Its been almost half a year since I last posted thoughts.  Back then, on December 31^st, I was full of gratitude, and thankfulness, for all that I am surrounded with.

I still am.

Not to say it hasn’t been a challenging year, hence, why I’ve been absent.  Looking back, my 2021 year began with a new series of Yoga classes on-line, hoping to soon be able to get back to in person.  It was only a couple of hours a week, but hey, for a super small business like me, those dollars can translate into groceries for a week, or even paying a utility bill.  The path to wellness begins with, and requires nothing but the desire to try, and that resonates with the people who come to me with their body of the day.

So very grateful for my yoga community.

Shortly into the New Year, my best friend, Coco (my chocolate lab) became incredibly ill.  We spent several weeks on the edge of life or death due to a blockage in her intestines, with indescribable obstacles from not being able for her to be seen due to covid restrictions, to not being able to afford to be seen. I experienced the power of our connection, and the power of prayer, in a big way. In the eleventh hour she underwent a critical, life-saving surgery removing 15 inches of her intestines, resulting in a long road back and massive medical bills.  I was simply amazed at her will to live, and who stepped up to help us with costs, and support.

So very, very grateful for the people and organizations that were there for us during the most difficult of days in January.

In the midst of all that trauma, I ending up in emergency with what appeared to be a heart attack.

Thankfully it wasn’t a heart attack.  It’s amazing how much stress and trauma a body can take under extreme circumstances.  So grateful for my faith.  My strong body, mind and spirit, and ability to work with my breath and yoga practice to manage trauma overload.  As I’ve so often said in my yoga classes, “The breath is life, just breathe”….

Yes, January was full of challenges that once again, confirmed there is so much to be thankful for.

By February a true miracle occurred.  I was offered a temporary, full time work contract working from home.  There was a clear end date to the assignment, I just needed to make it to that date. A big goal. So grateful to have that opportunity to earn a livable wage and do it from home, as Coco was far from out of the woods needing to be closely monitored, and that income was spent just as quickly as it arrived.

Two setbacks later, we are now, hopefully, finally over the hump of complications and we can call her “fully recovered”.

From February, until May 28^th, I basically worked night and day.  My days started at 6 a.m. teaching yoga every morning on Zoom, followed by a 40+ hour work week, and teaching yoga 3 – 4 nights a week and every other Sunday morning in person.  The end of May my temporary work contract ended and I was back to exclusively teaching yoga.

Again, so grateful, for my strong body, mind and spirit to be able to carry me through such a grueling day to day for those 4 months.  So grateful for the will, the drive, the perseverance, the determination, and the skills to be able to create a means to carry such a heavy load without actually overloading.

Just when I thought I was headed for a break from continual work, another short-term contract was presented to me for the month of June.  Once again, I was committed to work from 6 am to 8:45 pm most week-days, but now overtime Saturday and Sundays from 5 am to 4:30 pm to get that contract out on time.  We just wrapped things up Friday afternoon. Now I can finally take a much needed break.

The first half of this year I’ve been very absent. So very grateful for the friends that worried, wondered, understood, and reached out to me during that time, when it was so difficult for me to do the reaching.  Love you so much!

Oh, did I happen to mention that on May 6^th, at approximately 6:00 pm I was launched across my kitchen—airborne–taking a hard fall that knocked me out for over 10 minutes? I have been slowly healing from being pretty much incapacitated for the month of May. Yeah, well, I’m doing much better now. More on that in another post.  But for now, all I can say is….

So grateful for the will, the drive, the perseverance, the determination, and the skills to be able to heal from what could have truly been an extreme disaster.

And there was the day my truck was broke into, days later followed by the state patrol and canine canvassing my yard and neighborhood searching door to door for home invader/burglars, and a week later followed by yet another several “thug themed” incidences in my neighborhood….yeah.  I am indeed grateful that I am a strong person.  Grateful that I can detach. Strong in my convictions and decisions on how I will respond to any threats to me and mine.  I am grateful to be at peace with what I am at peace with–definitely ready to “rise to the occasion” should it present itself.

And breathe.

We are almost half ways through this year.

The best part of it has always been finding time for the people I so cherish, whether it be a phone conversation or enjoying time spent together laughing and doing things that make us happy—and now being able to get out and about again. I find myself feeling so very whole, centered, and grateful for my life, and the people who choose to be a part of it. I feel ageless. Boundless, ready for another short term work project to begin in just a little while, and the excitement of additional Yoga programs with new partners to follow shortly. Thankful for my physical health improving daily, time spent with good friends, and just as importantly, the serenity of alone time.

So much gratitude spilling out from my being.

Life is good.

No matter what happens in your world, outside of you, around you, despite you, you always have a choice.  You can choose to ask yourself “why is this happening to me?!”   Or you can choose to hold space to look within, and ask yourself “what is this trying to teach me?”

May you find some peace and stillness between the triggers and the chaos.

May you set down some of your burden and lighten your load.

May you breathe softly, with care and loving kindness,

And may you find gratitude for all of the good that we have.

Namaste.