue.

_________________________________________________________________________ © 2010 Good Karma Housekeeping. Because I have infinite storage space for memories, old and new. (Photo by cdsessums via Creative Commons.)

Theo Can't Fly

I’ve been carrying around this piece of pink paper for years. On it is a poem that I wrote in the hours between school and supper back in December 1981. I was in the second grade, and could entertain myself for hours with my pink doodle paper, markers, crayons, and imagination.

Trying to keep my lines straight was no small feat. I can remember writing out several versions, but my words just kept sloping down. Even still, I was quite proud of my creation. Especially sounding out all those big words. Like pueugeuns.

But carrying around this relic of my youth—one of my earliest writings—was getting to be burdensome. Every year or so, I’d come across it somewhere in our house—filed with invoices from the vet, tucked inside of a notebook, buried under blank notecards and address labels from the MSPCA—and think to myself, someday I should really do something with that.

Finally, in a mini decluttering spree a couple of weeks ago, I decided to take action. I brought it to the framers. I’m so happy with how it turned out! Now I just need to find somewhere to hang it . . .

_________________________________________________________________________ © 2010 Good Karma Housekeeping. Because my walls are decidedly less cluttered than my drawers.