hodgepodge

A little bit of this, and a little bit of that.

It’s amazing the way my life has unfolded  these past few weeks as I’ve attempted to put my best foot forward and do the next right thing.

Everything has seemed so natural. So easy. So perfect. It seems as if I’ve known my classmates for much longer than I actually have. I’ve adjusted to my schedule with ease.

It’s nice.

It’s nice that everything isn’t such a struggle anymore. It’s nice not trying to force my will or my way onto the world and it’s people.

Now, I’m not saying that things are 100% hunky dory, but they ain’t all that shabby either;)

It’s proof to me that living in accordance with one’s belief system, living true to what you believe, living in the will of God—grants you peace of mind and well....things just get better.

They really do.

I don’t know why I took the path of the most resistance for so long. The path of the least resistance is so much better!

Here are a few of my favorite blogs from this past week: Must reads in my opinion!

 Bernie Birney: The Art of Showing Up

Our Messy Messy Life: In Which I Try to Learn a Life Lesson

Stuff Christians Like: Forgive, Don't Forget

Marvelous Kiddo: Stuck In My Head

Lucky Dog Rescue Blog: Humane Society???

If you have not gone to see Midnight in Pairs, you must do it now! It truly is the best films I’ve seen all year. Woody Allen nailed this one! I will see it at least 3 more times while it’s in theaters. You really are missing something if you don’t go. I’m telling you, It’s THAT good!

and now I’ll leave you with a few photos of my classmates. I love them all.

 " If you want to make God laugh, tell Him your plans" ~Woody Allen

Inner Body Bright

Say "Inner Body Bright " to any Anusara student and they will puff up their inner body expanding the light and energy within and soften their outer body radiating positive energy outwards. "Inner Body Bright, Side Body Long" is something you will often hear in Anusara yoga classes - reminding us in each pose to allow the inner light to expand and to soften and pause before applying self effort.  Inner Body Bright reminds us to Open to Grace, to tune in to the currents of our heart and to the pulsating ocean of consciousness within us. 

I’ve been thinking a lot about this subscript principle--Inner Body Bright.

I’ve been thinking about the fact that it honestly doesn’t matter what you look like on the outside. It doesn’t matter how fat you are. How skinny you are. How tall or how short. Those things do not make up who you are.

Who you really are is who you are on the inside. What’s in your heart; what’s in your spirit; what’s in your soul.

I have so many beautiful friends that define who they are by what they look like. And the sad part is, they don’t even realize they do that.  It’s inbred in our society—Looks Matter—is the underlying concept in our world today.

And by no means am I saying that it’s bad to care about your appearance, but it is bad to define who you are by what you look like.

What does matter is who you are when no one is looking. What does matter is how you treat and view yourself. What does matter is who you are inside.

So, who are you?

Is your inner body bright or dark?

It doesn’t matter how much weight you lose….how many plastic surgeries you have….how many boyfriends, lovers, husbands you possess….

You are still the same person on the inside even though you might have made as many changes as possible to your outsides.

I know a lot of women who are absolutely gorgeous on the outside, but are ugly on the inside. and vice versa.

I don’t know about you, but I always want my inner body to be bright. I want to be beautiful on the outside, too—but even more beautiful on the inside.

My beautiful friend, Rachel, write a lovely blog that goes along with my thoughts and sentiments exactly. Please read it here!

 The quote at the beginning was found here.

The photo found here.

stuck in my head

I totally stole this idea from Leigh.

 I have a collection of favorite things and I thought it’d be cool to share them.

 this tattoo

this dinner party

this bike

this picture

these legs

these lyrics

what's stuck in your head?

my weekend with jordan bloom

I got to spend the weekend in my favorite city—New Orleans.

If you know me, then you already know my deep love affair with the city. From the way it smells to the way it feels—I love everything about it.

Not only did I get to spend the weekend in my favorite city, but I got to spend it with people I love and doing something I’m very passionate about.

I had the honor of studying with Jordan Bloom as he led a weekend workshop on the Universal Principles of Alignment.

I was absolutely blown away with Jordan and his teaching style. He’s incredibly articulate, precise, gentle, and did I mention he’s beautiful to look at as well?!;)

I’ve done quite a few workshops in my yoga journey and I honestly have to say that this was my favorite. I think it was a mixture of the venue, the people, and the teacher. It just all came together so beautifully and the entire weekend was magical.

Swan River (Canal Street Location) was the most amazing venue. It used to be an old Library and the space was so inviting and scared that it was just an experience in and of itself to practice in.

 I’ve done a workshop with Michele a few years back at The Shala…and it was so awesome to get to see her again and visit with her. She’s doing such amazing things in the New Orleans kula and I’m so grateful for her dedication and love.

After practice on Saturday evening, a few of us had the privilege of dining out with Jordan and Michelle. Lilette on Magazine Street is the place to eat, folks. The food was decadent. But the company was even more decadent. We laughed, wined, and dined for hours. It was wonderful to get to know Jordan outside of the studio. He’s just an amazing person. It convinced me that I must go to South Africa to find a man. They seem to produce the most sensitive, playful, and gorgeous men. So, if you have any South African friends…..;)

I had so many “ah-ha” moments with Jordan this weekend. Things clicked and made more sense than they ever have before. I LOVE those moments because they are so rare. A few of the things I remember most about the weekend with Jordan are…

"It’s not what you do, it’s how you do it."

and

"It’s not how far you go, it’s how you go far."

His reminder to pause and to truly open to grace before doing anything was much needed.

Now it’s back to reality for me. I already have lots of assignments for school. I have lots of folks to get to know better. One of my goals for the summer is to make myself available for my new OT family. To get to know them individually and as a whole; To be a good friend, a good classmate, so that one day, I’ll be a damn good colleague.

As I go forth into this busy week, I hope that I remember to slow down; To be fully present; To make myself fully available for those that need my attention most, and most importantly, to open to grace.

P.S Yes, incase you were wondering—I AM extremely sore. But it was so worth it;)

"When we get out of alignment with Spirit and we try to make or expect life to be something different than it really is, suffering happens. We all experience pain and suffering, but it is not the quintessential nature of life. Just because the earth turns away from the sun and night occurs doesn't mean that the sun isn't always shining. It might be hard to see sometimes, but goodness and divine beauty can always be found if you adjust your vision just right."

John Friend

the women in my life

Hi!

My first week of O.T school has been fabulous! We hit the ground running. I know I picked the correct career for me and it feels so nice to know I'm doing something I was meant to do.

It’s funny because 2 years ago, I was doing nothing that felt correct. It was miserable to live everyday knowing you’re not doing what you were meant to do—knowing that you’re living conversely to what you believe.

It’s so nice to live my truth today loud and clear.

In my last blog post I talked about my oldest best friend—Cathy.

And it got me to thinking about all the amazing women I have in my life today.

I am surrounded by incredible women. Strong women, kind-hearted women, beautiful women!

My close knit circle of women demonstrate on a daily basis what it means to be a true “friend”. I throw that term around so loosely because if you know me, you know I have a lot of friends…’best friends’ too but there are just a handful of women that are truly my “besties”. Most of these women have been in my life anywhere from 3 to 24 years. There have been years in there where we weren’t as close—usually due to physical limitations (different cities, different lifestyles, etc) but we were always as close in spirit.

These women are very present in my life today. One serves as my yoga teacher, one as my sponsor, one as my neighbor, one as just my best friend, and the other 2 live in other cities but we keep up through phone and email.

What makes these women so special to me?

I can’t really put my finger on it because i do believe that it's metaphysical, but I bet I can get close;)

These women love me. They love me unconditionally. No matter how many times I mess up, they still love me. No matter what I make on tests or how much weight I gain—they love me just like I am.

These women encourage me. They continually are telling me that I’m awesome, that I can do it, that I’m a bright spot in their lives, that I’m special, that I matter.

These women inspire me. They are strong women and are living their life with purpose, passion, and power. They are making a difference not only in my life, but in the lives of so many in our community. These women make me want to be the very best version of myself.

These women are faithful and loyal. They mean what they say and they say what they mean. And I can count on them. That is HUGE! I know without a shadow of a doubt that they will come through for me.

These women have my very best interest at heart. They want the absolute best for me. They go out of their way to show me how important and special I am to them.

I’m an incredibly blessed girl to have these women.

Don’t get me wrong, I have a lot of friends—female and male that I love dearly and enjoy spending time with. And I am looking forward to making room for a lot more friends as I embark on my Occupational Therapy Journey with 38 other amazing people!

I’m a firm believe that light attracts light. And that light will always trump darkness.

To the women who make my life what it is, thank you. Thank you for teaching me how to be a friend and what a true friend looks like. Thank you for your time and unending devotion.

My life would not be the same without each and everyone of you.

I look forward to sharing the rest of our lifetime together.

But friendship is precious, not only in the shade, but in the sunshine of life, and thanks to a benevolent arrangement the greater part of life is sunshine. ~Thomas Jefferson

New Blog Design!

My bestest, oldest, and most dearest friend—Catherine Dufour Moore (whom I affectionately call “Sug”.) surprised me with a new design for my blog!!!

To say I was elated when I opened my new blog is an understatement.

I literally squealed with delight.

It is absolutely perfect and “me” in everyway.

I instantly called her and all I could muster out when she answered was, “ I LOVE IT”.

And I really really do.

Don’t you?

Cath is unbelievably amazing. And I am HONORED to call her my best friend, my confidant, my life line…….my sister.

It brings tears to my eyes when I think back on our 24 year relationship.

We grew up dreaming, playing, scheming, laughing……from the time of our hit “babysitters club” in Meridian, MS to her photography business—I always knew Cathy was going to excel at whatever she put her mind to.

And she has.

From her hugely successful blog to her design skills—this woman knows no end! There is no end in sight to her creativity and dreams.

I can’t tell you how it feels to know that someone will always be there for me. Someone will always love me, no matter how much I mess up, Someone to share my dreams with, and cry buckets of tears with……someone that I trust implicitly and someone I KNOW has my best interest at heart.

That “someone” is Cathy to me.

I continue to stand amazed at her goodness to me; At her love for me.

Cath, I love you to pieces and am so grateful to have you in my life—STILL after all these 24 years.

If you’re reading this, PLEASE take the time to visit her blog, In a Nap’s Time, and give her your business. She’ll design you the blog of your dreams and make you hugely successful! Okay, well…even if you aren’t successful, she’ll still design you one hell of a blog!

THANK YOU, SUG!!!!

I really really love my new blog.

Can you tell?