365 Inspirations—273: A Walk in the SUN

Indecisive Seattle weather

One of the things I remember clearly from our trek over Salkantay Glacier in Peru is when our guide, a full-blooded Quechua, raised his hands, open palms to the air, just as the last ray of sun fell behind the glacier. He also closed his eyes and chanted something under his breath. In Quechua the sun is called 'inti' and is worshiped just like the moon 'quilla'. Pachamama, Mother Earth, is also highly revered.

After two days of torrential downpours ( I walked between squalls), I wanted nothing more than to get outside. I was determined, even though I had a full schedule today, to get outside and walk.

So even though the clouds looked dark and ominous, I convinced my husband to come with me to Greenlake for a 3-mile walk.

It started out windy and looked like a storm was going to crash on our heads, but then everything changed.

The dark clouds left the sky completely about half-way around the lake and the only thing overhead was that bright orb and blue sky.

Instinctively, my husband and I lifted our arms to the sun, palms to the sky, eyes closed, and just stood there very still taking it all in. We felt the warmth and let it penetrate us and give us the light we so miss this time of year.

After our little walk, despite storms and clouds (externally and internally) that still threaten our horizons to come, I felt energized. Such a simple, peaceful walk with my husband on a normally busy day changed my entire perspective about life. It made me want to slow down and it made me want to be present for the shifting winds that I'm sure are coming my way.

Do you ever stop to take in the sun, or is it around you all the time?

365 Inspirations—50: Early Spring Flowers

“If we could see the miracle of a single flower clearly, our whole life would change.”– Buddha

We are having a very mild winter in Washington State. It's been in the 40s and 50s. We usually have somewhat mild winters, but this one is particularly mild. Today was a bright sunny day and it feels like spring outside. My husband and I decided to walk around Greenlake, which is about a three-mile walk. We do it often.

We have a huge Camellia tree in our front yard by our front door. It was planted long ago. I think it was the tradition back in the 40s and 50s in the Seattle area to plant certain kinds of trees and bushes when houses were built. Ours is a 1940s bungalow.

The Camellia tree was probably just a shrub when it was planted, but it's huge now. We don't normally start seeing blooms until very late in February or the first week in March, but I found that one little bud decided it was time to open. It made me happy.

We have a beautiful Buddha statue that sits under the tree. It's a nice greeting every time we come home from somewhere.

I noticed, on our walk around Greenlake, that other flowers like Daffodils and Crocuses have made their appearances, but aren't quite ready to bloom.

I think I'm ready for spring, even though we didn't really have much of a winter. I would have liked to have seen a little more snow on the lower levels, but I'll take the spring flowers!

Have you noticed any spring flowers coming up where you live? 

365 Inspirations—39: Bright Sun and Puffy, White Clouds

"Bows and flows of angel hair and ice cream castles in the air

And feather canyons everywhere, I've looked at clouds that way."—Joni Mitchell 

I think no one appreciates the SUN as much as a Seattleite. Basically because this time of year we don't see it much. When it does decided to show its face, the first thing I want to do is get on my walking shoes and head outside.

I have a split teaching shift today and only have a short time between classes. While in my afternoon class, I could see the bright sun from the classroom window and it was beckoning me to come outside.

As soon as I finished my class, I got in my car and headed straight for Greenlake Park. Well, actually I hit PCC, the local grocery store, on the way to the park because I hadn't had any lunch.

I sat in my car and had some fruit and a chicken salad. The sun was beaming into the window of my car and I felt so happy and warm inside while I ate my late lunch.

I then switched shoes in the Greenlake parking lot and pulled on a jacket, hat and gloves and headed out into the sun. It wasn't a completely clear day. It was one of those "puffy, white cloud" kinds of days. You know the ones—crystal blue skies, white clouds that look like different animals and shapes if you stare at them long enough, and bright sun.

I sat on a bench and let the sun hit my face as walkers, skaters and bicyclists passed by. I looked up at the clouds and swore I saw one that looked like a heart. I thought, Wow, look at that! A heart-shaped cloud. Just in time for Valentine's Day!

I'm now back at home and the sun is about to set. I'm heading back to the college for round two. I'm so happy I was able to get out and about today.

Have you spent time in the sunshine lately? Do you ever stop and look at the clouds and see shapes?

365 Inspirations—33: One Family and the Love of a Maple Tree (Greenlake, Seattle)

“For me, it’s more than just saving a tree. It’s inspirational that a little boy saw  something that he didn’t like in the world and stood up for it. And it actually worked.”—Kim Butler

Seattle people LOVE trees! We are the Evergreen State and we are very proud of our towering trees. People fight to have trees remain in place and would rather have the trees over anything else. For months now, I've been walking around Greenlake Park in Seattle and have spotted a huge Maple tree trunk elaborately decorated with fresh flowers daily! Someone obviously loved this tree and was saddened by its loss from the park. I have wondered for months now who has been doing this.

For a few weeks now, there have only been the remains of dead flowers on the tree trunk. I felt saddened to see this and thought the person decorating the tree trunk must have given up.

However, today, while I walked around Greenlake with my husband, I was thrilled to see that the trunk was decorated once again with an array of bright flowers! It made me smile. Several people stopped to view the flowers and I also noticed happiness on their faces.

So I decided to Google "decorated tree trunk at Greenlake" and of course I found the news story from the Greenlake Komo News website and most of this information here is from that story.

It all started with one family, the Butlers, in 2002. Taylor, the boy, was only 5 when he spotted a sign that mentioned the tree would be cut down. The young boy was so sad that this tree would be removed that he posted signs on the tree urging people to save it. He left blank pieces of paper in order to gather signatures and support for the tree.

The family's passion for the tree extended the tree's life by 10 years, but eventually it was cut down because it had split and was a threat to the community.

To honor the tree, the Butlers have been placing fresh flowers on the trunk for many months, but they decided that they'd like a more permanent way to memorialize the tree.

The kids, Emma and Taylor, along with their mother, created a fundraiser to raise money for a park bench that will be placed near the tree trunk. Many people have supported this fundraiser and they have raised over $1,200 for the bench.

I never expected that a little boy and a love for a tree could spark such a crusade to save it. It just goes to show that it doesn't matter how young or old you are, we can all make a difference.

Here's their Facebook page for their Maple Tree Bench Project

Have you ever stood up for a cause you believe in? Are you also a lover of trees?

365 Inspirations—16: Solitude

"It is only when we silent the blaring sounds of our daily existence that we can finally hear the whispers of truth that life reveals to us, as it stands knocking on the doorsteps of our hearts."—K.T. Jong

Solitude is my inspiration for day 16. Well, at least I found inspiration in my time alone. We all need time to ourselves to ponder, dream and scheme about life. I spend quite a deal of time with my husband because he's my best male friend and companion and we enjoy similar activities, but every now and then it's good to do something on my own.

I had a break between classes at the college where I teach. This morning, before my earlier class, I packed my car with gloves, a hat, a scarf and boots just in case I felt like going for a walk after class.

The sun was shining bright and I hopped on the freeway and drove directly to Greenlake. I slipped off my work shoes and put on my walking boots, hat, scarf and gloves and began walking the three-mile loop around the lake.

I tried to feel my feet in my shoes and the cold wind on my face. I stopped to take a picture of many ducks on a log sunning themselves.

I wanted to be aware of all the sights and sounds around me. I walked close to the edge of the lake and could hear the waves lapping against the shore. I saw a man writing in his journal on a bench, some people were running around the lake, others were speed walking and some were meandering like me. There were lots of moms and strollers and most people were walking in pairs or groups, but there were also a few people walking alone like me.

I stopped to take a picture of my shadow. It followed me half-way around the lake and it sort of felt like I was walking with a friend. When I took out my cell phone to take a photo, I noticed that my husband had called me. I decided to call him back.

"Where are you?" he asked.
"Well, I'm more than halfway around Greenlake," I replied.

He was on his way to Greenlake to do the very same thing I was doing. He decided to walk the opposite direction than he usually does and we ran into each other near the end of the walk.

It was the best of both worlds. We each got to experience solitude while walking around our favorite lake in Seattle and we also got to meet up at the end. We went to PCC (our local, organic supermarket) for a bit of dinner afterwards and I felt so refreshed.

Do you enjoy solitude? How do you spend your alone time?

ON TOUR: Book Review in Shambhala Sun and a Yoga/Writing Retreat in Sedona

So I'm not technically ON TOUR anymore, but there are some tour stops coming up on the horizon. I think the next one may be Phoenix, Arizona in October, but I'll keep you posted on that. It's been a busy week, but somehow I got through it. I've got so many projects and ideas on all burners. I can't share yet, because they are sort of half-baked, but I will soon. I can share some other news though.

Yesterday I was feeling a bit tired after work and my husband suggested that we go take a 3-mile walk around Greenlake. When the weather is nice in Seattle, you really don't want to miss out. So after our walk, I wanted to stop by PCC, our local grocery store, to get a Kombucha, some red grapes and check if the latest issue of Shambhala Sun was on the magazine stand yet. Lo and behold, it was. I picked it up and began flipping through it. Mind Waves on Page 39 caught my eye. How curious that Shambhala had decided to reprint an excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki's book Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind. It was one of the first books I read about meditation and I mentioned it in my book, Lessons from the Monk I Married. I continued flipping through the pages and there is was!

A review of my book was on page 83 of the September 2012 issue of Shambhala Sun and it was a good one! Here's a little taste of the review:

"Lessons from the Monk I Married is travel writing at its best. It takes us deep into another culture while documenting a profound inner journey."

Well, I have to say, it was the perfect ending to my day!

In other news, we are gearing up for another yoga/writing retreat October 25-28 in Sedona, Arizona!

We had twenty participants on our last yoga/writing retreat at The Yoga Lodge on Whidbey Island, WA and excellent feedback, so we've decided to carry on with these. If you are interested in joining us on this retreat, please contact my husband Yoon at info@yoonsyogabliss.com. The retreat is filling up and we are offering 20% off if you register before August 15th (The poster says July 30th, but we've extended it). That date is fast approaching, so don't miss out on this great deal.

Yoga and writing are the perfect combination, in my opinion. Yoga helps one to go inward and often that is where we find our best writing.

Best writing has nothing to do with being perfect, it has to do with uncovering and discovering what we are meant to do and/or meant to write and share. On our last retreat, not everyone who attended was a yogi or a writer. That was not so important. But by the end of the retreat it was clear that everyone had gotten in touch with a deeper part of themselves. They had new clarity on the direction they wanted to take and yoga, writing and collaging were tools we used to get us there.

On this retreat coming up, we get the added beauty of Sedona, Arizona—red rocks, a labyrinth, a sky full of more stars than you knew existed, a full moon, beautiful fall weather, hikes to several vortexes, river wading, organic vegetarian meals, meditation....and of course yoga and writing! I can't wait and I hope to see you there!

I'm going to really try and post once a week! Read here for all my posts on yoga and here for posts on writing.