Spring Equinox

Image result for quotes about spring

Happy Spring!  Today, the phases of day and night are in balance (almost).  I went to a refreshing yoga class on Sunday night that incorporated lots of soothing moon salutations and projecting the heart skyward to welcome the equinox.  Spring is a time for rebirth and fresh starts.  The first few months of 2018 were hectic and challenging for me with professional commitments, conflict resolution, home responsibilities, parenting a vibrant and busy toddler, making plans and filling in the calendar for the year, and trying to juggle it all.  During this season, I am shifting gears.  I'm on a journey of happiness, gratitude, joy and self-actualization.

 I'm about halfway into my training program for my upcoming Half Marathon, so I'm starting to ramp up my mileage.  The other day on my sunny morning run, I was reflecting on the concept of beauty.  Why is it that many people find the same images - sunsets, mountains, rivers, landscapes, flowers, animals - to be beautiful?  Is beauty something rational, based on evolution and a recognition of land that shows potential for life?  Or is beauty something we feel but can't explain in words?  Do we find unique scenes and unexpected events beautiful?  Or is the beauty in the prosperity or protection that a landscape can provide?  And when the first people arrived in New Mexico, did they experience some of the same landscape views and feelings that we experience now?  What did they find beautiful?  Beauty is something that connects people from different places and different eras.

 In cultivating beauty, one of my priorities this spring is to work on my yard and garden.  I have yet to be successful with gardening in New Mexico, but I'm reading up on native plants and gardening strategies in our high, dry climate, and I'm optimistic that I can create some beauty in my yard.  This spring I also want to spend more time at home with my family.  We get so busy with vacations and commitments, but I want to enjoy my house and my yard, and hopefully get some flowers to grow!

I have read some really heavy, dynamic books this year that have stuck with me.  Some of the themes have been complex, and I am so appreciative of my book club where we can sort through our responses to books and make connections to our own lives.  Here are a few of my 2018 reads (finished and in progress) thus far:
Pachinko, by Min Jin Lee
Lincoln in the Bardo, by George Saunders
Shantaram, by Gregory David Roberts
Little Fires Everywhere, by Celeste Ng
Half the Sky: Turning Oppression Into Opportunity for Women Worldwide, by Nicholas D. Kristoff and Sheryl WuDunn
Bel Canto, by Ann Patchett
The Little Friend, by Donna Tartt
All the Light We Cannot See, by Anthony Doerr

 As spring approaches, though, I'm shifting gears with my book choices and focusing on joy and fulfillment as I revisit some old favorites about happiness, immersion, and flow:
Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience, by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
Wherever You Go There You Are, by Jon Kabat-Zinn
The Happiness Hypothesis, by Jonathan Haidt


If you haven't read Csikszentmihalyi's book, he summarizes his ideas in his TED Talk: Flow, the Secret to Happiness

 Happy Spring, everyone!  May you all find balance and new beginnings.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A Pacific Northwest Bachelorette Party

Image
I just returned home from a memorable weekend in the beautiful Pacific Northwest, celebrating my sister, Katie, who is getting married in just a few short weeks.  Four years ago she, as my Maid of Honor, planned the most unforgettable and fun-filled bachelorette weekend for me:  San Francisco and Sonoma Bachelorette , and now it was my turn to do the same for her!  We gathered together a group of twelve women from Boston, Chicago, New Orleans, Salt Lake City, Manchester, Santa Fe, Denver, and Seattle to celebrate the Bride to Be.  I wanted to have some organized, pre-planned group activities, but also plenty of down time for games, lounging, and drinking wine.  While we wanted most of the weekend to be spent at a cozy cabin overlooking the serene water of Puget Sound, we wanted one exciting night out on the town, and I think we achieved that balance.  Here's the breakdown of our weekend events: 1)  Night Out in Capitol Hill We arrived in Seattle on Thursday and checked into the
Read more

High Altitude Baking: Coffee Cake

Image
Happy January!  I have two weeks left of my maternity leave and I'm trying to make the most of it by spending lots of quality time with Baby Ady before she starts daycare.  It's going by so fast!  While I'm home I've been using my crock pot a lot, working on some yarn projects, taking long walks with Ady and Kua, reading, and doing some baking.  I have struggled with high altitude baking since moving to Santa Fe 5 1/2 years ago.  Cookies turn out okay, but I usually have to make some adjustments with cakes, and my breads are often mushy in the middle and crispy on the ends.  I can get by okay with a few of my favorite recipes that I have practiced multiple times, but it's often hit or miss.  For Christmas, my secret santa got me this amazing cook book, Pie in the Sky: Successful Baking at High Altitudes, that explains the chemistry behind high altitude baking and gives suggestions for adjustments to make at various altitudes.  Ingenious!  The idea for the book ac
Read more

My Bachelorette Party: San Francisco and Sonoma

Image
I have the best Maid of Honor in the world!   Between grad school, work, and preparing to move into a new apartment, she miraculously found time to plan THE BEST bachelorette party ever (and 3 time zones away, I might add).  I had such a fabulous time being surrounded by (and loved and adored by!) all my best friends for four days. The weekend started at 4:30 a.m. Thursday when my Santa Fe friends and I drove to Albuquerque (a 50 mile trip made possible by Panera breakfast) to catch our early flight to the Bay Area.  After a 2 1/2 trip (complete with Bloody Maries, Tequilla Sunrises, Coffees with Baileys, gossip and a few bridal magazines) we landed in Oakland!  One of my dear bridesmaids from Chicago who had arrived a few days earlier picked us up and we headed into San Francisco.  We met up with the other gals, checked in early to our hotel (Parc 55 Wyndahm in Union Square) and set out to explore the city by foot.  Some locals recommended Mama's in North Beach fo
Read more