It’s Been A While…

I hope you are enjoying the warm rays of summer with plenty of opportunities to cool off…maybe with a slice of watermelon, a refreshing dip in the water, and some time away from the stresses that exacerbate that internal heat. I find mine sometimes gets fired up by all of this external heat of summer in Texas. 

I just returned from two lovely weeks in the Dolomiti mountains of Northern Italy with my husband and son, who just graduated from high school.  The trip was much-needed time to absorb one another (without his four siblings around, well, six if you count my ex’s two!), relax together, and slowly soak in nature’s healing before he heads off to college in a month and a half.

This is a big transition for our family, from five kids at home to four.  Our oldest son is a stable force - predictable, reliable, calm, funny and strong - and we are all going to miss seeing him every week.  As he transitions to his next phase in life, the two middle schoolers will learn to fill the role of the “eldest” in our unit, at our house and my ex-wife’s.   Chores will shift, we will have one less shuttle driver, an extra room, and a cat will needing extra love.  It is another reminder of the ever-changing nature of life.

I have not been teaching as frequently to allow space for me to process this change - to be present, to surrender to the loss, and to welcome the growth that it will bring for myself and the rest of the family.  As I mentioned before, I am also in a season of deep learning with my teacher.  I make my way up to New York as often as I can to offer service and learn from her in-person, in the rich way of Tradition that she lovingly shares with me.  My days (and nights!) are filled with Sanskrit homework, chanting, ritual, meditation, contemplation, and writing.  These practices, along with āsana, pranayama and Ayurveda support me in finding balance, again and again, as I navigate through this life of many lessons.

I hope you are finding ease navigating yours, too. And, when the ease is elusive, I hope the effort of your practice leads you back to (maybe just a little more) ease.