1. Teaching my first “real” yoga class. Eight of my friends agreed to come and help me practice for my final. I’m so glad that my first experience teaching a full class was with students who are wise, kind, and have a good sense of humor — and who love me.
2. Unpacking and organizing my new office. I didn’t do much, because I still am working on things that needed to be done yesterday, but it was enough to make the space feel better, not so much like an empty dorm room or storage closet.
3. Fall, my favorite Colorado season. Although, what is up with all the rain, CO?
4. Obstacles that present the opportunity to practice. The cats and squirrels who hang out in our yard and antagonize the dogs, the delivery trucks with squeaky brakes who do the same, the interns who make mistakes I get to fix, the people who judge me even though they know nothing about my circumstances, the ones who get in my way, the others who don’t consider how they might help, those of us who continue on in our confusion generating suffering — etc.
5. Quiet, stillness. I’ve needed it this week to balance the speed, the rage, the noise, the overwhelm.
Compassion is the spontaneous wisdom of the heart. It’s always with us. It always has been and always will be. When it arises in us, we’ve simply learned to see how strong and safe we really are.
When you understand, Jill, that what most people really, really want is simply to feel good about themselves, and when you realize that with just a few well-chosen words you can help virtually anyone on the planet instantly achieve this, you begin to realize just how simple life is, how powerful you are, and that love is the key.
8. Of curtains and climate change and compromise on This (Sorta) Old Life. If everyone made choices so thoughtfully, so compassionately, we’d come much closer to easing suffering, in ourselves and in the world.
9. Bridging the gap from Life is Limitless. I’ve been following Caroline’s journey for a long time, since back when she quit her job, sold all her things, and started traveling. I am so loving the things she’s creating right now.
10. Hello, Wonderful with Mara Glatzel. I just got my first email this morning — so good. And there’s still time to sign up, 12 days of love notes. Even if you don’t sign up, you really should subscribe to her newsletter, because this: In Celebration of Your Quiet Revolutions and this: In Full Bloom.
12. Wisdom from Pema Chödrön. She’s talking about meditation here, but I think it applies to all types of practice.
We’re encouraged to meditate every day, even for a short time, in order to cultivate steadfastness with ourselves. We sit under all kinds of circumstances—whether we are feeling healthy or sick, whether we’re in a good mood or depressed, whether we feel our meditation is going well or is completely falling apart. As we continue to sit we see that meditation isn’t about getting it right or attaining some ideal state. It’s about being able to stay present with ourselves. It becomes increasingly clear that we won’t be free of self-destructive patterns unless we develop a compassionate understanding of what they are.
Words like should, shouldn’t, right, wrong, good, bad, they don’t work. They don’t work, because that’s not enough of a heart inspiration. Because, unless you know what you want, you will flip and flop from one to the other.
So ask yourself: What do you want? Who do you want to be? What matters to do? And move towards. In order to truly change, it takes moving towards, not moving away, because moving away is not good enough.
25. Wisdom from Cassandra Clare. (thanks to Pixie Campbell for sharing).
Whatever you are physically…male or female, strong or weak, ill or healthy — all those things matter less than what your heart contains. If you have the soul of a warrior, you are a warrior. All those other things, they are the glass that contains the lamp, but YOU are the light inside.
Bonus Joy: My tiny family, my soft place to land.
Open Space Practice, (AKA: A Thousand Shades of Gray) 