Embrace Your Journey!

I am about three weeks into my new journey.....wellness! I have been going to Nia classes with a dear friend. I've lost over 10 pounds and have had the most fun doing it! Nia is an absolutely joyful experience. I am addicted! I've tried many paths to fitness and I can honestly say that this is the only form of exercise that I smilingly sweat through! Susanna, you should definitely see if the gym you are going to offers these classes. I am happy to report that I am much healthier than I first thought. I had a stress test last week. It was awesome. They did an ultrasound of my heart before exercising and then again after. It was amazing! I think that if everyone saw what their heart looked like beating inside of them then no one would abuse it. I wanted to hold my heart in my hands...to rock it like a baby and tell it that I will be kind to it from now on...and to thank it for pumping my precious blood....my life force....through my body....even when I am asleep. Sounds weird I know. I have a piece of art in my head that I can't wait to translate to paint and paper. I'm hoping to have a little free time to work on this in the next week.

Tonight I am loving this song and this one. A friend gave me a cd mix....I have been listening to it non-stop! Thank you:) And thank you Mark for this gem! And this one....this was from last Sunday's Nia class...and this one to free dance to (your way...without a worry about how you look)!

My dear friend Charlie has written a book. She is in the process right now of having it published. Please check out her website. She is passionate about mental health for transitioning Veterans....80% of the proceeds go directly to providing Veterans with free PTSD counseling. Her stories will touch your heart and your soul. I was privileged to read some of the stories before they went to the publisher. I will never forget the night that I read "Finding Grace"....it touched a part of me that I had long ago buried and hoped would never return. I sobbed uncontrollably for many reasons....but most of all....because I was not alone. There was another soul out there who had experienced similar hurt. Sharing her story has allowed me to heal a part of myself that I had hidden away. Check here for updates about her book....like when it will be available for purchase! Writing about this has brought this song to my mind.

I leave you tonight (this morning) with the beautiful music of Huun Huur Tu. If you have never heard throat singing before, you are in for a treat. I've been looking for this group on and off for 5 years....ever since I first heard them on NPR. I love youtube!

Grandma was here!

My grandmother died several years ago. Not long after she passed, my mom was in Barnes & Noble when a book jumped off the shelf and demanded her attention. I don't recall the title but I remember that it was a story about a woman who had also lost her mother. She began discovering feathers in her house in the most unexpected places. Strangely enough, my mom also started finding feathers after her mom passed. You know when you get magazines in the mail....and sometimes they are wrapped in plastic?? Well, my mom found a feather in between the pages of Gourmet magazine....after unwrapping it and removing it from the plastic. My two sisters and I also find feathers and I love to think that my Grandma is here....watching over all of us. When Rowan was a newborn...I was changing his diaper and when I lifted his little bottom up.....there was a single white fluffy feather. I called my mom and told her that Grandma had come to welcome Rowan to the world. She was here again....just the other night....Rowan was sound asleep on his tummy and there was a perfect, delicate little feather right between his shoulders. I love you Grandma!

A very dear friend of mine lost her husband a few months back. She was telling me about working in her yard and that when her husband would work in the yard it would bring on the rain.....just at the right time. I asked her about feathers. She told me that the day she was gardening, thinking about the rain and her dear husband....she noticed a single feather sticking straight up out of the ground. How very curious!