Good Acts of Good People: Haiti Relief

Bad things happen. Natural disasters. Acts of God (if you're a believer). Hurricanes. Tornadoes. Earthquakes... And people get hurt or killed.

Then something amazing happens. Good people all over come together. Haiti is the latest example of the goodness of man.

The American Red Cross raised $12 million by text messages.

Whole Foods of Woburn raised $71,079 as of 1/26 for Haiti Relief.

And Sue Jones of yogaHOPE and Maggie Juliano of Sprout Yoga founded a collaborative project to bring yoga to the trauma victims. The named their efforts Project Haiti and you can read all about it here. On their blog, Yoga4Trauma.WordPress.com, you can follow their progress and efforts.

We can do some amazing things when we put our minds to it.

Earth Lovin' Pictures

Living green is a lifestyle. Sustainable change is not something that can be done in a single day. We have to force ourselves to think green regularly. These two pictures highlight the specific and ongoing lifestyle choices involved in a green life. The first is all about small and simple changes you can make in your life. The second is a systems view of the lay of the eco-friendly land.

Good stuff.


From scrappindoodles.



From TreeHugger.

Food Network, Now I want to Cook!

Turned the television on to have background noise while I work my way through my in-box and I clicked to the Food Network. The show started in Portland, so naturally, it had my attention pretty quick.

If you ever visit Portland, Oregon, check out the Byways Cafe--even Food Network gives it a thumbs up!

Watching a show on diner and drive-in style foods reminded me that I need a good chili recipe. So now, I'm looking for recipes for chili online at allrecipes.

I found this recipe for simple turkey chili that offers a good guideline. But when I'm in the mood for chili, I'm not usually going for a healthy variety. I'd sub out beef and probably dump the whole thing in my crockpot for a couple hours...

__

I started this post in 2007 and it's funny to look back on it now. I was just starting to cook for myself more frequently then. Now, I cook all the time, and in many ways I have the Food Network and AllRecipes.com to thank for my culinary education. I'd get an idea at a restaurant or on the Food Network and find a recipe to try out on AllRecipes. It's a great combination for the budding chef, or the curious college student trying to feed herself.


Original Draft Date: 9/9/07

Sorting Through Drafts

The other day, my pal on Twitter Leah Jones said she deletes more drafts on her personal blog than she publishes. She was talking about how she doesn't blog much anymore, but she got me thinking. I've had this blog since 2007, and I have my fair share of drafts that I never got finished.

I've got 30 some odd drafts that never made it to the finish line. And I'm thinking that sounds like a pretty great way to spend a Sunday. So if you happen to see a post that looks off topic, or seems out of context, look for an "original date" notation... I'm going to go through those old half posts, update them and queue 'em up for publication!

Wahoo! Cleaning house starts with my blog. Ha!

The above photo is from tellumo's Flickr stream.

Patience is Someone Else's Virtue

Why sugar coat it? Waiting sucks.

Whether it's waiting for a contract to get signed, or waiting for the results of a scary medical exam. Waiting is no one's favorite thing.

People always say patience is a virtue. I suppose it's not my virtue. I like to do. To accomplish. To fix.

It's taken me a very long time to learn that waiting, that being patient, can fix things too. If you just go on living life, the answer that you were waiting for, that contract you were waiting to sign, it'll show up eventually, in its own time. Worrying doesn't help. Worrying and over-thinking won't make the answer, the fix come any sooner.

But ah! It still sucks! :-)

Yoga-venture: The Maiden Journey

As a yoga instructor, I don't get out much. My practice and my home studio have been pretty consistent for quite some time. I take the same classes with the same teachers I've been familiar with for quite some time. As a yoga instructor, I worry that this truth might make my classes feel stale or overly familiar.

So a while back I decided to start exploring the full depths of yogaland. I'm taking it to the streets, trying new things.

Yesterday, I checked out the free Friday class at Be Yoga in Somerville's Union Square. Aside from losing my wallet on the way in (click here for that story and life lesson), it was a lovely experience. The vinyasa, the physical poses and their order, felt very familiar; the space and the language of the instructor were a delightful change of pace. Jenna used words relating energy and the elements ("feel earth") that had a profound effect on my relationship to my practice. At a time when I otherwise would probably have lost it (re: wallet), Jenna--and my good company--kept me present for practice. It was much needed.

The details:
Be Yoga in Union
Address: 11 Bow Street, Union Square, Somerville
URL: www.beinunion.com
Teacher: Jenna
Cost: 4pm class on Friday is free!

It was a treat and I will definitely be back, hopefully for a full class next time! :-)



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

PSA: Know Your Bank

Today, I lost my wallet. Walking from my partner's car to the yoga studio we were testing out (yoga-venture post forthcoming), it somehow disappeared. I retraced my steps and couldn't find it anywhere, in the car, on the sidewalk or in the yoga studio. No dice. My pal retraced our steps too and found nothing.

So I took the first 20 or 30 minutes of the yoga class calling all my banks and credit card companies, cancelling all my cards.

And the lesson of all of this? Store your banking phone numbers in your contacts! You never know when you'll lose your wallet (or if someone will steal it). So you've got to hope for the best, and prepare for the worst... The faster you get the cards shut down, the less likely you are to have your money stolen.


My story has a happy, goodness-of-man-affirming ending. Someone found my wallet in the street and brought it to the police station. Thank goodness! But it's very clear how easily that situation could have gone differently... So semper paratus!



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Crocheting My Way to Nirvana

Ram Dass tells this amusing story about one of his talks. He was speaking about an LSD induced transcendental experience he had, and there was an older woman sitting there nodding her head as if she understood all of the experiences he was describing. When he spoke to the lady after his formal lecture, he asked how she was able to relate to his experiences. She said simply, "I crochet."

He tells this story about half way through this video:


I crochet. A lot. Especially lately. It's a wonderful stress reliever. And it feels good to create something from scratch. Although I have no transcendental experiences to report, I have plenty of crafts to share--including my first attempt at a hat, an infinite (round) scarf, and a multi-colored scarf made from scraps (but ultimately the prettiest one I've made in a long time).




I've been crocheting so much lately, I'm running out of people to give scarves to. I've been considering starting an Esty store. Would anyone be interested in a hand-crocheted scarf or hat?

Regardless, I've got to keep crocheting. It soothes me.

From the Bookshelf: The Art of War

When my iPhone was replaced the other day, I spent some time playing in the app store. I always end up with at least one book reader on my phone, though usually I have a hard time reading on it. That was until I downloaded Classics, a free app, from the app store. I started reading The Art of War. I'm not very far along yet, but I came across a quote that stuck out to me about current international events.

"There is no instance of a country having benefited from prolonged warfare."

~Sun Tzu, The Art of War



Good stuff. I'll have to keep reading.

Restarting the Writing Project: A New Plan

If you've been following this blog lately, you've probably noticed some time / day notation and topics. I outlined the idea behind this here, but it's time change it up a little bit. The idea is to gradually get me writing more on more regularly, and so far, I've had a hard time getting into it.

So I'm going to start over.

The new plan? Write everyday. Track how long I'm writing everyday, then work to write more the following day. I'll probably max out at some point, but I'll be pushing more thoughts to paper (or to Blogger as it were).

Practice is a funny thing. Every yoga class I take, or teach, is a part of a person's practice. Life is practice. Each blog post is a part of a practice. At least it is once I set the intention for it to be so. Right? Isn't that how intention works?


The photo is from Loungerie's Flickr stream.

Resolutions for 2010?

I've been meaning to post my resolutions for the coming year since New Year's. No need to reference a calendar, I know what month it is. What's the hold up, you're probably wondering?

Last time I posted New Year's resolutions was in 2008. Last year, was a year of major transitions but it didn't start it off with resolutions; it was just constantly moving. This year has felt much the same--big changes, constantly reevaluating conflicting moving parts to get the best outcome.

The usual resolutions have felt a bit halfhearted or contrived. Yes, I do want to eat healthier. Yes, I want to be better about saving money (and get myself completely out of debt). Yes, I want to write more (hence the writing project). But the truth is, for 2010, my resolutions involve states of being.

I resolve here to be happier in 2010.

That looks simple in text, but sounds particularly difficult. The marketer in me is asking how I'm going to measure that. I don't have an answer for that. How do you count smiles per day?

It's a matter of mindset. A friend of mine used to quote High Fidelity on a regular basis, "How hard is it to decide to be in a good mood and be in a good mood ... ?" It's really easy to get wrapped up in the drama of every day life; it's a lot harder to remain consistently upbeat. I used to think it was contrived when I'd see people behave as though everything was fantastic; now it seems like a fake-it-till-you-make-it mentality. Why not be happier?

Again, easier said then done. Here's how I intend to do it:

• Laugh Often
  
• Let Go of Things Quicker -- This one will probably be the hardest for me, as my clan tends to hold onto things for a long time (physical and emotional).
  
• Accept Things as They Are -- I have a strong desire to promote positive change that can sometimes hinder my own happiness.
• Stay Active -- Movement helps clear your head. And it makes you feel better physically (yay, yoga!).

I'll keep you posted on my progress.


The photo is a shirt from Threadless.com called "School Taught Me a Valuable Lesson; I'm Still Paying for It."