My Bliss List

- pony rides
- state fairs
- passed exams
- deep breathing

(my slugs, snails, and puppydog tails is the wee one in the middle)

Enough

First, I would like to start off by saying that tonight's yoga class was the "ultimate smooch"!!! I mean a heart-pounding, mind-bending, shape shifting, body morphing lip lock that can only be imitated but never duplicated outside of the studio walls. I froze, melted, meshed, and mingled all within the time frame of 75 minutes. I met parts of my body I never knew existed and I warmly greeted the ones that showed up today to usher me along in my process.



Today I listened to my body and attended a Level 1 yoga class, and was pleasantly surprised that it was a lot more challenging than I had believed it to be. The most challenging aspect of this particular class was the mantra stated during our time for stating intentions:

I have enough

I have more than enough

I have so much I want to give it away

I can only keep what I have by giving it away

I was completely floored by these simple statements because they are so true on a very basic level. There is no tricky word play, no read between the lines; it just is. Before tonight, my "enough" was in direct correlation to "stuff". Not a day would pass without me saying, "I don't have enough________." (Fill in the blank with: money, clothes, gadgets, jewelry, etc.) My first thoughts were never "abundance", "plenty", "more than I need", but that is how I should be thinking. Getting wrapped up in the material aspect of life is hard to escape. Everywhere you look, there's an ad/commerical for a new this and/or a new that, and if that wasn't enough, there are now multiple types of the same product to choose from. It's a wonder why we feel that we never have enough. It seems as if our world is ruled by tangible items that we never needed until we saw them and then couldn't live without them.

When I look at my life (the most important aspects of it) I realize that I have "enough". I have enough love, support, time, endurance, energy, patience, etc. Having enough of these things increases my self-worth and productivity which in turn makes me want to do more for and give to others. Just like the phrase, "you get what you give", in order for me to continue to have enough, I must unselfishly give these intangible gifts to my family, friends, co-workers, clients, and strangers so that they may in turn give them to others. In the very end, all of the gifts that I have given away will at one time or another return like boomerangs, ready to be thrown out into the world again.

Muah! ;*

My Bliss List

~ the euphoric head-to-toe feeling after a mind/body morphing yoga class

~ music boxes and night lights

~ guardian angels

~ peanut butter cookies with "just a little bit " of butter ;)

Expectations

Expectations are things I am trying to release from my daily life. I am finding out that when I expect things to happen a certain way and they end up going awry, I am left broken hearted, upset, and sometimes angry. I don't necessarily like any one of those emotions, but I know they are crucial to human existence. Things I expect, but know won't always happen:

~ my son to sleep until at least 7:45 am
~ fellow drivers to let me "get over" or change lanes
~ to have a good therapy session when I have planned for it
~ for someone to return my greeting when I say "hello"
~ for someone to catch the door when I hold it open for them instead of just walking through
The list could go on, but I think I have made my point.

My Lesson in Expectations
Today is Tuesday and on that one day a week, I attend yoga at a center close to my job. I look forward to the class because I have a wonderful teacher, great classmates, and even greater music. I also look forward to the release of stress that has built up over the week and as an added bonus, after class, we all get together and hoop in the parking lot behind the center! Well, as you can see, Tuesdays are my favorite day of the week and with all of the fun, stress-relieving activities, I guess you can say that I expect to be able to attend. After all, it's only one day a week. Alas, today was not that day. To make a longer story short, hubby had a meeting, mom had a wedding rehearsal, and there was no one able to watch my little one, except for me. Because I am in the process of releasing expectations, I did not let the disappointment take me over. I just scheduled to go another day during the week and decided I would forgo the community hooping and would hoop when I got home after the baby went to sleep. When I let go and let it be, I instantly felt lighter and my slowly-turning-gray cloud disappeared to let the sun shine bright upon me. If that wasn't enough, out of the blue, my teacher sent a text to let me know that there would be no hooping tonight and that it would be postponed till the weekend!! I could still attend yoga for the week and have my community hooping too!! I felt as if the Powers that Be saw my efforts, discussed my reward, and surprised me with...
a kiss. ;*

My Bliss List

- the wake up call/cries from my son to deliver me from a horrible dream
- banana chocolates from Starbucks
- eye contact from a child with autism
- glow-in-the-dark hoop tape

My Bliss List

- my PIC (partner in crime) Breeze
- long soothing car rides to make little ones fall fast asleep
- fudgcicles
- sparkly/shiny hula hoops
- 10 year reunions

What Is Bliss?

Bliss is defined as extreme happiness; ecstacy and the ecstacy of salvation; spiritual joy. The definitions of this word are pretty straightforward and to the point without the need of explainations, but how a person achieves bliss is a completely different story. In the past, I have searched high and low for this so-called bliss and have found materialistic happiness through retail therapy, glee, giddyness, and fleeting bouts of whimsy which have all led me back to the same place - despair and depression.

Finally fed up with the darkness, I am looking to the light in a completely different light. In this new journey, I am keeping an open mind, finding my creativity through a myriad of outlets, and exploring the good in every day. In the past month, I have found that input affects output. When I input good food (whole grains, fresh fruits/veggies, lean meat), good intentions, good movement (hooping, yoga, playing), and good information (hip tranquil chick, girl seeks bliss, the red book), my output is amazing and I feel as though I am able to take on the world wearing my rose colored sunglasses.

I was kissed by bliss and I think I'm in love.