Today I took my AmeriCorps Members to Lake Compounce, an amusement park in CT, to celebrate all of the hard work they have done over the past 8 months. As a team of 20 they have completed over 10,000 hours of community service! The best part was that the park was closed to the public, so we were able to ride every single ride multiple times. I don’t think they realized that their Director was a theme park lover. We had a blast!
Enjoying Rita’s Water Ice on the beach. A much needed adult time out after a particularly rough week.
Love this stuff. It is my go to when I want a soda but don’t want the bad stuff that comes with it.
The best dog in the world! And I’m not just saying that because he is mine :)
View from my bedroom window. This was a great reminder to me that it is so important to pause and take time to really see and appreciate what is around me. I get to look at this view every morning when I wake up, and that is a blessing. It is amazing what signs reveal themselves with the sun :)
During my senior year at Oberlin, a group I was in called Sisters of the Yam (SOY) decided to perform a belly dance for Oberlin’s annual Colors of Rhythm Dance Show. The idea actually came from the mind of one of my nearest and dearest friends, and she had the wonderful ability to make everyone feel comfortable regardless of size, shape or ability. We had so much fun that semester, learning to dance but more importantly learning to love our bodies. The semester we did that performance was awesome, and the memories I formed during that time are some that I will never forget (and I am not just saying that because the experience was immortalized on facebook).
Fast forward 4 plus years to the present moment. I recently was feeling like I wanted to add a new, fun, and unique workout to my regular regimen—- which can be a bit intense at times. While running around one day I spotted an advertisement for an advanced belly dancing class. Immediately my mind raced back to my senior year of college, and the awesome experience I had with this art form in the past. While I looked over the ad I thought to myself: I showed my belly back then, I can surely show it now! I love to dance, and belly dancing a few nights a week would totally add some new fun to my regular exercise plan. I wont have to buy anything because I still own all of my accessories from when I first learned the art form at Oberlin. This could be a fun tool to sharpen and add back to my romance tool box…. After thinking it over for all of 5 seconds I made my decision and signed up for the class.
I am writing this post (literally) after my first class. The class was 2 hours long, but it seemed to fly by. When I belly dance the curve of my hip is celebrated, everything about me that makes me a beautiful woman is celebrated and valued. Just as powerful is that fact that in a group setting I can be a part of celebrating my classmates as well. When I belly dance I feel strong and powerful and beautiful and sexy—— very sexy. What 25 year old would not want that??
So three cheers for recognizing and celebrating beauty in all of its forms, realizing that every woman is powerful and beautiful and strong. The more I think about it, the more it seems that my original belly dancing experience may have been one of the many catalyst to my personal wellness journey. Because of it, I started to not see myself differently but really LOVE all of myself. I would highly recommend every woman try belly dancing at least once. It is not just a form of exercise, but a spiritual practice….
Almost a year ago my beloved exploded into my heart, and I am so glad that he did. True love is absolutely amazing.
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Amazing what working towards living a balanced life can do. I am so proud to be a wellness warrior!
The past few days I have dedicated more time than usual to meditate. Not necessarily because it is the start of a New Year, but more so because I have been overwhelmed with a feeling that the different puzzle pieces of my life are being moved at a divine pace to form a picture that is far from what I expected. I have never enjoyed feeling like I am not in control. That being said I must admit the decisions and moments in my life that every fiber of my being tells me are right, have always been Divinely guided and inspired. My lived experience proves that there truly is something to the expression ” Let Go And Let God”.
So I am letting go—- or at least I am trying to. Each day the picture comes into focus a bit more, and while my mind is continually asking “Wait, are you sure—-this is not what I had planned”, my spirit is gently whispering “Yes, this is it. This is exactly how it should be. This is it——”. Eventually those two voices merged together and I was left siting with myself, knowing that the picture might not be exactly what I had planned as a child, but it is exactly what my spirit planned with the Divine before I took my first breath. Providence always wins——always.
Thinking about 2011 (in particular the last 6 months) in retrospect, I believe wholeheartedly that the past year was my year of preparation. Life worked on me in 2011—- HARD. When the year started I was far from ready. I was nowhere near ready to step into what the Divine KNEW was quickly approaching. Thankfully the spirit of life got its hands on me before its destiny made her appearance. I was stretched, molded, and ultimately transformed. Painful? At times. Uncomfortable? Absolutely. Necessary? Positively. By the time all was said and done, I was ready. When my career path became clear, I was ready. When my soulmate appeared in my life, I was ready. Constantly I was overwhelmed with feelings of dejavu and serendipity. I was exactly the person I needed to be to fully embrace my destiny—-and it felt good.
My gut instinct tells me that 2012 is going to be my launch year in many of the different areas of my life. Honestly I am so excited to see how the story unfolds. I don’t really believe in resolutions, so I didn’t make any. I did, however, make one promise to myself. I will always strive to be a good steward of the blessings that manifest for me.
Happy New Year!
