Yesterday was a long studio day for me, with a little over 10 hours put in. While it sounds like a lot, I only work the studio two days a week, so it’s really not so bad. So most of what I did yesterday was for the studio, but it certainly affects future me since doing the right things always helps your future self. I have workshops scheduled thru the end of the year, September’s theme set and shared with the teachers, and other things that I want to leave the best I can before we move. I only have three more admin days there. Another teacher who I’m friends with realized that we might not see each other again, as she’s leaving for a family wedding next week and not back until the weekend I’m leaving. We shared hugs and stories. I love her so much. She is one of many who I will miss.
Today – Friday – for my future self I will go take the strength class I like at 8am and then teach my gentle yoga at 10:30. Someone is buying our bedroom set tomorrow, so I’ll have to empty the big dresser of my clothing. This helps both me and my husband for our upcoming move as that set is so heavy. It was the first really nice bedroom set I ever owned. Good thing there are plenty more out there 🙂
I am holding both happy and sad at the same time. Not my first experience with this, but it feels deeper this time. I know it’s because I am finally myself – ME. Patti being the Patti she was born to be… a yogi who shares movement intertwined with joy, philosophy, and love. Many tears have been shed the past week. I’ve gathered a few reviews on my business page, and they are truly some of the most beautiful things I’ve ever read about myself. I am humbled but so very grateful. Some students have asked for my number, and I am happy to keep in touch in whatever way I can to those who blessed me so much as I started my teaching journey.
🙏🏼
Try to be less daunting about working PT next year and collecting SS. My co-worker and I are meeting Sept 1 to discuss w/our boss and she knows what the subject is now. I know I need to do this for myself but it does feel scary.. Change as we all know is scary!
In the past
I never liked to think too much
about the future.
Then someone gave me a little plaque
that read,
“To plant a garden
is to believe in tomorrow.”
~ Audrey Hepburn
I was a budding planter of seeds
at the time,
and the quote
made me do a double take.
As I was renting at the time,
I had the idea
that when I moved
I would leave the place
a little better than I found it
and that not only pleased me,
but justified my time spent outdoors.
Now I have my own home,
and have fully taken to heart
Miss Hepburn’s belief.
Every year
the gardens expand a little more,
and when the hosta start to crowd the bleeding hearts,
I dig them up
and open up another space.
Its rather how it goes inside of me too . . .
there is a lot of sorting and grading
going on in there,
but not so much with actual thoughts,
but with intuitions
and just seeing where the pieces fit.
And my interior
looks very little
like the one I grew up with in church.
I can tell now
when something sings to me,
reaches down and touches my heart,
and I trust that a lot more
than most of the many sermons I have heard.
I live today
for what will be
tomorrow.
I am culling my inner garden
all of the time,
with every single thing I experience,
pressing it into the still fertile soil of my soul.
This ongoing gift
I hope,
will steel me for difficult times in the future,
for I feel I may need them,
and I want my heart to be strong
and pure
and ready,
even when the body is weak.
Who knows?
Perhaps some of me
will catch someone else’s fancy,
like a milkweed seed
propelled by the wind.
Perhaps part of me
will line the nest of a bird,
or grow some scales on a fish . . .
I am open to suggestions. ♥
I love this, Sparrow. It speaks to how I live my life as well.
As for becoming a part of something else, over the years I’ve been adding to a document that my husband and daughters have access to. It’s partly how I’d want them to arrange a memorial, partly information they’ll need when I die, and what to do with my body (organ donor if I have anything worth giving, otherwise compost me with Recompose in Seattle and plant me under a tree somewhere).
The document holds a growing collection of poems. I like the idea of a small booklet of poems, or individual poems printed on pieces of paper, that people could take away with them as something I want them to read. These ones speak to the way in which we’re all part of a continuous, never-ending cycle.
It Is Enough
Anne Alexander Bingham
To know that the atoms
of my body
will remain
to think of them rising
through the roots of a great oak
to live in
leaves, branches, twigs
perhaps to feed the
crimson peony
the blue iris
the broccoli
or rest on water
freeze and thaw
with the seasons
some atoms might become a
bit of fluff on the wing
of a chickadee
to feel the breeze
know the support of air
and some might drift
up and up into space
star dust returning from
whence it came
it is enough to know that
as long as there is a universe
I am a part of it.
————-
Prayer III
By Finn Butler
Do I believe in reincarnation? No. not in the strictest sense.
But if matter can neither be created nor destroyed I think there
must be
a piece of everyone’s heart still beating somewhere
in the past or future tense.
I know we all become dust, but that dust becomes someone new
and so it takes a thousand parts to make a life, not just two.
And that is why maybe you cry at the sight of daffodils blooming
because a part of you lost his mother in the spring.
And somehow you are sure that you have heard your lover’s
voice before.
(I swear, they feel it, too
because a piece of them also once loved a piece of you.)
I like that idea, you know.
That we are bound to other people
by carrying the traces of these same old souls
from a thousand years ago.
I guess I can try and pick the best employer to work for after I’m finished working at the provincial park for the summer. I have already had two interviews and it seems they are both very interested in me. It’s not surprising because of the so-called lack of nurses (or people willing to do this work). So, I will try and hold out until I get a really good job, not just an OK one.
Make moves toward my future. To begin, I am going to call my schooling to discuss start dates, a few other needed phone calls, and begin working out again 🙂 .
Today, I can rest my back. I injured it (again) after pushing past my physical limitations — it’s been tough for me to accept that I cannot do everything that I once was able to do. So today, I will rest and attempt to make peace with my aging body.
I wondered when I was told that the earliest they could set my upcoming surgery was late November but I reminded myself that it just might be a blessing and chose to look at it that way. Today’s quote says “we create the path” and I find myself truly relating to that wisdom. I’m doing my best to be the best with each day I am given to be mentally, emotionally, physically and spiritually ready for that surgery. And I’ve been given today to do just that!
Wonderful timing for this question. Yesterday my division published our monthly e-news. It included an article I wrote that directly invites Current Self to plan for Future Self to maintain transportation independence when we outlive our ability to drive safely, if we’re driving now. https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/WADOT/bulletins/426b3a9
I started thinking about this years ago thanks to my aging parents and my dad’s unwillingness to let go of the steering wheel long after he became a menace on the road. (Old blog post on this https://bikestylelife.com/2012/06/20/when-i-get-older-why-i-believe-multimodal-system-and-complete-streets/) I’m incredibly fortunate to have found my way into working in active transportation, where every day my efforts aim toward a better future for all of us.
I’ve already done my planning and have taken action. When my husband and I moved from Seattle to Olympia in 2020 we planned very deliberately for a future in which we don’t drive for transportation. We’re a 12-minute bike ride from downtown and groceries, a somewhat longer ride to our healthcare providers, and live about 5 minutes from a bus line. Transit here is fare-free. (We’re also within walking distance of a very good little bakery, yum yum). I’m fortunate to be able to afford this kind of location; I know not everyone can.
Current Self is going to yoga tonight, another way of doing something for Future Self. Last night I went to rehearsal with my improv troupe. Building in guaranteed weekly laughter is definitely a gift, today and into the future.
In another plan for the future, not long after we moved in we planted trees knowing they won’t bear fruit or nuts for a few years. We’re looking into planting an apple tree or two if we can train them to an espalier. We’re running out of yard space for tree cover, as I need to make sure I don’t shade my raised beds.
I recently got a couple of stickers that feel relevant. One reads “The way you do anything if the way you do everything.” The other: “Be proud of the work you do, the person you are, and the difference you make.” If Current Self can do this, Future Self can feel satisfied with a life well lived.
I can engage my life with awareness and live fully in the now. A wise teacher once said, “All you have to do to avoid regret is take care of the present moment.” So simple. So challenging.
I’m going to get my annual physical exam today. While I hope it’s all clear, future me will be glad that the doc caught things early, if there is anything to catch. And future me will appreciate the peace of mind provided by a clean bill of health, if nothing’s off.
I have my zen principles practice going with Sean Coughlin consistently for 5 years. Early this morning, I felt God instructing me to focus on that as my primary side project and put “MarLoc Gets Straight to the Point” as a secondary. After all, despite the later running for 10 years, Martin reentered my life just recently. I have a stronger foundation going with the zen principles, and it aligns better with these questions. My competitive fire is a double-edged sword motivating me to put challenges in front of me but also leads to me spreading myself thin as well.
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Yesterday was a long studio day for me, with a little over 10 hours put in. While it sounds like a lot, I only work the studio two days a week, so it’s really not so bad. So most of what I did yesterday was for the studio, but it certainly affects future me since doing the right things always helps your future self. I have workshops scheduled thru the end of the year, September’s theme set and shared with the teachers, and other things that I want to leave the best I can before we move. I only have three more admin days there. Another teacher who I’m friends with realized that we might not see each other again, as she’s leaving for a family wedding next week and not back until the weekend I’m leaving. We shared hugs and stories. I love her so much. She is one of many who I will miss.
Today – Friday – for my future self I will go take the strength class I like at 8am and then teach my gentle yoga at 10:30. Someone is buying our bedroom set tomorrow, so I’ll have to empty the big dresser of my clothing. This helps both me and my husband for our upcoming move as that set is so heavy. It was the first really nice bedroom set I ever owned. Good thing there are plenty more out there 🙂
May your moving weather be favorable, SunnyPatti.
Thank you, Joseph🙏🏼
It sounds,
dear SunnyPatti,
like in this move
there is a little bitter
in with the sweet.
Blessings to you and your husband
as you move forward. ♥
I am holding both happy and sad at the same time. Not my first experience with this, but it feels deeper this time. I know it’s because I am finally myself – ME. Patti being the Patti she was born to be… a yogi who shares movement intertwined with joy, philosophy, and love. Many tears have been shed the past week. I’ve gathered a few reviews on my business page, and they are truly some of the most beautiful things I’ve ever read about myself. I am humbled but so very grateful. Some students have asked for my number, and I am happy to keep in touch in whatever way I can to those who blessed me so much as I started my teaching journey.
🙏🏼
Try to be less daunting about working PT next year and collecting SS. My co-worker and I are meeting Sept 1 to discuss w/our boss and she knows what the subject is now. I know I need to do this for myself but it does feel scary.. Change as we all know is scary!
In the past
I never liked to think too much
about the future.
Then someone gave me a little plaque
that read,
“To plant a garden
is to believe in tomorrow.”
~ Audrey Hepburn
I was a budding planter of seeds
at the time,
and the quote
made me do a double take.
As I was renting at the time,
I had the idea
that when I moved
I would leave the place
a little better than I found it
and that not only pleased me,
but justified my time spent outdoors.
Now I have my own home,
and have fully taken to heart
Miss Hepburn’s belief.
Every year
the gardens expand a little more,
and when the hosta start to crowd the bleeding hearts,
I dig them up
and open up another space.
Its rather how it goes inside of me too . . .
there is a lot of sorting and grading
going on in there,
but not so much with actual thoughts,
but with intuitions
and just seeing where the pieces fit.
And my interior
looks very little
like the one I grew up with in church.
I can tell now
when something sings to me,
reaches down and touches my heart,
and I trust that a lot more
than most of the many sermons I have heard.
I live today
for what will be
tomorrow.
I am culling my inner garden
all of the time,
with every single thing I experience,
pressing it into the still fertile soil of my soul.
This ongoing gift
I hope,
will steel me for difficult times in the future,
for I feel I may need them,
and I want my heart to be strong
and pure
and ready,
even when the body is weak.
Who knows?
Perhaps some of me
will catch someone else’s fancy,
like a milkweed seed
propelled by the wind.
Perhaps part of me
will line the nest of a bird,
or grow some scales on a fish . . .
I am open to suggestions. ♥
Sparrow, your reflections could be a book of wisdoms.🩷
Dear Mary . . .
the Divine in me
bows to the Divine in you. ♥
“I live today
for what will be
tomorrow.”
I love this, Sparrow. It speaks to how I live my life as well.
As for becoming a part of something else, over the years I’ve been adding to a document that my husband and daughters have access to. It’s partly how I’d want them to arrange a memorial, partly information they’ll need when I die, and what to do with my body (organ donor if I have anything worth giving, otherwise compost me with Recompose in Seattle and plant me under a tree somewhere).
The document holds a growing collection of poems. I like the idea of a small booklet of poems, or individual poems printed on pieces of paper, that people could take away with them as something I want them to read. These ones speak to the way in which we’re all part of a continuous, never-ending cycle.
It Is Enough
Anne Alexander Bingham
To know that the atoms
of my body
will remain
to think of them rising
through the roots of a great oak
to live in
leaves, branches, twigs
perhaps to feed the
crimson peony
the blue iris
the broccoli
or rest on water
freeze and thaw
with the seasons
some atoms might become a
bit of fluff on the wing
of a chickadee
to feel the breeze
know the support of air
and some might drift
up and up into space
star dust returning from
whence it came
it is enough to know that
as long as there is a universe
I am a part of it.
————-
Prayer III
By Finn Butler
Do I believe in reincarnation? No. not in the strictest sense.
But if matter can neither be created nor destroyed I think there
must be
a piece of everyone’s heart still beating somewhere
in the past or future tense.
I know we all become dust, but that dust becomes someone new
and so it takes a thousand parts to make a life, not just two.
And that is why maybe you cry at the sight of daffodils blooming
because a part of you lost his mother in the spring.
And somehow you are sure that you have heard your lover’s
voice before.
(I swear, they feel it, too
because a piece of them also once loved a piece of you.)
I like that idea, you know.
That we are bound to other people
by carrying the traces of these same old souls
from a thousand years ago.
Beautiful idea Barb!
“it is enough to know that
as long as there is a universe
I am a part of it.”
I love both of these poems,
dear Barb,
and their words
lift my heart,
as I don’t hear these things often.
I will copy and keep them
as they sing to me. 🙂
Many thank yous
for posting them. 🙏
I guess I can try and pick the best employer to work for after I’m finished working at the provincial park for the summer. I have already had two interviews and it seems they are both very interested in me. It’s not surprising because of the so-called lack of nurses (or people willing to do this work). So, I will try and hold out until I get a really good job, not just an OK one.
Future You will be glad you chose carefully, Louise.
Make moves toward my future. To begin, I am going to call my schooling to discuss start dates, a few other needed phone calls, and begin working out again 🙂 .
Today, I can rest my back. I injured it (again) after pushing past my physical limitations — it’s been tough for me to accept that I cannot do everything that I once was able to do. So today, I will rest and attempt to make peace with my aging body.
Ah yes, Emmaleah, that pesky aging process.
Hope your back feels better soon!.
I wondered when I was told that the earliest they could set my upcoming surgery was late November but I reminded myself that it just might be a blessing and chose to look at it that way. Today’s quote says “we create the path” and I find myself truly relating to that wisdom. I’m doing my best to be the best with each day I am given to be mentally, emotionally, physically and spiritually ready for that surgery. And I’ve been given today to do just that!
Indeed you have,
dear Carol Ann! 🙂
Wonderful timing for this question. Yesterday my division published our monthly e-news. It included an article I wrote that directly invites Current Self to plan for Future Self to maintain transportation independence when we outlive our ability to drive safely, if we’re driving now. https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/WADOT/bulletins/426b3a9
I started thinking about this years ago thanks to my aging parents and my dad’s unwillingness to let go of the steering wheel long after he became a menace on the road. (Old blog post on this https://bikestylelife.com/2012/06/20/when-i-get-older-why-i-believe-multimodal-system-and-complete-streets/) I’m incredibly fortunate to have found my way into working in active transportation, where every day my efforts aim toward a better future for all of us.
I’ve already done my planning and have taken action. When my husband and I moved from Seattle to Olympia in 2020 we planned very deliberately for a future in which we don’t drive for transportation. We’re a 12-minute bike ride from downtown and groceries, a somewhat longer ride to our healthcare providers, and live about 5 minutes from a bus line. Transit here is fare-free. (We’re also within walking distance of a very good little bakery, yum yum). I’m fortunate to be able to afford this kind of location; I know not everyone can.
Current Self is going to yoga tonight, another way of doing something for Future Self. Last night I went to rehearsal with my improv troupe. Building in guaranteed weekly laughter is definitely a gift, today and into the future.
In another plan for the future, not long after we moved in we planted trees knowing they won’t bear fruit or nuts for a few years. We’re looking into planting an apple tree or two if we can train them to an espalier. We’re running out of yard space for tree cover, as I need to make sure I don’t shade my raised beds.
I recently got a couple of stickers that feel relevant. One reads “The way you do anything if the way you do everything.” The other: “Be proud of the work you do, the person you are, and the difference you make.” If Current Self can do this, Future Self can feel satisfied with a life well lived.
Great future thinking!
“The way you do anything is the way you do everything.”
I’m a firm believer in this,
dear Barb,
and keep it in mind
when I’m tempted to short-change the work. ♥
love this, Barb.
Thank you Carol Ann!
I can engage my life with awareness and live fully in the now. A wise teacher once said, “All you have to do to avoid regret is take care of the present moment.” So simple. So challenging.
Clay, Also, very wise.
I’m going to get my annual physical exam today. While I hope it’s all clear, future me will be glad that the doc caught things early, if there is anything to catch. And future me will appreciate the peace of mind provided by a clean bill of health, if nothing’s off.
Yes indeed! Hope all is well
I hope everything went well,
dear Drea,
when you went to the doctor’s. ♥
Thanks Sparrow. It mostly did, one little caveat to investigate further. C’est la vie.
Exercise. Move. Walk.
Hydrate.
Think good thoughts.
Be loving, kind & accepting.
🕊️❤️
Eat nutriously
Sleep restfully
Engage respectfully
Expand my curiosity
Feed my soul
I love these and will try them today as well. I’ll start with the first one — I’m going to make a lunchtime salad! 🥗🙂
🙂
I’d do my best to maintain my daily walking because it helps me with my physical as well as my mental health. Happy ordinary day, everyone! ☺
“Happy ordinary day” made me smile, Ngoc. Enjoy the walk!
My Ngoc, we have time to walk this morning for sure.
I have my zen principles practice going with Sean Coughlin consistently for 5 years. Early this morning, I felt God instructing me to focus on that as my primary side project and put “MarLoc Gets Straight to the Point” as a secondary. After all, despite the later running for 10 years, Martin reentered my life just recently. I have a stronger foundation going with the zen principles, and it aligns better with these questions. My competitive fire is a double-edged sword motivating me to put challenges in front of me but also leads to me spreading myself thin as well.
Be present to delight and wonder as much as possible. Learn to lean on and walk down my road of life with others. Like the song, “Lean on me…”
And I want to not only truly “see” others, but to experience myself being truly seen and heard.