Your Custom Text Here
I wanted to share some photos from the first session of YogArt Camp. I have more to say about the camp but for now, all I can muster is some photos. I'll be back soon with my thoughts on this camp, these girls and a few other things rolling around in my mind.
It has been 2 weeks since I returned home from a trip to NYC and PA. I've tried to articulate what this trip was like, but its hard to put into words what time with your creative, inspiring girlfriends is like.
Sitting in a cool, old-school hotel lounge having cocktails and spying Armand Assante sitting at the next table.
Going to the same diner every morning for coffee and eggs.
Watching the skaters at Rockefeller Center than perusing the streets for bits of trash that seem interesting.
Kicking aside the trash every trip up and down those 3 flights of stairs to 'our' apartment.
Spending the evening watching Jonatha perform, while looking out on Columbus Circle, with some of your dearest friends.
Giggling into the night.
Being helped up from a pretty scary fall with only a bruised knee and torn jeans. Then walking into the museum and being handed a bandaid at the exact moment the scrape started to bleed.
Discussing a fun project that could turn into something great and be the exact thing that propels me forward.
Getting a massage from a guy who used to be a welder and changed careers in his 50's (I'm guessing on the age), showing me its never too late to pursue a dream.
Spending time with friends who I don't see often enough and yet it feels like we just saw each other yesterday.
Eating good food, drinking good wine and laughing...alot.
Its sort of like that....
definition: the state of being comfortable
a. freedom from pain or discomfort b. freedom from care c. freedom from labor or difficulty d. freedom from embarrassment or constraint
Over the past few years, I have not made resolutions but instead have focused on a word that encompasses what I want to bring to that new year. Last year, I chose two words, Trust and Balance. I worked a lot last year on trusting myself and others and bringing balance to my life. I'm still working on both of those.
This year when thinking of a word, I pondered a few but the one that stuck with me and kept playing over and over again in my head is EASE. Not Easy as in I want my life to be easy but Ease as in quit fighting so hard. Ease on down the road...don't make things harder then they need to be.
We will see what 2012 holds for all of us. I think its going to be a good year indeed. And I hope that all of you incorporate some EASE into your life too.
****The Giveaway winner is (drumroll please) Karen Delaney Dino aka Deldino! Congratulations! Christine will be in touch to ship off your extra special wall art!**** Today I am excited to have Christine Mason Miller here to share her new book, Desire to Inspire. Christine is my best friend and she has been inspiring me for the many years we have known each other, since the day she whipped up bigger than life silhouettes for the Virginia Tech Homecoming Dance in 1987! We became friends shortly after that day and I can't imagine a better BFF. Through the good times and bad, she is always an inspiration. I am so proud of her latest endeavor and cannot wait to hold this book in my own two hands. Check out a snippet here...
Christine Mason Miller’s latest book - Desire to Inspire: Using Creative Passion to Transform the World – is a collection of stories, exercises, images, quotes, and anecdotes from twenty extraordinary contributors, all sharing insights and experiences of how they create a meaningful life and, in turn, make a positive impact on the world. Each chapter discusses a different aspect of living a passion-fueled life, and this month Christine is offering a 60-Second Snapshot of each chapter as part of her Desire to Inspire Virtual Book Tour. Click here for all her online book tour dates!
Today Christine discusses Chapter 5 ~ Twists, Turns, and Other Beautiful Surprises
“The unpredictable nature of following dreams and creating a meaningful life is perhaps the only certainty that exists along these journeys. There are no guarantees in even the best laid-out plans; one way or another the details of life are going to trickle in and force me to re-evaluate, venture into unknown territory, or abandon certain items in my metaphorical backpack.” ~Desire to Inspire
Both of these statements are true, and beautiful for their own reasons:
My life has turned out exactly the way I dreamed it would.
My life has turned out nothing like I thought it would.
Leave a comment today through 5pm December 21st and be entered to win one of the three wall art pieces pictured below!
The winner will be selected at random and announced on December 22nd.
Christine Mason Miller is a Santa Monica-based artist, writer, and explorer. Her next book – Desire to Inspire: Using Creative Passion to Transform the World – is now available at bookstores everywhere and Amazon.com. Follow her adventures at www.christinemasonmiller.com.
On Friday, I completed my final testing for my Pilates certification. This was one of the biggest goals I have ever set for myself. It involved 600+ hours of observing, teaching, and taking classes. It involved four full weekends of training plus countless hours of studying. At times, early in the process, I thought I would never get through this. But this past Friday, I did my advance mat workout, finished my written test and completed the oral portion of the test. A year in the making and its complete.
Yet, I have been having a hard time allowing myself to celebrate this accomplishment. Maybe its because in the middle of the oral test, I received a call saying the my cousin was receiving his last rites and this pilates certification didn't seem all that important. Or maybe its because after all this time and work, there was no fan fair, no marching band, no balloons. I'm not sure why I was resistant to celebrate, but I kind of forced myself on Friday evening to open a bottle of Prosecco, spend time on the phone with a dear friend and laugh hysterically at the antics of Melissa McCarthy and various other things....oh and of course snap pictures of Allie (above) staring into my glass.
Yesterday, I didn't have anywhere to be until 5:30pm so I gave myself permission to chill out, relax and take my time getting ready. Of course I did clean my house so it wasn't a total day of luxury.
Taking my time and not rushing about my day, I guess that was my sort of celebration for this big goal. Of course, today I am focused on my book and spending time to work on that. Does anyone else have a hard time allowing time for celebration following the completion of a big project or goal? Or are you already focused on the next thing like me?