Today I am free

The transition towards Warriorship could not have come at a better time for me. I just closed a very long, painful, and abusive chapter in my life and am staring at a blank first page of the next. I am filled with a plethora of emotions and the range can be quite extreme, changing multiple times a day (or hour). I am allowing myself to feel them all; welcoming them and reassuring myself, as if I were supporting a loved one, that the process is natural and everything will be ok.

We're currently displaced from our home, as the removal of the energy vampire is occurring today. I'm trying not to focus on the potential destruction or theft of my things; carpets can be cleaned, walls can be painted, and electronics/appliances can all be replaced. The worst loss would have been staying, and not allowing an opportunity for my daughters to have a mother that was strong, confident, and content (and most importantly, ALIVE!). I hope the memories of all they have heard and seen don't impede their ability to cultivate healthy, loving relationships. I hope that now I can be a good example and give them the tools they will need to go out into the world as self-assured, well-adjusted, loving women. I hope they fearlessly greet each day with open hearts to receive all of the gifts that life has to offer (and that they very much deserve!).

This is my process of letting go and opening up to change. I find solace in knowing that I now have my freedom back, can take off my "mask", and create a more authentic version of my life and self. 

So today I will walk/sit tall, softening my chest knowing that my current battle is over.

KLS

Taking care of all the loose ends before our trip to Cambodia I realize just how much I enjoy the simple pleasures of NEO (North East Ohio).

Biking to town.
Coffee in town.
Running into friends in and around town.
Teaching in a gorgeous yoga studio.
Teaching and taking yoga with friends.
Watching the kids play all day long with their neighborhood friends.
Beautiful sunrises.
Beautiful sunsets.
Gardens that are maintained with so much love and attention.
Trees everywhere.
Green.

I hope everyone has a wonderful June and enjoys the simple things!

--Charry

Drama

Remember that too much of a good thing becomes a bad thing.

If there was only pleasure, the pleasure would eventually become pain.

If there was only sunshine, we would cry out for rain.

If there was only heat, we want a reprieve.

We need the full spectrum, the full range of emotions and weather, to appreciate the happiness, the great weather, the blue skies, the tears of joy.

Believe in the cards you have been dealt, but know that if there is constant "drama" in your life, you might be choosing that over peace... what might you be hiding from? Lonliness, fear of boredom, fear of an empty nest, tiresome/tedious job, struggles with spouse/partner,...

When we create a relationship to something that keeps us reacting in a knee-jerk fashion, how do we step back and get some perspective on the situation?

Meditation.

Sit and watch your thoughts. Let your thoughts go with the breath. Watch the breath. Let go of the thoughts. Take a mini-thought/anxiety/drama vacation. Notice what that might feel like in the body. Make it a pleasurable experience. Sit comfortably. Breathe easily and steadily.

Open up to new possibilities. Maybe the possibility of eradicating the drama from your life.

Growing Pains

You know how you feel when you are learning something new? Or when you are doing something for the first time? Isn't it similar to what a flower must feel like when the seed breaks open to sprout? Or similar to a snake trying to shed its old skin?

You are just bursting out at the seems.

It is like that with our children. You can sense it. They start rubbing up against us in a new way. Sometimes, they challenge old boundaries. Sometimes, they challenge the rules.

It feels like that in relationships too. All of a sudden, whether from a move, an illness, a new job, a new title, a retirement, an empty nest, a death, a birth, a new direction, a new hobby, there is this shift and we rub up against our spouse or partner in a new way.

If we aren't receptive to change, friction builds, communication breaks down, our relationship falters.

Things can either get better or get worst.

Stick with kind thoughts. Be patient. One day, this too shall pass.
--Charry