Saturday, January 30, 2016

Gratitude for the Grind

We have been fortunate enough to be able to rent a place in the mountains the month of January and put our older two kids in ski school the past couple of years. A lot of times, I have a hard time with the whole routine. Getting everyone's gear, get them ready, make a hearty breakfast, bring the breakfast to the mountains, make sure I didn't forget the syrup or bacon or whatever, clean after breakfast, get the boys to ski school, OMG someone forgot their ski coat in Denver and the list goes on.

Really, we are still dealing with this?

After the boys are on the mountain, we have to switch gears and get the four year old motivated to get on the mountain. Normally, I go ski with the other parents whose kids are in ski school and my husband takes her but today I decided I would help him get her ready. It took a while before we got going. She had an itch in her ski pants, then the ski coat was bugging her, the helmet making her hot, the slope was too much for her to walk to the gondola ... It was an ordeal.

When we finally got to the gondola, I looked at my husband and said, "this is what ski school is for. She's our third, we should be over this by now." He refuses. He wants to teach her himself. He thinks he'll get her there faster.

He is right! I got on the lift with my baby and watched her ski the bunny hill beautifully. It gave me such a sense of joy that I forgot the entire getting there part. She was so excited to show me her moves and very proud of herself.

The reward

It got me thinking about the grind. Without the grind, we wouldn't get to the best part. It's not like the kids are going to self start and not complain. Eventually they do but those first few years are tough. That's only my perception though. If I could learn to take the small stuff in stride, life would be that much more fulfilling. The best gift I could have been given today was see my little four year old ski and end the day with my boys' ski instructors telling me how awesome they did today.

The routine is that on Sunday my husband goes with the boys and I hang with little sissy. I love hearing about my 10 year old skiing double black diamonds or my oldest skiing the moguls with amazing form. It's awesome and exactly what I wanted. I wouldn't have done anything different if I had to do it all over as is proof with the four year old.

Gratitude for all that is 

I am in gratitude for being fortunate enough to live in Colorado, fortunate to have a husband who loves the outdoors and always willing to help with the kids, fortunate to have an amazing ski mountains within two hours of our home, fortunate to have great friends to ski the day with, fortunate for the hot tub that soaks all my sore muscles, I am in gratitude for the morning grind that gets us to the afternoon state of bliss and so much more!

I love the teachings of Abraham. I listen to Ester Hicks all the time. She channels their teachings. My favorite is the following quote, "first find what makes you really, really happy and the rest will follow." Skiing makes me happy! I hope you find your bliss in your daily life. It may take the grind but it's always there for us to enjoy!

Thursday, January 28, 2016

To meditate or to meditate ... incorporating it into daily life

I have started this year off on the right foot! I have been meditating on a daily basis for the past few months actually. It started back in August when my daughter turned four. Magic happens when kids turn four. They no longer are a total walking catastrophe waiting to happen and parents tend to relax a little.

Why so complicated?

The benefits of meditating have always been forefront in my mind but I wasn't able to carve out the time for a proper meditation on a daily basis. I decided to lighten it up and meditate when I can and on the go at times. I started to turn the radio off in my car, or I would fold laundry in silence rather than talking on the phone and so on. I listen to Deva Premal's song "Gate, Gate" at least one time a day when I'm sitting in the lotus position or laying on my bed. That song seeps deep into my soul!

As synchronicity would have it, I ended up in a float tank for an hour. That was an amazing experience. Laying in a bath of epsom salts, allows your body to go into a deep, deep relaxation and clarity of what's coming next for you is possibly. If you have the opportunity to treat yourself to an hour float, I highly recommend it.

What Would Wayne Do?

Ever since Dr. Wayne Dyer passed away, I have been trying to be more mindful in everything I do. I came up with WWWD (What Would Wayne do?) for every uncomfortable situation I find myself in. I have chosen to be kind than right over many a situation. I find that meditating on a constant basis allows me the compassion and grace to react to situations in that way.

I am constantly striving to learn more so I'm going to learn about Transcendental Meditation in a few weeks and then off to the Chopra Center for an entire mediation weekend. I can hardly wait!

In the light of learning more, please share with me your daily meditation experience and what it has done for you.