“The game is my wife.  It demands loyalty and responsibility, and it gives me back fulfillment and peace.”
~ Michael Jordan

While yoga teaches us to find equanimity and balance in any situation, I can’t help but feel the extra spring in my spirit now that our beautiful sunrise is back!  The next couple of days are supposed to be very dry on the back side of that Saturn storm, so the sunrises should be crystal clear.  And wow, the rise time is moving fast … Down from 6:40ish last Monday to 6:30 today.  I almost missed it !! read more

“Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live in the world they’ve been given than to explore the power they have to change it. Impossible is not a fact. It’s an opinion. Impossible is not a declaration. It’s a dare. Impossible is potential. Impossible is temporary. Impossible is nothing.”
~ Muhammad Ali

Today’s photo is of a different perspective here from the villa. Why? Because the normal view out over Sir Frances Drake Channel was just downright gloomy with clouds from Winter Storm Saturn. I didn’t want to feel gloomy today. read more

All the things that truly matter — beauty, love, creativity, joy, inner peace — arise from beyond the mind … You cannot be both unhappy and fully present in the Now.
~  Eckhart Tolle ‘The Power of Now’

Another interesting cloud morning … The upper layer clouds were almost like jelly fish, with tentacles reaching down towards the sea.

I skipped my yoga practice this morning, as I have a full day of villa cleaning to do, and I’ll practice and stretch this afternoon. read more

“It’s like this old patchwork quilt my momma used to have. Each piece on that quilt meant something.  And some of those pieces were the damn ugliest things you’ve ever seen.  But some of the pieces were so beautiful they almost hurt my eyes to look at when I was a kid.  That’s the best you can hope for, Danny.  That your life turns out like that patchwork quilt.  That you can add some bright, sparkling pieces to the dirty, stained ones you have so far. That in the end, the bright patches might take up more space on your quilt than the dark ones.”
~ Brooke McKinley, Shades of Gray read more

Watching my thoughts this morning, feeling a bit grumpy because I did not get a good night’s sleep, I changed the channel ….  It’s as simple as that ….

“For a moment, I’d like you to imagine that you’re sitting in a comfortable, plush chair in front of a large, high-definition TV screen. You have a remote control in your hand, and you are just about to tune into a particular channel. This is the station where you’ve spent most of your time over the past 6 – 12 months. It contains the programming – the content – that has most often captured your attention, and it directly relates to the predominant experiences, thoughts, and feelings you’ve had over the past year. So, with that in mind, what channel have you been watching? read more

“Continuous effort – not strength or intelligence – is the key to unlocking our potential.”
~ Winston Churchill

The sun sure was persistent as it peeked through the clouds this morning.  That red orb was quite spectacular.

I’ve been thinking about persistence the last few mornings, in between moments of no-thought.

One of my mentors – JB Glossinger – has a saying that the average human is caught in psychological time, but that a master can manifest instantaneously. read more

I know the world is filled with troubles and many injustices. But reality is as beautiful as it is ugly. I think it is just as important to sing about beautiful mornings as it is to talk about slums. I just couldn’t write anything without hope in it.
~  Oscar Hammerstein

After such a gorgeous sunrise yesterday, this morning’s sitting felt quite drab by comparison.  But as I dropped the concept of like-dislike, the clouds became interesting as they moved about, became better defined, and the sun still somehow managed to find a break in the clouds.   And we so badly need the rain! read more

“The point is that when I see a sunset or a waterfall or something, for a split second it’s so great, because for a little bit I’m out of my brain, and it’s got nothing to do with me. I’m not trying to figure it out, you know what I mean? And I wonder if I can somehow find a way to maintain that mind stillness.”
~ Chris Evans

What a gorgeous morning!  The beginning sky was so beckoning in it’s lavender shades that quickly turned to pink, then orange.  It was easy to rest in stillness.  In answer to Chris’s question above, zen master Lao Tzu offers the following insight … read more

Every day is a surprise. There are confirmations of an inter-connectivity and synchronicity which inspire, titillate and confirm the inherent comedy of the universe.
~  Billy Zane

This morning I was happy for my alarm clock, or I might have missed the sunrise.  We attended a festive fundraising party last night, and the French champagne was flowing !!  So I was a bit bleary eyed when I hit the snooze button at 5:15.

The fundraiser was for Cancer Support VI , who helps uninsured and needy VI Cancer Patients.  At least 250 people attended the event, and it was nice to socialize with friends that I have not seen in a while.  It’s hard to believe that on an island so small, years can go by, without running into people in one’s day-to-day comings and goings. read more