Connection

I am here. I am present.

When life gets complicated,
When there’s a distraction at every turn
And I feel overwhelmed,
Why add a further layer on top 
of an already full load?

I am here.  I am present.
That’s the only moment that counts.
I can embody that space.

I can feel love, connection, and gratitude
Only when I am in the present moment.

Sometimes I forget what’s so profound and simple.

But I am willing to learn and re-learn
To live this one precious life
In the present moment.

Connection

The Deciduous Tree (Part 3)

Do the leaves hold on to the tree’s branches 
or is it the tree’s own doing 
when it comes to ultimately letting go?

The leaves have completed their cycle.
They were the first buds and sign of spring
Opening into colorful blossoms.

The blossoms became the green or dark hues
Expressing the type of deciduous tree.
All shapes and shades of green expanding toward the sky.

Next there were the seeds.
The future generation of trees were expelled down.
Pinwheels of seeds helicoptered below
The descent to bring forth descendants.

Now that the seeds had done their work,
The tree could finally show its true colors.
The green transformed to bright oranges, reds and yellows.
My oldest calls them the color of the setting sun.

The strong autumn breezes help the trees
Shed their leaves.
And then they are bare,
Ready to brace the cold of winter.

No fragile blossoms to accidentally freeze.
Just the tree and its roots
Starkly standing in the white of snow.

Forever patient.
The cycle can’t be rushed or passed through
Because it is nature’s own timing
And the tree plays its part.

The deciduous tree reminds me
That all stages are important.
One is not more special than the other.

It is a seasonal reminder
That life’s moments are brief.
And there is beauty and a lesson to behold
If I just take nature’s cue.




Connection

The Shooting Range on a Sunday Morning

It’s 9 A.M. on Sunday morning.
The booming sound of shots
Pierces the quiet atmosphere.

Usually like clockwork
The shots of gunfire ring
like a Sunday sermon.

In those moments at the range, 
You feel connected to a higher power.
You may even feel that power in your hands.

The handgun is a tool.
There’s challenges, targets, and goals.
You can set your eyes on the prize.

Like all good things
It can be loud, hot, and messy
With occasional painful flying projectiles
Of the shell casings.

When the round is complete,
We all work together to clean up the debris.
Maybe that’s what I crave sometimes.

Working together so we can enjoy
A distraction and clutter-free space.
It’s all in the expectation and communication of the group.

We can protect ourselves with safety precautions.
Be responsible Americans.

The target is clear and tangible.

We can see our growth and our setbacks.
Each day is an opportunity to try and improve
Again and again.
 


Connection

All Hallows Eve

Out of the darkness
the dead walk
among the living.
The veil is thin and ripe.
So the line between the two
worlds is easily crossed

It’s a wonder to see
If I open my mind 
and see what lies
before me in the
present moment.

We dress the part
so that the living
may take part
in the sacred dance
to the edges
of the horizon
and to new shores.

Palm in palm we walk
in the dark
exploring with a flashlight.

Will we be surprised
at who crosses our path?

Will we recognize 
the familiar behind
the mask and the costume?

Will we run and
tremble with fear?

Can I hold the line
and be a safe haven
for the lonely and the scared?

For one day we will have to
take the one-way pilgrimage 
to the other side
and follow the well-grooved
path to see where it leads.

Tonight we pretend
that we are walking
among what is unreal
now made real and tangible.

A valley that is easily crossed
for those who open their minds
and their hearts 
and accept what lies before them
Even through a dark and scary night.
Connection

Greet the Day

I awake each day and darkness greets me.
The morning commuters drive by
And then there are crickets.

I reflect on the polarities of life.
It can be a whirlwind of noise and activity.
It can also be quiet and still.
I welcome and embody the silence.

Either polarity is not a permanent feature of life.
The rollercoaster of ups and downs:
The hard work and effort,
And the gift of glorious ease.

Duality often occurs
in the same time and place.

I know the sun will rise and light will peek through the curtains
by the time my morning ritual is done.
I’m ready to greet the day
Not knowing what’s next to come.




kundalini · working mom · yoga

Becoming a Kundalini yoga teacher

After 15 plus years of wanting to take yoga teacher training, including Kundalini yoga, 
I have stopped saying “no” to myself.

I always thought time and money were a deterrent:  
I couldn’t go away for a month-long teacher training with a full-time job and small kids.  
I couldn’t travel an hour plus several weekends a month for a whole year to train.  

For the last couple of years, I’ve received invitations and advertisements to become a yoga teacher online.  
Still, the timing, the money, and the online course didn’t feel like the right fit.  
And, finally I found the right teacher and the right online course.

Today is one of those days when you know that your life is about to be forever changed.  
I am enrolled in a 200-hour YTT online, six-month kundalini training!

My main intention as a kundalini yoga teacher is to be an inspiration to others.  
By being my authentic self, living my life on my own terms, 
l hope to inspire others on their path.
My past kundalini yoga experiences have always made me feel better, even among the challenges.  
And I want to guide my students to have their own profound healing experiences.

All the pieces of my life have clicked into place so I can fully immerse, embrace, embody and experience this training.  Best of all, I have the support of my husband. He said when I better myself, the whole family benefits.

I’m ready to embark on this life-changing journey!

Connection

Buried Treasure

There was a car on fire last week. 
A red Hyandai Sante Fe.
The entire front engine was engulfed in flames.
It was stopped on the highway
In the lane I typically travel on my morning commute.

The traffic was at a standstill.
Slowly the lanes began to merge over.
I passed the fiery carnage.
The flames were so hot, I could feel them 
Licking and heating up my driver side window.
I couldn’t look to see if there was a person trapped.
It was peculiar and strange.

As the cars started trickling back onto the empty highway,
I felt a sense of belonging with the other cars and trucks.
We all just witnessed that.
Now we’re trying to get back to our commutes,
Back to reality,
But we all shared an experience.
Though we may never meet and talk about it.

As individuals in our culture and society, 
we feel immune to the real world.
Our cars give us a sense of self-importance.
This experience made me realize that even sharing the road
Denotes a connection.

We may keep distracted with work, devices, and busyness
Claiming busy as a badge of honor.
We’re all busy.
But how do you live?
What lights you up when the workload fades into the background
For just a moment?

No longer surrounded by grasping or striving,
What else is there to discover?

Do you have a buried treasure of your own
Just waiting for you to be still enough
To observe its shine and discover its potential?

Connection

In the Whole Scheme of the Cosmos

As we head toward the Equinox,
The sun greets me a little later each passing day.
I imagine the sun trying to peek over the horizon.

The earth spins and rotates
And has its own cycles and rhythms.
We try to make sense of it all
And plan our lives around the earth.

It takes a whole year for the earth to cycle the sun.
So, on this day, the earth was exactly on this particular orbit.
That’s how the planets and stars align
At those rare times that astronomers keep track of.

There’s always something going on in the sky,
Even the minute.
It’s all fascinating
And often goes unnoticed.

When we’re so self-absorbed in our own lives,
Surviving, working, 
Our issues and problems feel so monumental.

But when you look up at the sky,
Those issues and problems somehow feel smaller
In the whole scheme of the cosmos.

Connection

Seen and Heard

In the subtle quiet moments of solitude
There is time to pause and examine
The obscure thoughts that enter my mind.
My heart finds a steady rhythm,
A glowing jewel that is the ultimate dance of life.

I write and reflect on the obscure and profound,
What is deeply personal to me
On any particular day.

I reconnect to that child,
Who may have hidden parts of herself
That society deemed inappropriate
Only to emerge onto the page,
Uncensured, for my eyes only.

I understand there are risks
For living an examined life.
The appropriate societal norms
Are under the magnifying glass.
And I can truly see them for the first time.

I am encouraged, not disheartened.
Change and growth is always possible.
Even my own beliefs and values have changed
And evolved into a reflection of my adult life.

I am inspired, not recoiled
As I try my best to stay mindful.
I am seen and heard,
If only through my own eyes and ears.

It is enough.
It is what truly matters.

Connection

Outside the Door

The soft earth awakens.
Fresh dewdrops cling
To the blades of grass,
To my picnic table,
To the windows of my car.

Outside the Door
The sun has begun
Its ascent above the skyline.
And its rays begin
To splay upon the horizon.

In the beginning,
Where did man lie down his head each night?
Did the morning dew greet him
Each sunrise as he awoke?
Did he sleep under the stars,
In the open air,
Or did he seek shelter most nights?

The earth is soft and lush.
Outside the Door
The heat of the summer
Has already begun to take ahold.

The breeze is my reprieve.
The birds are my companion.
As we share a moment
In the early dawn
Before the sunrays get too bright
And I, too, must take shelter
From the blazing sun.