Monday, July 14, 2008

This poem was written after I had just spent some time praying and meditating.

The labyrinth
Of my heart
Burns with goodness
Majestic colors
Unite and ignite
In my soul
Sky blue
Expanding with
Each breath
I haven't updated in a while. I was busy most of March, April, and May wrapping up the end of the year teaching paperwork. Then I taught summer school the month of June, which was only half days and very rewarding to see how much the students grow and get ready for the next grade level. So July is a time when I get back to being fully engaged instead of on autopillot trying to get everything finished. A new goal is to cultivate an awareness and engagement with all things all the time. I can accomplish this some of the time but not all of the time. After a restful break my concentrated awareness will last several months until work gets stressful again. I am working hard with strategies at this point to remember to remind myself when things do get stressful that I can be more fully engaged. I plan on keeping these strategies in place, kind of in a reservoir for when I need them most.

The first week of July was clear of all demanding tasks. I felt a little untethered and restless because when you go from being task oriented for months and months and finally it's time to settle down for a while, I felt lost almost. It was the first time I did not have any to do list since Spring Break. I went to the beach for Spring Break and had a wonderful time.

I went to Asheville for summer vacation last week and had an even better time than I did at the beach. I absolutely love the mountains. There is a calming energy that soothes me when I am in the mountains. The trip to the mountains for the week was just the tonic that I needed. I loved sitting out on the deck of the cabin looking across to mountain peaks and down to the lush green valley below me. I enjoyed touring Biltmore, going to the botanical gardens at UNC, I walked a few of the trails there and loved that, and toured downtown historic Asheville. I loved going to the art galleries, antique shops, all the speciality shops there. There is an eccelectic taste in the town that bites of originiality, uniqueness, and this in turn brings it out in yourself. At least it does for me. I especially loved one coffeehouse that stands out in my mind, The Green Sage. It has delicious lattes, almond coconut mini cupcakes, and a terrific atmosphere. It is on a corner of the street and you see all the people passing by going to their desitinations. I sat there drinking my latte, watching the world go by both inside the coffeeshop and outside also. I went there several times and did a little writing also. The place's atmosphere is very conducive to writing.

Coming from struggling to get everything done in a certain amount of time to having an abundant amount of "open" time takes some getting used to. With a little bit of patience and nurturing myself I now feel I'm centered and balanced which leads to happiness, or because of happiness I now feel centered and balanced. I feel the coming together, the cohesion, everything melding, and now I have again found my creative voice.