365 Inspirations—334: Big Shifts

"You may feel very secure in the pond that you are in, but if you never venture out of it, you will never know that there is such a thing as an ocean, a sea. Holding onto something that is good for you now, may be the very reason why you don't have something better.”—C. JoyBell C. 

Things are shifting right under my feet. I can feel them. These are good things.

They may not feel like that in the process, but ultimately I know that these shifts I'm feeling are going to lead to higher ground.

I just need to let go and trust in this.

I didn't do anything I was supposed to do today. I didn't check the enormous pile of tests sitting in my office. The ones I need to finish before my classes on Monday evening.

Nope, didn't do it.

I was feeling too much in another area of my life.

I know I must follow my intuition. It's calling and pulling me in another direction, but I'm afraid.

Afraid of letting go. Afraid I don't have enough to support me in the direction I want to move in. I want to write. I'm ready to write my next book, but I need to work to support myself. This work often gets in the way of really diving in and WRITING.

Over the holiday break, this is what I plan to do. I plan to WRITE.

Besides that, I'm being called to lead more yoga/writing retreats with my husband both nationally and internationally. I know this.

But how do I move over this hurdle of simply getting by in order to live the life I'm meant to live. How do I jump over it.

Ideas? Suggestions?

To be truthful, I'm not financially prepared to give up my job. I need my day job at the moment and I actually enjoy my students.

This shift, I feel, is coming. It's coming whether I like it or not.

When it comes, I will make the shift. I will move in the direction I'm meant to move in.

The funny thing is, I know what that direction is.

Have you felt any big shifts lately? Are you ready to make a move?

365 Inspirations—236: A Wedding on Puget Sound

"But let there be spaces in your togetherness and let the winds of the heavens dance between you. Love one another but make not a bond of love: let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls."—Khalil Gibran

Today we went to a wedding on Puget Sound on Tulalip Indian Reservation. It was very nostalgic for me because I lived there when I was ten years old for about a year and hadn't been back since then!

I wanted to find my old house and show Yoon, but there wasn't time. I promised we'd come back and I'd show him.

Yoon was the officiator at the wedding and he was great! He chanted a few Buddhist chants from his monk days and even told a few great jokes. Everyone laughed.

The most wonderful part of the ceremony was the tide that was slowly coming in. The bride and groom's sandals were completely submerged in water, but it felt the merging of two worlds—the land and the sea and the worlds of these two people. Yoon was on a platform so his feet were not in the water, but after he finished the chanting, there was the slight dilemma of how he'd get from the platform to land. One of the groom's friends said, "Yoon, hop on Eric's back and let him bring you over to the shore." And without further adieu, Yoon hopped on the groom's back and was taken safely to land!

The day consumed with food, drinks, good conversation, acro-yoga, a fire in a fire pit and a burning sunset. Just gorgeous!

 But the best part of the evening was a dozen huge paper lanterns that were lit by the wedding guests and set free to soar up above Puget Sound,  the tree line and beyond. At one point I wasn't sure which were paper lanterns and which were stars.

It was a beautiful day with lots of love.

Have you ever been to a memorable or unique wedding?