Summer is so full of life. As a Leo with the sun as my ruling planet I can’t help but be drawn outside to dig in the dirt, take longer walks with Bisbee, run, ride my bike(s), watch the birds… whatever. Since my last post, life's fullness has included trips to Minneapolis, Seattle, Jacksonville, San Diego and Oregon. Some of the highlights:
- Meditating while lying in a pile of people on the floor of a tipi and having didgeridoo vibrations move through every chakra; teaching a walking meditation workshop based on my daily practice; showering outdoors (one of my favorite things) all at the Dreamtime Festival multi-day campout in Peonia, Colorado.
- Sharing many of my favorite experiences with girl friends in celebration of my birthday (cultivating the creative feminine): meaningful conversation, intentional art, natural edible facials (think chocolate), foot baths, flowers, fresh fruit, ceviche, strawberry Haagen-Dazs ice cream. Frosting on the cake of that day, activating the creative space in my art studio and having wishes made for me by all, accompanied by scatterings of rose petals. YES!
- Swimming in a cold clear aqua blue river with red rock bottom on a hot August afternoon
- Peddling my cruiser down to Lola’s with Shawna for a happy hour honoring Dawna’s visit (she moved to Africa in January). I plan to go see her before the end of the year.
- Reconnecting with many friends from various points along my GIS career at the ESRI conference in San Diego, especially the Arizona crew which I spent so much time with for 5 years and hadn’t seen for over a year; sailing with Tucson friends; running my fastest ever 5K with my co-worker Brady who I talked into running his FIRST ever 5K.
- Showing up at my 20 year high school reunion in Corvallis to see so many familiar faces whose names I couldn’t seem to remember; a few special souls lit up my heart.
- Time in Oregon with mom, dad, brother, grandma, aunts, uncle, cousins, second cousins, filled my cup with love.
- Turning off technology completely while in Oregon, just say NO to email.
- The pure healing that comes from the land, just being present on our family ranch. I felt such deep gratitude for the hard work, risks and legacy that my grandparents built. Gratitude for the stewardship and commitment my father has to this way of life. Gratitude for the cattle, horses, blue jays, hawks and even the vultures that play a critical role in the cycle of life.
- The smell of nettles, chamomile and other mossy forest summer scents.
- Dancing to and through the sunset in Cheeseman Park’s open air pavilion (imagine a mini parthenon) with our Gypsie Nation family… the medicine dance. Celebrating the 100 people who came to support this intentional co-creation.
- Playing dress-up with Sophie, friend Minturn Melanie’s daughter; spontaneously making a bandana into a shirt for a 4 year old is a great reason to smile until your cheeks hurt.
- Making my last trek up to Laramie, Wyoming to visit dear friend Kimberly before she and her family moved to Indiana… end of an era.
- Independence Day fireworks from the rooftop of Barclay Towers in LoDo with Patty, Ron, Linda, Joe and their young-uns.
- Clearly and more deeply than ever knowing/seeing/understanding my truth… the inner YES and the inner NO. Feeling it. Choosing to be true to myself before compromising in order to make another feel more comfortable.
- Returning to Colorado for two-days of constant rain, more than 30 minutes of rain at one shot is not normal here. Very cozy and finally my lawn is green!
1 comment:
You know what, Nat? I subscribe to a ridiculous number of geeky blogs for programming, how to run projects, and the like. And the best blog post I've read in months was this one :-) It took me right back to Cheeseman Park, cycling in Denver, and generally goofing off in Denver. Thanks for reminding me that there is plenty to celebrate. I had a wonderful experience recently that just screamed "forget work, remember life". It was so simple: I was cycling across the Golden Gate and saw the clouds rolling like a river across the ridgeline. I was absolutely transfixed. One long and wickedly steep uphill ride later, I was huffing and puffing and supremely happy. Turns out there's nothing like a bit of physical exercise and a natural wonder to relegate all of the humdrum crap waaaay in the background.
Thanks for reminding me.
Post a Comment