Guess what? No the lessons don’t ever stop. What i realize in life is if we don’t listen and learn the lesson the first time around, it is bigger and louder the next time, and bigger and louder the next time. Life is really grand…however I have been in a lot of transition for the past month or so and I am ready to go into coast mode for a bit and have some peace.
TRY SOMETHING NEW
It was just over a week ago that i brought a friend to yoga class with me. He had never done yoga and going to the studio for the first time can create a little bit of anxiety not knowing what to expect. The class was amazing as usual and he did great. At the end of the evening I told him I was glad he was game for attending that class…and his response “I am up for just about anything as long as it doesn’t leave a permanent scar, I don’t have to get a tetanus shot and it doesn’t ruin my credit”.
Initially I laughed pretty hard…but since then I have been pondering how much power is behind those simple words. Life is all about having experiences, relating to others and learning…and that particular statement is all encompassing. How many times have you found yourself bowing out of something because “Its too cold”, “Its too hot”, “Its too hard”, “Its too early”, “Its too uncomfortable”, “I don’t have time”, “I’m too tired”, “I’m not strong enough”, “I have too much to do”. We make those excuses time after time and we watch life fly by and really miss out on some pretty great things.
I do my best to life my life in a way that puts me in places to have rich, rewarding experiences. Sometimes it is intimidating to enter into some of those situations I have no idea about and do something for the first time. Generally I have found that the more nervous I am about something, the more amazing I feel when I am finished. So instead of placing too many restrictions and being a fair-weather participant…how about creating a couple simple restrictions of your own, or adopting those three simple ones…doesn’t leave a permanent scar, no tetanus shot and doesn’t ruin your credit. Life becomes really, really exciting when you live like that and you will find yourself doing things you never even knew were on the menu…at least that is what I have found so far. We only get one chance…let’s make it to the end with no regrets!
TIMING IS EVERYTHING!!
Timing is everything! If you were to ask my Mom, she would say that I am not and have never been the most patient person. I am not one that needs to have things “RIGHT NOW” but I am one that if I get something on my mind, it needs to happen in the “VERY NEAR FUTURE”. I used to always say that once I have kids, I will learn patience. Of course I haven’t had that opportunity yet and so Life is teaching me lessons using other medium and boy they have been some real stingers lately.
with the tide. I have come to realize that there is a plan out there that is WAY bigger than me and if I can just surrender to whatever that is, life is simpler and easier than trying to push and make things happen. I have learned this is a lot of different ways however I have to credit my yoga practice with teaching me so much about how to manage and gracefully handle the waves in life. I am still human though and when I know that something is happening in life that is super exciting, I have a hard time not wanting to get to the exciting point as quickly as possible. This lesson has come up pretty strong this summer in two different ways, and in retrospect, it is so clear to see why and how it is all going to work out and for that, I am so grateful!The past week/weekend was really incredible. I have sat back and watched a couple really amazing things happen. I have been involved in the purchase of a short sale home since early May. It is a great little home in a great little spot and I was super excited to transition out of my condo and into a “Big Girl Home” as one of my friends referred to it. It has been a long 3 months with people continuously asking me when I am going to close with my answer always being “I don’t have a date confirmed but I am supposed to close on or before July 31st”. So with this past weekend approaching, my realtor and I put an extension on the contract. That very afternoon, just a short 5 hours after signing the extension, another house came up on the market and through a chain of communication I ended up seeing it the next morning and putting an offer on it that was accepted that evening and I will close within 30 days! The lesson in patience was reinforced for me in a really powerful way. “Good things come to those who wait”…I get it now.
The second lesson in patience this summer is private and really near and dear to my heart. It has been guiding me through a beautiful lesson is patience and timing and it is a slow process. This is something I will report back about further down the road.
THE SIMPLE THINGS
The joy in life is found in the simple things. This past weekend I accompanied a girlfriend to a party on the lake. Besides my friend, I wasn’t going to know a single person at the party but it seems that when hanging out around the lake, everyone is so friendly that I was sure it was going to be a good time. Something 
about the lake makes people happy. My understanding of the reason for the party was this couple got married and bought a house without telling anyone until it was over so this was a celebration of both of those things.
My assumption was correct and the party was a blast. The people were fun. The food was good. The house was beautiful. We stayed well into the night. Around 11pm were all chatting around a fire down by the water and Bob, the host of the party, arrived with a small cardboard box of stuff. It turns out that he had a bunch of Chinese lanterns.
Have you seen the movie “Tangled” the animated story of Rapunzel? Someone had recommended it to me so I watched it a few months back. Rapunzel finally had a day outside of the tower and her only goal was to go towards the lights. Every year, on her birthday, when she looked out the window in the evening, the sky would fill up 
with small lights. Though it was just an animated cartoon, the scene was really, really beautiful. She spent her free day in search of the source of those lights. Those lights were Chinese lanterns released from the people in the village. Fast forward to the happily-ever-after end of the movie is a beautiful scene filled with these lights, so beautiful I got a little choked up.
TRIATHLON SUCCESS
As many of you know, I have spend the past couple months training really hard for the First Try Triathlon. Well I am happy to report that my training paid off. The event was this past Saturday over in Linden. I have done many races but as we got closer to this event, I was really nervous. To do 300 yard swim had become kind of a simple thing, 9 mile bike ride-no problem, 2 mile run-piece of cake…but to put them all together and do them back to back, I w
asn’t so sure.
So my morning looked like this…
Alarm goes off, get dressed, early breakfast and hydrate, load up gear, blast loud music as I drive over to Clover Beach, survey the scene, unload my gear, set up my transition area, get body marked with my number and age, put swim cap and goggles on, strip down to swim gear (it was about 60 degree with a treacherous wind and very difficult to part with my sweatshirt), line up in heats, swim, dodge weeds, catch my breath and swim some more, run up the beach to transition area, change to biking gear and bike 9 miles (shoot I forgot to put my sunglasses on), back to transition area, change to running gear, try not to throw up (I was very nauseous), run 2 miles still trying not to throw up (and thinking I wish I had time to use the bathroom), finish, cheer on my family and friends, find my mom and run the end of her race with her, and enjoy and celebrate the completion of my first triathlon.
WOW! That was so much fun! During the entire race I was sure that I was in the middle of my heat…not near the front nor the back…but figured I was right in the middle. I have abnormal anatomy in my heart that limits my oxygen carrying capacity so even though I do a lot of running races, I mostly do them to complete them rather than compete. At the end of the triathlon I go to check my times and of course I start in the middle of the list and work my way down…my name is not there. I thought that was a bit odd, so I scroll down it again. Well there is no way I should look above half way on that list…I have never been above that point. So I scrolled up the list and low and behold I found myself finishing at number 52!!!!!! I thought to myself “this can’t be right, there is no way”…but it was and I actually finished 4th in my age group!!!! AHHHHHHHH!!! I was and still am thrilled. I am not one to throw placings around (mostly because I am usually so far back on the list) but this time I have to.
So my overall view is the triathlon itself was incredibly well organized, I had so much fun, I smiled the entire time, I finished and felt great and the icing on the cake is the fact that I actually did really well. Of course you will currently find me trying to figure out when I can fit another one into my schedule.
I am always up for an adventure. I learn so much about myself and about life by taking on challenges like the triathlon. Life is about learning, growing and evolving. Have you been stepping outside your comfort zone to find your limits? The great thing is when we do, we find that our limits are in a constant process of changing and we can usually go farther and do more than we previously gave ourselves credit for. We may as well test our limits…we only get one chance.
HANDS
I have a job that I stare at my hands all day. I mean that is not all I do in my job, however I because of my work I am keenly aware of them. Have you ever broken a hand? sprained a wrist? done something that made one or both of your hands un-usab
le for a while? Usually within about 10 minutes of something happening, you begin to realize how much we take for granted when it comes to our hands.
So I am bringing this up because the challenge I was having may be from the fall, however it may be from something else. I have a book called “You Can Heal Your Life” by Louise Hay. The back part of the book is a list of body parts, some ailments that could happen and a possible thought pattern that could be feeding into the problem…so I looked up hands:
Probable Cause: Hold or handle. Clutch and grip. Grasping and letting go. Caressing. Pinching. All ways of dealing with experiences.
New Thought Pattern: I choose to handle all of my experiences with love and with joy and with ease.”
When something comes up in my life, I go and see my chiropractor and get my spine checked, see my massage therapist, check in with some acupuncture and look at my thought patterns. In doing all this, I want to maximize my potential for healing and health and trust my body to take care of whatever is going on.
Things happen in life. I am a human being like everyone else and there has been a little bit of challenge in letting things go as of late. It is so interesting how much our body can teach us if we look at how it is communicating with us. Life is an ongoing chain of experiences and a process of learning and growing. I am grateful for all the places life has taken me and all the things I have learned. And I am also grateful for this lesson and am ready to let go in a big way. I want to learn as much as I can about life and living…since I only get one chance.
I AM IN LOVE
I am in love …WITH SWIMMING!!! In my trek to my first triathlon, I have discovered a love for swimming. I am so crazy about it and I had no idea I would enjoy it this much. In fact, I find myself so excited during the day knowing that I get to go out there and jump in the water and swim! So in this crazy joy I am finding in swimming, I am taking a step back and trying to understand what is happening in my mind that makes me love it so much. 
I do most of my swimming out in the lake and the water has been really, really beautiful. I have been focusing on free-style stroke which I am hoping to do for the entire swim distance of the triathlon.
I have been working really hard on rhythmic breathing in order to be able to tackle the stroke which is a challenge in and of itself for my body. The breath is taken through the mouth and then the head goes in the water, breathe out the nose and then coming back up for a breath and start again. I have found such a peacefulness in the time that my head is underwater.
I have goggles on of course and can see in the water but cannot see anything because the lake is rather deep. I see the bubbles coming from my nose and I watch my arms as I take strokes and watch the trail of bubbles that follows my hands as they move through my visual field. There is something about that scene that I am completely mesmerized by and I think about during the day.
It is really quiet underwater. That peacefulness is contrasted every time I take a breath with all the chaos on top of the water from the sights and sounds of the world above the surface. Then I return to the peace, then chaos, then peace, then chaos. I also notice how much of the water I can feel when I first jump in and the temperature contrast of that first submersion when compared to the air. I have come to really enjoy the slight pressure on my skin as I move through the water and the sweeping sensation the water makes as I begin covering the distance. When I am finished and get back up on the dock, there is an incredible euphoria and sometimes a slight dizziness from over oxygenation of the body. I am hooked…in a really serious way.
Those of you who know me realize that I am continuously exploring and looking for new adventures and new doors to open. In that, I have made some really awesome discoveries.
Have you been exploring? Are you finding new and wonderful things in this life on a continual basis? Life is a process of discovery…on many levels. I am in love with swimming. Get out there and try something new…we only get one chance. …oh, and come cheer me on on June 25th 8:00am at Clover Beach off Linden Rd:)
SUMMER IS HERE
e sun, WE WILL TAKE IT!!! There is a certain feeling that comes along with summer. I think it may have to do with the shedding of all the layers we have to wear during the winter in order to keep warm. Once summer comes, even something as simple as being able to wear flip flops is so freeing.We are incredibly blessed with all the water and lakes that surround us. In this great little town alone, we probably have 8 or 9. Life on the lake is really nice. I am fortunate that my parents live on the lake just south of town and on the weekends, my brothers and their families gather and we hang out and play all day. We usually gather with food and music and spend the entire day chatting, catching some rays and watching my niece, Charlei, learn about the water, sand and navigating the deck. It is a lot of fun and has become my most favorite thing to do. Yesterday was wonderfully hot, the lake was incredibly busy, and the water was amazingly refreshing. Everything wrapped up around 7 or so and everyone headed home to get some final rest before the week begins again. I headed down a couple doors to a small gathering that was happening, chatted for a few minutes and helped them clean up… And that is when it happened…I had my first bite of watermelon. I don’t know anything that says “welcome to summer” more than biting into fresh watermelon. It’s summertime. Get out there and enjoy yourself!
A GREAT WEEKEND
It was a GREAT weekend, I mean really great. It was the most perfectly balanced weekend that I can remember in a long time. It started with a coaching meeting and getting my hair done on Friday morning. The evening marked the last class of Yoga Teacher Training with concluded with 108 sun salutations to a live bongo band. Awesome! And maybe you are not familiar with what a sun salutation is so let me breifly describe it. It follows the length of about 5-6 breath
s and includes 11 postures, standing, forward fold, top of a plank then bottom, up dog, down dog and back to the top of the mat. Multiply that by 108 = A LOT of work. Good work though. Saturday morning began with the Le Leche League doing their cloth diaper sale in the front yard of the Cafe of LIFE. It was great because I came and helped set up and didn’t have to stay and work. So I chose to head up north. There is a bike ride called Zoo-De-Mack(http://www.zoo-de-mack.com/) that happens once a year and I have gone up and participated for 7 years. This year I didn’t get to do the ride but I went up for the celebration anyways. Mackinaw Island is such a cool place. There is so much to do and see there, I really enjoy it. The evening was filled with friends and dancing and everyone was in such great spirits. I woke early on Sunday and made it home to finish the weekend hanging out with my family and having dinner on the lake.
This is the frist weekend where I actually felt like I was able to catch up with myself. Seems life is so full anymore that I feel I fall behind a little with myself. Great to relax and have some fun and catch up. This morning I woke up loving the fact that it is Monday. Monday mornings are so full of potential. Some people really dread Mondays however I feel like there are so many possibilities for the week when I am staring at the ceiling waking up on Monday mornings. In that same moment, I am so grateful that I play a part in choosing to make the week a good one or not. It was a great weekend. May as well do our best to make all of our weeks great…we only get one chance.
MOTHER’S DAY
m. I consider her one of my closest friend and tend to discuss most aspects of my life with her. There are quite a few people that are curious of her and my relationship and most people make the assumption that we have been this close my whole life. I grew up with three brothers and was pretty much carted around with them, doing everything that they were doing and not getting much room to be an individual and almost never getting individual one on one time with my Mom. I never really learned the value of good quality female relationships until I went away for school many years down the road. Then came the invention of Internet and email. I was living in Alaska at the time my Mom first got email. We began to email each other 2-3 times per week and I really felt like I was able to get to know her, and thus get to know myself at a deeper level. This progressed for a few more years and our relationship really began to flourish to the point that I she became one of my very best friends. I moved back home in 2004 and lived under the same roof with her for two years. She is amazing, brilliant, straight-forward, talented, level-headed, caring, loving, balanced and really happy. I admire her and all the trials she has had in life and how that has shaped her to really be grounded in who she is. Though she is not “raising” us anymore, because of the mutual love and respect that the my brothers and I have for her, we are able to go to her when things come up and allow her to guide us when we need guidance. It really is a beautiful thing. For Mother’s Day this year, she spent the entire day working and wasn’t going to be home until 8PM. In my mind, she still deserves recognition, as every Mom does, on that special day. We made a small desert celebration happen last night to surprise her, and we did just that. Without my Mom, there wouldn’t be a Me and without a Mom like I have, I wouldn’t be the person I am today. Thank you Mom!!! Happy Mother’s Day…today and always!