Keeping What I Will

A Lovely Day

 

 

 

 
 
 
 

 

 

These photos actually have nothing to do with my day. They were taken earlier in the week, during a walk around the lake. I had intended on taking photos before my Thursday morning Nia class--of the space and of my fellow dancers. However, despite living about four minutes away from the studio, I managed to be late yet again. I took some comfort, though, in that fellow dancer S. was also late--and her situation was even more amusing than mine. She'd arrived twenty minutes early, decided to wait in her car, and then lost track of time.

We're so cute.

So no pictures. We came galloping in, already gasping for air, and off we started.

Such a lovely, lovely day. Nothing new or exciting happened--just a really good Nia class, laughing with women I like, running Spenser ragged with the laser toy, talking with Nathan, a really good vegetarian Buffalo Chik'n Pizza, and now I hear Mark's key turning in the lock.

And oh my goodness--he brought me the most obscenely big French macarons from a new restaurant near his office--Paul. Oh my!! I must get the camera.

 

And no, I did NOT manage to not take a bite...or three...while looking for the camera.

 
 

 
 

What Lies Ahead

 

 

 

"If a heron shows up, it means:

You've approached the opportunity before you at a leisurely pace, but now it's time to grab it and go for it with gusto...Take some time for self-examination, reflecting dispassionately on your goals, motivations, actions, feelings, strengths, and limiting beliefs. Only you know what's best for you, so follow your inner wisdom and guidance rather than the dictates and pressures of others."

 Animal Spirit Guides by Steven D. Farmer

 
As always, this beautiful bird brings a sense of stillness to the normally bustling lake.  Walkers pause, mothers hush their children, bikers slowly brake, and everyone just stops, breathless. For a few minutes, we are all truly living in the now. Right now, on a warm spring day, at a lake, each aware of the others, the sun shining down on us, the water sparkling, watching the majestic heron.

Moments before I came around the bend and saw the heron, I'd been stuck in the past. An odd whiff in the air, smelling exactly like my step-grandfather's tackle box, wormy and metallic, transported me back and I was remembering Bob--how much he loved me and my brother, and how much we all took him for granted. How he was always the last to be considered in any situation. And then he died when I was ten and we all realized just how much he meant to us, only it was too late to say or do anything.

But here was the heron, and I had to let all that go so that I could experience the wonder. I was back in my body, feeling the wind on my skin, laying my hand over my heart, holding it close.