Closer Than I Think

There is less and less coverage of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan these days in the media. It's fading slowly behind the upcoming elections, violence in Libya, and spring break. But it's still there, they are still there living with the aftermath. Just a few doors down from me, I have a Japanese neighbor. It took days for her to hear from all her family members. She wouldn't talk about it. I didn't press. It was clear, as I saw tears spring into her eyes, that this tragedy is still happening. It's still here and present.

Compassion

Halfway through "The Wise Heart", by Jack Kornfield, I was inspired to create a sacred space to spend some time every day sitting still, practicing mindfulness and gratefulness or just focusing on breathing. For this space, I've collected a candle, this book, a blanket and some matches. It just so happens that on the wall in our spare room there is a beautiful Mexican picture of "Our Lady of Guadalupe" which completes this sacred space very well.

Recently I've spend some quiet time on cultivating compassion. Here is a nice practice as explained in "The Wise Heart".  As I sit quietly and breath softly I picture someone I care for in my mind and my heart. As I think of them and their life, I try to be aware of how my heart opens to them, how I seek to comfort them, share their pain and extend compassion. I repeat these phrases:

May you be held in compassion
May your pain and sorrow be eased
May you be at peace

After a time, I picture all my loved ones, one after the other and wish them well.

There are friends and family moving, traveling, fighting, overworked, worried, waiting for babies, bored, wondering, unfocused, wanting to quit, celebrating, unappreciated, unloving of themselves, sick, broke and I hold them in compassion.

I didn't want to see any more media coverage of the Tsunami in Japan. All the images broke my heart. There was so much sadness there I couldn't bare to think about it. So I hold them in compassion.

Then, I do the same for myself which is weird at first, but boy, does this ever have an impact on me.


May I be held in compassion
May my pain and sorrow be eased
May I be at peace

So on those days when I wish I could envelop myself in a soundproof bubble because baby is inconsolable, I remember to hold myself in compassion.

So on those days when I lose my patience because I just want to prepare dinner without having to take everything out of the cupboards to entertain Baby, I remember to hold myself in compassion.

So on those days when I blame, judge and feel bad about myself, I try really hard to remember to hold myself in compassion.

Here I am!

I was beginning to think that my blogging days were over, that I should retire these typing fingers for more spring-like activities, but then friends noticed I stopped, and so I've decided to keep going for now.

So what have I been doing all this time? ah ah! A little of this and a little of that. I've been keeping up with my Sun Run Training, running 10km with no difficulty  during the last few weekends, and also going to my Zumba class regularly. I love it! It's just the best way to sweat. Our teacher, Maggie, is offering classes on Saturdays to learn how to really work those body bits and pieces. I usually do pretty good; I can get my feet to do one thing and my arms another, but try my shoulders or my hips, and I start to look like a fish finding itself in open air. So I might join....

The weather has inspired me to create an oasis for myself on our top deck. I've bought a nice lounger and a collection of pots. Next are some plants. Maybe I'll go the easy route and just buy grass. I'm still looking for something serene like a Buddha statue.... I'll be posting photos when it starts to take shape.

What else? Nursed a baby back to health, picked a lot of snot out of small nostrils. Fought a cold myself for a week. Watched my husband snot around after me. This cold is almost out of the house! Yay!

Bought a new leather jacket which makes me feel hot. ooooeeeeee!

Keeping up with my favorite shows: Amazing Race, The Good Wife, and the Office.

In awe of my son everyday! He's learning how to walk, steer his push-toy, scoop food into his mouth, choose books, brush his teeth, talk lots of gibberish, and slide down the stairs on his belly. He's so amazing.

Enjoyed spending time with my parents and watching their garden take shape.

Spent some time with friends and their lovely young babies who are soon off to Australia for work .

So, yup. I've been up to this and that. More on the horizon....

Read on!

Boys, Boys, Boys

I'm currently reading a fascinating book entitled: "Wild Things: The Art of Nurturing Boys." by Stephen James and David Thomas

So far, some of the key things I've come away with are these:

Boys need space.
Boys need to move around. Alot.
Boys will destroy things.
Boys need to go outside alot.
Boys do listen. You just have to learn how to talk to them.
Boys are different than girls and isn't that wonderful?
Boys need to go outside alot. Did I say that already?
The more boys seem to despise you, the more they love and need you.
Get educated. Educate your boys especially about those dreaded topics like masturbation, wet dreams, sex, drugs, pornography, and any other topics your parents probably "forgot" to tell you.
 
Lori has written a great review of this book in her blog, if you want an idea of what this book is all about.

It's funny how my 1 year old zeroed in on the picture of the boys on the cover of this book. Mesmerized....

Moments of Mindfulness

Yesterday, I was sitting on a bench overlooking Trout Lake and breastfeeding baby. It was easy to be mindful at that moment. There was an unusually warm wind coming up from the water, birds and ducks hidden behind the reeds were singing a happy cacophony, the sun was shimmering on the water peeking in and out of a gray cloud and baby was happily sucking away with his eyes closed. It was beautiful and so, so peaceful. Nature has a way to stop me in my tracks, and demand I pay attention.

With the white and yellow crocuses poking out of the ground, seems Spring is timidly announcing itself and it's easy to spot the colors after so much greyness.

Just outside Baby's room there is a crow's nest carefully guarded by our local crow couple. Other crows have come to check out the real estate, only to beaked out forcefully.

This morning I was woken by a hail storm and now that I no longer live in a ground floor apartment, I could really enjoy the force of showering ice on the roof.

The dogs at the park, they know something's up. The lake's not frozen, the air smells like melting muck and squished grass, all highly enjoyed by the canine folk.

I love Nature. How absolutely deliciously divine!

"Life is now. There was never a time when your life was not now, nor will there ever be"
-Eckhart Tolle

Strata Rules!

We recently received an extensive list of patio dos and don'ts in an email sent by our strata. Yes, sometimes it feels like your individuality is taken away when you are not allowed to hang your macrame seashell wind chimes out on your patio, but be thankful.

Why? Let me tell you about a neighbor I shared a patio with a while back. It was one of those little second floor patios barely big enough for 2 chairs and a hibachi divided with a "divider"; some see-through metal lattice work about waist high. My neighbor had a thing for cats, and I'm not going to feel bad about saying "a cat thing" like it might be a contagious disease. It was a cat thing. You rarely hear of people with a "dog thing" probably because it's harder to hoard dogs, although, I think the dog people may be catching up to the cat people. Anyway, the reason I'm going into so much detail about the cat thing is this:

On my neighbor's patio there were 3 slightly moldy, multi-level carpeted cat trees slightly, about 20 different pots with plants are various stages of deadness, a drying rack with leopard print undies and tank tops most of them seemingly purchased way too long ago, pictures of cats cut out from old calendars taped onto the window, a collection of damp stuffed Garfields along the windowsill, a mop, a broom, an old chair and an ashtray shaped like a cat face.

Needless to say, I never sat on my patio. I never used my hibachi, never kicked back with a nice cup of coffee to contemplate the view. Oh, yes, and you might say: "Oh, just look the other way!" Okay, I'd like to see you try. One morning, as I opened the door to let fresh air, I noticed, a new cat sticker on the divider. It said " I love cats" and scribbled in pen below it: "not people."

So I was glad to see the Strata patio rules. Now I sit on my patio and if I happen to look across the way, I get to enjoy lovely plants and clean patio furniture. Ah,,,,, much better!

Zumba at the Masoniac Hall on Victoria

If you are looking for something super fun to do on a rainy winter night, come check out Zumba at the Masonic Hall on Victoria Street near Kingsway. Magdalena Lima is a Capoeira player, samba dancer and Zuma instructor extraordinaire! She leads us through a variety of latin and world music choreography with easy to follow moves and lots of sweating! Just when you think your legs are going to give out, her contagious smile gives you that extra kick (no pun intended)to keep you going. Call the Trout Lake Community Center to find out about the next free demonstration class, to sign up for a series of 5 classes or for drop-ins. You can look at Zumba on youtube, but don't be dissuaded by the cheesy clips, it's just plain fun! The ladies in our class are of all ages and I think the best thing about the Masonic Hall is that there are no mirrors, so you can dance away and always feel like you look fantastic! Yay for Zumba!