Oh man. Africa. First it was the people and then of course the elephants, the lions, the giraffes...but it was marveling at our EARTH that just broke me open. The colors of the sky, the magnitude of Mt. Kilimanjaro, and the endless colors of plants and animals.
I am leaving on June 1st for Africa. I have never traveled there before, and I cannot believe I am leading a yoga retreat to Tanzania....it is a real pinch me moment. As I put together this retreat, which includes a week of solo travel for me prior to the retreat, I was only nervous about one night, the first night there. The logistics of traveling to Tanzania and then on to Zanzibar are of course complicated. I tried not to worry too much about that first night. When I said the whole itinerary out loud to the Hubs, he went back to that arrival night and was like "um, that is nuts."
I just returned from Panama, and I noticed along the roadside clearly defined rows of trees everywhere. Some trees were hacked off at the top and just looked like a rugged fencepost and others had straight branches jutting out at all angles. The trees create a fence that sometimes has barbed wire strung between, or the trees were so close together it didn’t require wire in between. In my yoga classes since I have been back I have used the image of the trees/posts. The ability to plant and replant my feet and legs into the earth, to pull my thigh bones back, and to notice the space between each planted foot.
For years I have been honest about how much I dislike the end of the year Holidays, or the "Season of Disappointment" as I often called it. There are several personal reasons, but it has been my story for years.
Friday night we headed to the city to grab something to eat and the hubs said, "It is going to take an hour to park in that neighborhood."
My reply. "Don't say that. We have to manifest a great spot right now."
A left on Foster and a right on Clark and you know what? There was a parking spot directly in front of our intended establishment.
The hubs and I moved last month, and it was an excuse to get rid of most of our furniture and acquire some new things to fit into our new place. We didn't even really look at new furniture. I learned from the best, my mother, who will always turn the car around for anything second hand. These days trust me when I say you can furnish your entire house or apartment though Facebook Marketplace.
We have two dogs, Tito + Hendricks. Tito was diagnosed with cancer in his paw last month. Within a 10 day span a small bump on the top of his paw turned the size of an avocado. The cancer was no where else in his body and we were forced with the decision to have his leg amputated. As I lay on the floor of the vet's office crying and holding my dog, he told me two things that really resonated:
In February I had the opportunity to travel to Cambodia through Yoga International. I honestly didn't know that I had any appetite for travel to South East Asia, but sign me up! I had an amazing time and I hope you caught some of the images on my Instagram.
One of the main reasons it was such a successful trip was due to our guides, Silen and Kanha (below) who made an incredible experience extraordinary.
Last Monday I suffered a technology meltdown. It started with my computer requesting my Outlook password. I would add the password click continue and it would immediately pop up again.
When you stay too long in one place, you forget just how big the world is and how many different people inhabit it. Often when we are reminded of the vastness of the world, we are reminded of the vastness of our own selves.
One of the most memorable dinner parties I have ever been to was at an artist’s friend’s house and her handsome musician husband. She popped into a yoga class occasionally. She boldly held a dinner party for about eight people in her life that were in her periphery, I for sure wanted to be in her orbit.
I am still processing the recent wedding of our daughter Hailey to the wonderful Eddie that we managed to pull off in the Tuscan hillside here in Italy. It was nothing short of spectacular and I am in awe of everyone that made the trip and celebrated with us. Grazie Mille.