365 Inspirations—275: Nothing is Happening

"Eternal nothingness is fine if you happen to be dressed for it."—Woody Allen

 I just said to my husband, at 10:47pm tonight, after teaching four hours of classes straight, "What's the inspiration today?" And I waited for something and he said,

"Nothing is happening."

"Oh, great, so I'm to do a blog post on the fact that nothing is happening. Is that an inspiration?"

"It implies that there are lots of possibilities," he said and then wandered off to the sofa.

Perhaps all of our lives exist in that nothingness. But we want something, right?

We want a burst of inspiration, a quiet hour of meditation, a vacation, a creation or maybe a new occupation.

Tonight, I just want to sink into the bathtub with a book. Nothing is happening and I'm so incredibly grateful for that. I am grateful for this shelter, for my husband on the sofa, for the Hawaiian music he plays every night before he falls asleep, for our conversations, for finishing my job tonight and for not having to do anything else because 'nothing is happening,' which means there are so many possibilities....

A bath, a book and sleep are the possibilities I'm looking at right now...good night all!

How do you feel when 'nothing is happening?'

365 Inspirations—168: A Calling

“Let yourself be silently drawn by the stronger pull of what you really love.”—Rumi

Tomorrow, or maybe the next day, I head out on a very undefined pilgrimage, spiritual journey, writing, meditation, yoga retreat. It will involve a bit of travel, but I'm not sure how much this time around.

I'm feeling called to work on a few projects that seem to be taking shape every moment. I am getting pieces of information on these projects every day.

I know it sounds strange. In my past, I often operated in a very linear way. I measured things that I could see, taste, touch, feel—tangible things.

More recently, I've been letting go of a linear way of thinking and have adopted a more holistic view of things.

I believe some things can be explained, but some simply cannot.

I'm not afraid of the unknown anymore.

In fact, I'm ready to dive deeper into the unknown. I'm ready to loosen the tight strings that have bound me to a rational view of things.

Life is much more than we are able to see. Life, in its entirety, is incomprehensible.

I'm excited to venture out soon. I let you know more about my journey as it unfolds.

Have you ever felt called to do something different than you normally do?

365 Inspirations—45: A Letter to my Husband on Valentine's Day

On our Wedding Day in Korea, May 10, 2003

Dear Yoon,

Valentine's Day is just another day, right? Still, as busy as we both are, I want to take some time to tell you how much you mean to me.

I haven't always been the easiest person to be married to and have gone through my share of ups and downs. Lately, I've been more down than up.

For almost eighteen years, we've always found our way back to each other, even when things seemed shaky or like they might break apart.

It hasn't been an easy road for us. You're from the East, I'm from the West. You were a monk when I met you, I was a crazy American girl with wanderlust traveling around trying to find what the meaning of life was.

You left everything to be with me. You left the monastery, your country—pretty much everything. When you arrived at my apartment door in Korea, all you had was a tiny backpack and the clothes on your back.

You had never known a life outside the monastery, yet in that very first year of living with me, you had set up a yoga business in my living room. I came back from Christmas with family in New York City to find a bunch of people in stretch pants on yoga mats saying, "Ommmm..."

You had a knack for teaching yoga and had lots of training in the monastery and in India. You brought so much experience with you.

I can't forget the day you said, "I found a building!" I had no idea how we would pay for a building or a sign or everything else that came with forming a yoga school in Korea, but you believed it would happen and it DID! Again and again and again....

Fast forward to 2013, and you are the owner and teacher at a beautiful yoga studio near Seattle and have led retreats all over the place! You are my BIGGEST inspiration.

Because of your belief that things would work out, you have encouraged me to fulfill many of my own dreams (i.e. blogging, book writing, etc.).

I know it wasn't easy to hang up your robe and decide to walk a very different path with me. I know it took so much courage. And here you are, still walking by my side, through the thick and thin.

Thank you for being by my side. Thank you for believing in me and loving me even when things seem difficult or hard. Thank you for your gift of teaching yoga. You have inspired and helped so many people, including me.

I love you so much and I am so happy you are still with me after all these years!

Your wife,
Katherine

*To my readers:
I hope you will take the time to tell the people in your life how much you love them. It is so easy to take the people closest to us for granted.

365 Inspirations—38: The Unknown (The Art of Uncertainty by Dennis Merritt Jones)

"Those stuck in the no-zone are held there in part by their habit energy and have not a clue of the unforetold opportunities that lie ahead in the mystery of that which is yet to be."—Dennis Merritt Jones

We are creatures of habit and tend to do the same things over and over again. Sometimes we don't even realize it. Why? Because it's safe and comfortable. Nothing wrong with that.

But if we never stretch out of the box of "what we already know," we don't grow.

Moving into the unknown is scary, but I believe even in our comfort zone, we cannot predict what will happen in the next moment, so why not make the unknown our new comfort zone.

I'm reading a book called The Art of Uncertainty: How to Live in the Mystery of Life and Love It  by Dennis Merritt Jones. I've gotten so much from this book. It made me realize that from very early on in our childhood we start to believe certain things about ourselves based on how we grew up and on our surroundings. Often we accept certain things about ourselves based on our history and never challenge these ideas or opinions.

Things like I've always been overweight, I'm not so smart or I'm not good at math are just some examples of beliefs we have about ourselves. Many people accept these labels or ideas about themselves and instead of challenging them, just keep reinforcing that these are true.

The mystery of life says that we can be and do anything we want. Do you believe it?

It takes so much courage to believe this and to step out into the vast, unchartered unknown and to create something new for ourselves.

Merritt takes the "comfort zone" a bit further claiming that much of society lives in what is called "the no-zone".

He says, "Those stuck in the no-zone are held there in part by their habit energy and have not a clue of the unforetold opportunities that lie ahead in the mystery of that which is yet to be."

He continues, "To transcend the no-zone-layer requires being fully awake and connected to life in the moment, thriving each new day, knowing who you are, and knowing that what you do with who you are matters to you and the world."

He also says that to transcend the no-zone requires three things: clarifying your intentions, getting your bearings and taking action.

It's easy to take our lives for granted and just expect everything to be as we expect it to be day after day. Superficially, it appears that we know what is going on. The truth is, things are changing every single second.

Our lives are unknown. This is the truth. Rather than being afraid of this, I'd like to embrace it and make the unknown my new comfort zone. I want to live in the mystery of life and love it just as the book's title reads. Every single day is a blessing and I can't wait to see what is around the corner! I want to try new things and stretch out of my box. How about you?

Are you afraid of the unknown? Do you believe you can do and be anything you want to do and be?