Truth-Time about Blogging Every Day.

I decided to stop blogging every single day for November. It really was too much with my yoga teacher training and in-laws popping out of trees from every direction (love them, but they are taking over the city apparently!).

So, it's just me. Back to blogging when I actually have something to say. It was a good goal but I just don't have time to come up with interesting topics to write about every day right now. I'm working on being just fantastically amazing and witty at every moment, but as for now... :)

I'm going to be certified to teach yoga in December!! What, what!!

Peace and love,

Erin

Friends and Family

I had a good day today. I met with my yoga teacher, a friend, and went to see my sister-in-law who has recently had a very rough surgery. Her body is in shock from it and it has been very emotional for her.

It's interesting how we run from pain but when others we love feel it, we want to take it from them. So, the reason that my day was good was that between these three incredible ladies, I had a feeling of love throughout my entire day. Love isn't always light and fluffy but it's so worth it.

"One sees clearly only with the heart. Anything essential is invisible to the eyes." The Little Prince

Reaction to Media Coverage of Penn State Scandal

I'm kind of ashamed of the way we, as a society, are responding to this Penn State tragedy. I'm not talking on an individual level although I have to say I've heard some surprising individual comments about it. However, most people aren't mentioning it at all and if you didn't have cable you might not even know that this happened.

I do have to say, however, that when I did start googling all of the news coverage of this tragedy...I was disgusted. Not just by what happened, which is enough to make your head, heart and internal organs explode from the feelings of sadness/injustice/anger/disgust (pick one or all) but from the way the media is covering it. All they are showing in these initial days of coverage are pictures of Joe Paterno.

This is about those boys that were abused, not Penn State or even Joe Paterno. Those boys deserve better from us and definitely from the media. As to the people who are already making jokes or saying that they've heard enough about it, I wish they would have a little more empathy about those children and how they would feel if this happened to them or someone in their own family...

I remember hearing somewhere that the reason that we turn away from others pain is that we are programmed to turn away from our own. To be embarrassed by it, see it as a sign of weakness. Maybe we don't want to see the truth sometimes, but it's still there. And when we don't face it, people get hurt.

Husband Yoga

So....I just taught my husband yoga for the second time. The first time we went through one Sun A (which is a series of 7 poses that you're supposed to do three times in the beginning of your practice) and he sat up and said, "that's good. that's hard..." Okay. But he tried it.

So, I talked him into doing it again... (with a slight twisting of the arm.) This time we victoriously did almost half of the whole series and I really tried to make him comfortable in learning the poses. He did great! It is certainly a process and you don't want to get discouraged just because you can't do it perfectly the first time.

Yoga is hard. But so is life and I think what yoga tells us is that how you live your life on your mat is the same way that you will face your life off the mat. Do you run as soon as it feels tough? Do you try to cheat? Do you do what you can in a sensible way and facing your fears? I love yoga. It has taught me so much.

Sometimes, we may not want to do yoga, or something in life that scares us, but if we do it anyway...we feel better afterwards. I know that sometimes I go to yoga (excuse my language) pissed off that I have to do this right now, but when I leave I am always so grateful that I went. What scares us is often times the best thing for us.

Namaste, my peeps!

xoxo

Greece pics, continued..

Is "fitting in" unhealthy for you?

I'm a go with the flow kind of girl.  I don't like to cause waves, I don't like to be the center of attention. I just like to do my thing and let other people do their thing! But there comes a point when not wanting to be the center of attention gets in my way. I get nervous when all eyes are on me. But at this point in my life, I'm wondering, is going with the flow unhealthy sometimes? Why can't I let myself shine so that others can see?

It's like this blog. I only feel comfortable with certain people knowing about it. I almost want to tell everyone I know but then I feel like I'm going to throw up thinking about all of those people really "seeing" me.

One step at a time, I'm going to ease out of this shell. In yoga class we have to do a naked reflection where we get naked, look at ourselves in the mirror (by ourselves, thank God) and share our reactions. It's pretty deep and it's supposed to make you look at how you really see yourself. Mine's coming up on Saturday. :/  Wish me luck with that one!!

Trying to fit it all in...

Writing in November hasn't been so easy for me. I have a family (in-law) explosion going on with four new people to hang out with... and yoga to the max. We literally did about 5 classes last Saturday, about 7 1/2 hours of yoga. I felt like I was going to be sick, die...something. 

Do not get me wrong, it was so worthwhile, but literally exhausting. 

I am also very happy to have the family thing going on. But there are not enough hours in the day sometimes.

Very happily (and yawning) yours,

e-

Family

My in-laws are wonderful people. I'm very lucky to have such a great extended family. 

Full of heart and personality.

I remember my grandmother coming to all of my baseball games when I was younger. She would sit in her lawn chair instead of the bleachers. She would always say something like, "I'm the Grandma!" She was so proud of me, like I was her own little accomplishment. And whenever I came over to her house, even to take a nap, she embraced me into her home like I was a caterpillar and it was my cocoon. I hope that I can spread that kind of love and acceptance to the people in my own life. I do hope.

Sampling of Greece Photos

I don't have a lot of time today to post, so I thought I'd share some of my favorite photos from Greece. I'll try to add a few more later because there are definitely more! <3

Wise Words From Oprah

What can you say about Oprah that hasn't been said before? She is a powerhouse of inspiration and I am thankful for her existence if only for the occasional O magazine that I pick up and read something that touches me. However, there is so much more to her than this and we all know it. 

In this month's publication of her magazine, the last page or "What I Know for Sure" was just as meaningful as ever. She talks about perspective and the fact that stepping away from her show, she realized how much it had changed her and how she found a a new appreciation for everything she had done for those 25 years.

She also talks about the dark patches of life and how they are usually "pointing you in a new direction." I am not really in a "dark patch" compared to some others, although life has been difficult at times and there are definitely things that I struggle with. I do think that there MUST be a reason for these struggles, and that I am being prepared for something. 

"Who you're meant to be evolves from where you are right now," she says. "So learning to appreciate your best lessons, mistakes and setbacks as stepping stones to the future is a clear sign you're moving in the right direction and letting in the light."

Sometimes, it's not easy to keep forging ahead, looking for the light in the darkness instead of just crawling into a ball and saying that this is the way it will always be. It's easy to let other's problems become your own and set your focus there. Meditation, yoga and just my growth in general has allowed me to let these things go and to look to the horizon. The sun will come up tomorrow, my dears, just like Annie sang about. That's where my attention will be, on that big beautiful ball of light.

Ever evolving...

The Geese Are Flying

I was sitting in the office earlier today and heard a flock of geese flying overhead. 'Tis the season'... I thought. My bones are cold, pumpkin pie smells are in the air, squash are for sale everywhere and there is also a certain sadness or stillness approaching. The seasons seem to have emotions to me. Spring is hope, summer is happiness, fall is comfort and winter is sadness, or maybe just a feeling of waiting. I don't like the winter and I do apologize if I'm coming across as a downer. I know plenty of people that love winter and can't wait for sled riding, hunting or whatever the winter season holds for them. I just want to escape.

Many people in Northeast Ohio get the cold weather blues. This year, I want to try and tackle the winter with enthusiasm. I'm going to be writing and I'm very excited to stay committed to that. Plus, I have yoga which I think will play a part in my life for a long time to come. I assist the teacher in class tomorrow and I am really looking forward to that. I think I will enjoy it.

My Last Meal

I LOVE TODAY'S NaBloPoMo WRITING PROMPT!!! 

We actually have this conversation a lot around my house. 

I would have: 

• My grandmother's deviled eggs, pork chops, green beans and mashed potatoes with gravy and possibly also her potato salad. 

Literally, that is what my grandmother would make me all the time when I went over to her apartment for dinner. The love that was contained in that food, still to this day, overwhelms me. Now, because it could never be duplicated by anyone else... and because that is what I would want only if SHE were able to make it, I would have this instead:

• Sushi. Omg. Platters and platters of sushi. And sake to drink. And water. Amen.

Now, it's also interesting that this is the prompt because I just read a great article regarding this called The Spirituality of Cheeseburgers. Click here to read!

What Is My Favorite Part About Writing?

My favorite part about writing is the freedom. I'm basically having a thought in my head and that thought is traveling through me and ending up in my fingertips typing letters that make up words that make up sentences on this computer screen. The science (neurons, cells, what is the mind?) behind this is beyond me but if you really think about all of that, it is a miracle. 

And the beauty of it also is, you can be exactly who you are at that moment and no one is interrupting you with their opinion or disagreeing or doing something weird with their face. 

I've always wanted to write, since I was a child. I remember copying stories that I loved onto my own paper and then stapling it together to make a new book. I told stories to my little sister and brother to put them to sleep. I read books like a carnivore...(or I guess it would be bookivore? Does anyone know is there actually a word for that?). 

Getting lost in the story, connecting to something bigger than yourself, being inspired...all of these are great reasons to write. But for me, the best part is the freedom.

Winning The Lottery, Would You Share?

I played the lottery today. I never play the lottery. But I was thinking about all the good things I could do with the money if I won.

• Give to charity (of course). But more specifically, give to the starving children of the world, help the homeless here in America (my big soft spot), and various others but I'd have to give it more thought. Probably something with education...
• Take my husband on a long vacation and hire the best part time manager to replace him so that he could relax and enjoy it and I could enjoy him!
• Put some money in the bank (I'm not stupid).
• Give some money to my family members who need it. 
• Buy the home I've always dreamed of.

What would you do with your winnings?? 

e