Surrender

I have been rather quiet lately -- there seems to be an extraordinary amount of Spring Stuff going on, and no time to squeeze out even the smallest posts.

I've been thinking, though. Often writing these things in my head. Thanks for those of you who have written to ask where I am. Still here creating in my brain and trying to make space for writing.

As I ponder it all, I find myself drawn to the concept of surrender. Far from a position of weakness, I have come to understand this as something that requires great strength and courage.

Someone once said: You have to let go of the life you have planned in order to make room for the life that is waiting for you.

(I don't actually know who that was, but I see the quotation often.)

Life is a daily experience of surrender...especially when we consider how much we have planned for and how strong our vision for what should be often is. More often than not, things do not turn out exactly the way I expect or imagine.

Surrender: Webster says it is all about giving up power to another.

I don't think so.

When I have submitted to the reality of the way things are; I find myself more powerful than ever. Letting go into what is makes room for what can be. And it also embraces a reality: we are not in control of every little thing that goes on in our world...so why pretend otherwise.

Giving in, letting go, surrendering is rather like admitting the truth and just getting on with it.

This becomes physically obvious in my yoga practice -- the muscles only loosen when you let go.

In yoga, as in life? Maybe so.

Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. (Matthew 10:39)

HA! The Irony

This funny,snarky commercial was sent to me yesterday and it just made me laugh. In these crazy times we really do need to laugh...

Laughing at one's self is a great place to start. Nobody does it better than The Onion!

Enjoy!

RE-VIEW

Every now and then it helps to get a re-view on life. A fresh perspective, a new outlook.

In the practice of yoga, this is one of the purposes of the inversion posture. It turns things upside down, gets the blood flowing in the opposite direction, and generally stirs things up a bit. Always a good thing.

And so it was that we found ourselves at The Lodge at Woodloch: A Destination Spa.

We found the place more or less by chance, having read a tiny blurb about it in a New Jersey magazine. The web site looked heavenly, and a phone call to the place revealed an accommodating, laid back staff. So we signed on. The fact that it was a mere two hours away by car helped to seal the deal. A relaxing vacation begins with an easy trip in my book.

We had no idea that it was one of the premiere luxury travel destinations and had already won several awards in its not yet two year life span.

That's kinda like your toddler winning the Olympics or something: pretty impressive.

Suffice it to say that we unwound and rebounded, hiked and pedicured, ate like kings and still managed to lose weight! Sitting under the waterfall (see above photo) was a unique shower like massage -- I highly recommend that at least once in your life!

So the review would be a definite 5 stars for "The Lodge".

But beyond the review is the re-view: the opportunity for hubby and I to see things through a different lens. To hear ourselves think, to talk in full, complete sentences (no junior members to interrupt) and to remember why it was we started on this journey together in the first place.

Amidst the daily grind, it can be easy to lose sight of the big picture.

Getting it all back in the right perspective: priceless.