Be Here Now Mandala

 

Currently I am listening to Eckhart Tolle’s   A New Earth.  It is extremely thought provoking and I recommend it to everyone.  I wish I had learned some of this information earlier.  Wouldn’t it be helpful if as children we learned that thoughts cause suffering?   If some of these concepts were taught in school would violence  and greed decrease?  

Somewhere it is Snowing

 

Somewhere it is snowing and that somewhere is right outside my window!  It is gorgeous.  Ski season is just around the corner.

Yesterday I was watching some tourists and they were loaded down with all of the latest phones and camera’s and other electronics.  It struck me how much baggage they were carrying.  Do I carry that much baggage?  Are all of the new electronics helpful or do they just separate us from interacting with  each other?  Are they worth the expense, the time, and the weight?

If I was on a deserted island I would most likely wish for food and company, so why do I feel like I need so many other things in my daily life?  It is my current quest to get rid of everything that has become baggage.

Spider Mandala

Worlds Largest Beet!

Yesterday while harvesting food for dinner, I pulled up this enormous beet!  

The pictures don’t do it justice.

Fun Not Duty

Recently I performed in the Taos annual Frequinox  show.  Of course I felt honored to be asked by the Flying Desert Brigade to perform with them.  Followed by the excitement came feelings of nervousness and doubt about my ability to give a satisfactory performance.

Luckily, I brought my feelings up to a friend who is very skilled in Byron Katie’s four questions to emotional freedom.  We used Byron Katie’s process to discover my insecurity resulted from my trying to please the audience and the impossibility of trying to control the reactions of others.

Once that idea was removed I was reminded of why I do aerial fabric in the first place:  I LIKE IT!  Practicing aerial fabric is so much fun, a great workout, confidence boosting, and creative.  Then I became excited  of how much fun I could have practicing with an audience.  Any time a feeling of nervousness came up I reminded myself how much I love this activity.  It worked!  I had a great time!

As my brother said, ” Do you know how many people can’t even do a pull-up? “

 

 

Terribly Tiresome Toothache

 

Has anyone out there ever had a tooth ache?  I had not until Sunday night.  Out of the blue my upper left molar began to hurt and would not stopped.  Never before have I experienced such distracting pain.  I couldn’t sleep, my appetite was diminished, in general my motivation to do anything disappeared.

Luckily for me, a clinic an hour away gave me an emergency appointment yesterday.  Never have I been been more excited to see the dentist.  Dentistry has come a long way since I last went to one.  Now after an x-ray is taken it immediately show ups on the computer screen.  You can even ask the computer to give you a diagnosis.  WOW!  

The doctor spread numbing gel over my gum before she jabbed me with the needle.  Isn’t that great?  That never happened when I was a kid.  I couldn’t even feel the needle go into my gum.  In less than an hour I had received a filling and was out of there.  The best part is the appointment was only $40.  WOW again.    After one more sleepless night, I feel back to myself.  I have a new compassion for people with insomnia and chronic pain.

For the past 10 years I have been avoiding the dentist because it doesn’t exactly fit into my “paying student loans” lifestyle.  I am so happy to realize that I can afford to have my teeth taken care of!  It is a huge relief because I really enjoy chewing my food.

So, for all of the people out there who feel like they can’t afford the dentist, find a local clinic with a sliding scale and go for it!

Taos Recycled Fashion Show

Photo by Robin Collier

A Few weeks ago Taos held its first annual Recycled Fashion Show.  Usually Nicole Kowalski puts on the Glam Trash Fashion show, but this year she has a new born baby.  The trash fashion show is much more sculptural and fun, but the recycled show is more practical.   Hopefully both traditions will continue.

While deciding what to make for the show, I realized that most of my wardrobe is made of recycled fashion.  Rather then modeling something that I already wear, I made a new outfit out of army camouflage .  I deconstructed a pair of pants and made them into a halter top and most of a skirt.  The remainder of the skirt was made from a pocketed panel of a jacket.  I love having pockets!  My hat is constructed out of the jacket sleeve.  My bag is made of salvaged bicycle inner-tubes.

Photo by Robin Collier

Giving an article of clothing, especially army fatigues, a re-invented, more peaceful, creative life ,appeals to me.

Photo by Robin Collier

How I managed to walk down the gravel runway in heels with my eyes closed remains a mystery.

 

Time is the only thing of value

Life is a precious thing.   TIME is the only thing of value.  

In the end all there will be is the joy in my heart and how I chose to spend my time.

 

Herald the Heron

Meet Herald the Heron.  He is the creation of my friend Christina Sporrong.  She and I had an art show together a couple of years back along with our other friend Nicole Kowalski.

Herald is the first of 3 kinetic herons that Christina is constructing.  For more info you can visit her heron blog  .

 

The day after Christina’s Heron Party, I went backpacking with my boyfriend and his daughter above Williams Lake in the Taos Ski Valley.  My Mom hiked up and joined us the next day.  It is always gorgeous up there!  I love being out in nature.  We made a base camp and then did some day hikes.  The nights in the mountains are already close to freezing.  Luckily we were prepared.

Tea Bag Wisdom

This morning I arose at 5:30am,  did some yoga and made myself a cup of tea.  

The tag on the bag said:

 

I am Beautiful

I am Bountiful

I am Blissful

 

 These words are repeating in my head and they are working.  I feel great.

What a morning gift.