kindness

Simple Kindness

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About six years ago I had a new student come into my classes who later proved to become a sweet friend who never asked for recognition for his mysterious, and always anonymous generosity. He was the example of simple kindness.

If you knew him, you may have not been able to recognize that he was a person living with a traumatic brain injury or that he struggled with all types of pain. His outlook and hash tag on life was #lovemylife. He never complained and was always up for a positive spin on things.

Through the years, I shared yoga and mindfulness with him. I schooled him on the proper way to eat cold chicken (only with mustard). I proudly sent him pictures of my garden bounty and the hikes I took. He returned this with endless versions of simple kindness; countless bags of chocolates delivered to my door, things for my shoes so I don’t slip on ice, he would send his own pictures of amazing hikes, and we often compared notes on Saturday steak nights.

Our friendship was based on simple kindness between two people.

Despite very different lifestyles we connected. What was most intriguing was our communication was only through texting. We disagreed politically and on issues we are both passionate about. Rather than attempt to convince each other that our view was the right view, we chose instead to focus on kindness. We chose to share things with each other that embodied what it meant to live your best life. He cracked lame jokes and always asked me about my health. I made sure he knew I was around and that he was on my mind from time to time.

Simple kindness was the theme of our friendship.

A few weeks ago, I went to see him in person in the hospital as he battled for his life. I rubbed his feet and brought him lemonade. Words were minimal and not needed.

His illness, injuries and life of pain came to an end recently. I know that what he was facing was not living his best life. He also knew it. His need to escape society and head to the woods for months at a time was not something he would be able to do.

I knew his fear and his pain.

Taking a much needed a hike in the trees, I had little chat with him and wished him well on his soul path. As I finished saying my goodbyes, I snapped this photo of the hill I was climbing and the light beam was such an obvious sign.

Nicely done, Scott. I will treasure your spirit and the gift your life was on my path. Enjoy the trees, the hawks and the views.

February Love

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Love is not something we give or get; it is something that we nurture and grow, a connection that can only be cultivated between two people when it exists within each one of them – we can only love others as much as we love ourselves. – Brené Brown

As we move into February, I hope that this will be a month filled with an abundance of love, especially for yourself. As we know, this kind of abundant love comes from our inner heart and must be first directed at ourselves. Learning to love who we are can be the doorway to experiencing a life filled with joy and richness. For most people it is much easier to love others than it is to love ourselves. Speaking of others, be sure to check out for my LOVE gifts mini-catalog for your beloved or for you! There is something for everyone!

When we are living busy lives that are filled with everything that comes with being human–stressful jobs, demanding families, chronic pain, overpacked schedules— it is incredibly difficult to feel healthy and comfortably rested. When that is our overall experience day to day, the result is that we become stressed and burned out. In order to nurture the health of our mind, body, and soul, we need ways to recenter and restore. We need to learn to cultivate these practices in short spurts throughout the day, and also in longer stretches. A quick walk, reading a chapter in a book, calling a friend are just some of the things that can feed your soul.

Over the years I have become a master at the art of self-care. It was not always this way and over time my entire being had taken a toll. Now, I take daily walks to reconnect, I have developed a rich morning routine, I have a good network of friends, I am satisfied with my work beyond words, I enjoy working a jigsaw puzzle, and there is not a day that goes by without a luxurious bubble bath to sooth my soul. One of the first steps is to simplify your schedule and make time for YOU. It may sounds difficult, but the rewards are so rich. And the best part? By loving on yourself, you will in turn be loving on others with a better attitude and less stress. I’d love for you to take a listen to a recent podcast I was a guest on that describes how I went into the heart and learned to love myself and my life.

Listen to the Podcast

Speaking of loving yourself, I am offering a self-care package this month that is worth every penny. You’ll get three beautiful yoga practices to add to your library, my custom blend called UNCONDITIONAL, a soothing foot salve and bath bombs all bundled into a gorgeous package. I even have a special package just for the special men in your life!

This month is also a time to look at your physical heart and make a commitment to care for it through healthy choices like eating clean and exercise. Find ways to incorporate movement into your life and your heart will be happy. When the days are cold and blustery, consider making a hearty vegetable soup to warm your insides or enjoy a warm bath infused with lavender. Also, taking a few minutes everyday to be grateful is a powerful exercise in cultivating love. I find that gratitude is the best way to stay in a full heart of goodness.

As we focus on love this month be sure that beyond all the candies, flowers and romance, remember that YOU are enough exactly as you are. You are worth it and your life has purpose and meaning.

Look into your eyes and see what I see.

I have a variety of ways this month to nurture your mind, body and spirit. My events are all virtual and can take place anywhere! Be sure to sign up so that you get the goodies that often come with the learning opportunity.

Class Schedule

The beauty you see in me is simply a reflection of you. ~Rumi

Choose Kindness

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I have come to learn that during this season of focusing on our own goals and our own aspirations we can sometimes become consumed with ourselves.  This is not necessarily a bad thing but I have found that this time of year we can lose site of the opportunities to show kindness for someone else as we strive to close out our busy year with achieving our own goals that we may have set for ourselves.

Last week, as I was leaving a class at a senior facility I grabbed my bag and attempted to hurry out to get on with some personal errands I had to do.  I stopped for a second to say goodbye to a sweet little man who often just sits at the computer and cries.  He chooses to never participate in yoga and I rarely see him interact with anyone. Instead, he just cries. Weeps is more like it.

There was my moment to choose myself, or choose kindness.

I pulled up a chair and leaned towards him.  He wiped his tears and stuttered a bit as I sat to talk to him. Since the yoga class prior was about setting goals for growth and personal development, I asked him if he had a goal.  He very quietly whispered, “do you think it is too late to learn to read?”

He is 61 years old.  He had never learned to read.

No wonder he sits in front a computer crying until someone types into the search bar what he is looking for. I got a bit closer and pulled up an easy online reading game and together, we sounded out the letters of the alphabet and some simple words in the game. His face was beaming when he realized that he looked at a picture, a letter and a word and together “read” the word apple. He clutched at my arm and said, “I am reading”.

Five minutes of my life.

I got out of my life and my goals and gave kindness.  It really is so simple.

Photo by Lisa on Pexels.com

A Drop of Goodness

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I am not in this world to change people’s minds.

At all.

But I am in this world to be a drop of goodness that I hope will better humanity. I believe I am also here to remind others the responsibility to engage with fellow humans from the place of respect and oneness.

The last few months I have been faced with some tough situations that have invited me to look closely at the people I surround myself with. Along with the tough situations I have experienced, it may also be that taking the big turn becoming fifty this year has brought about a deeper wisdom about myself and where I want to invest my energy.

Or perhaps with more clarity, who I want to invest my energy with.

Maybe I just have a huge need to get off my heart the sadness that I have witnessed by people in recent months or maybe my honesty will spur someone else to think about their own role in the division and indifference to humanity that is so obvious these days.

In a world where it seems many people are focused on themselves, I am seeing some incredible discouraging characteristics; selfishness, hatred, self-centeredness and greed to name a few. And what saddens me even more is that my recent experiences have come from so called “healers”. People who claim to care about others, yet their actions are so out of alignment with those claims.

When I look at the world around me and the last few months, the word that keeps coming up to me is respect.

Respect, by the way is not words that can be easily typed into a text or portrayed through social media. I am talking about looking around at the world and acting with respect and to truly hold each other in deep regard.

Respect is treating or thinking about something or someone with honor. In a world where many have limited drinking water or warm beds to crawl into, I am deeply bothered that so many people will invest their emotions and time into arguing over simple acts of stewardship for each other as we all share this planet. It boggles my mind that some people feel that having to follow certain recommendations are not okay when really the intent is looking out for the safety of fellow beings. You know those things like stops signs, seat belts, speed limits that prevent less death, less injury. They certainly don’t eliminate every single event, but they greatly reduce tragedy. And yet, those things don’t take away rights, they just help to keep everyone safer and show respect for others.

Actions of respect. Doing what is best, not just for themselves, but for others. That is the essence of respectful actions.

Simple, right?

It seems not so much these days. In this all about me life our world seems to be living, it is grueling for someone like me who expects, and even demands respect.

In the last 18 months I have lost, or chose, to step away from many people who I was completely shocked to learn the truth of them, instead of just seeing the externally projected perfect Instagram loving people many of them have claimed to be. I saw the depth of their lack of respect for others.

Sometimes taking a hard look at your tribe or circle of people can be much needed. This is bigger than just slicing through your Facebook “friends” with a quick click. I am talking about taking a stand for what your heart feels and using discernment to kindly step away.

Reevaluating who is in your tribe can sometimes feel daunting. It can be incredibly isolating and down-right scary. I have even had a few times in the last year that the disappointment brought about periods of deep sadness.

When we start the process of choosing who we want to have in our tribe, we have to remember that this is not about ourselves being right and them being wrong, although it sure does feel like it, instead this is about aligning yourself with people who hold you up and who protect your heart. It is about making sure that the ones you choose to share your energy with will respect you and are grateful to be part of your life.

Aligning myself with those who are here to make a difference in the world for the better of humanity is where I want to be. After all, a single drop of respect and goodness can make some big waves in the world.