Is the grass really always greener?

Lately I have been seeing lots of people focusing on the negative, despite the approaching holidays. I am, just as all of us, guilty of seeing the glass half empty rather than full of potential at times. I too, sit staring at the other greener more abundant pastures over the fence, focused more on what I could have if I was over there and how much the pasture I am stuck in SUCKS! How come I'm not at THAT pasture, why I am here in this lame, less green pasture with no opportunities! I hate this pasture, i hate this pasture, i hate this pasture ...goes the mind, Inevitably, these thoughts end up making us feel awful, helpless, and unable to get creative with the pasture we do have!

I don't know if it's something in the "stars" or what but I feel and see lots of those around me doing this. I see it in my yoga classes, at work, in my personal relationships, and in myself at times as well.

My New Years resolution is to think less, do more. Create opportunities that feel good for myself and work less. Quit sitting around waiting for life to happen or for Denver to make more sense for me. Going out there and doing what feels good and right and trust that everything else will fall into place, will be my 2011 mantra. It is time to quit whining about the things I don't like or have control over and start making concrete and creative choices that will make me happier. It is time to stop looking at what isn't working in my life and focus my energy on what IS....so that more of that can come into my life!

And the truth is, if we can shift our thinking from what I don't have to what I do, our entire environment begins to shift. If we take our eyes away from the "other pastures" and focus on the little details of our own, chances are we will begin to see our reality in a whole new light. The gardens in our pasture that once looked baren and hopeless now take on a hopeful and creative light. Wouldn't it be fun to strip all this away and build something new with what I do have? So we fill up with excitement and potential.

The choice I realize is all up to us and what we choose our perspective to be. Do you see darkness or light? It's all up to each of us what we decide to see and when we decide to see something else?

What do you see for yourself in 2011? I hope its light and a beautiful new canvas for which to create with!

Whichever pasture you find yourself in 2011, let it be the right one simply because that is where you are.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

"Wherever I go, there I am."

2011

MY 2011 BUCKET LIST:
*Pick up more yoga classes, grow as a teacher and in my own practice
*Follow my instincts and my heart, trust myself and my path more
*Help foster puppies at Colorado Puppy Rescue
*Find an apartment/home where I can better help said puppies
*Marry Mihai :)
*Have more fun-fill my plate less with work and more with FUN....concerts/plays, hike more, ski more, enjoy and take advantage of this beautiful state I live in
*Spend quality time with friends and family
*Take Rudy to doggie kindergarten and make him a good hiking pup!
*Take classes in counseling and make a decision about getting my Master's
*Committing to the next step in my career
*Hold a best friends baby and celebrate best friends weddings
*Travel to Romania with my fiance/husband to visit my great family in that beautiful country
*Give more in service to others
*eat, drink, and be merry

What's on your 2011 bucket list? Would love to hear!

Cheers to 2011! To new beginnings and a beautiful blank new fresh canvas on which to create with! What we do or do not..it's all up to us!!!

HERE'S TO CREATING THE 2011 OF OUR DREAMS!

xo
cala

Tis the season to be…?

Tis the season to be…?

Everywhere I seem to go during this holiday season there seems to be more anxiety and stress than ever. I thought perhaps it was just me until my favorite yoga teacher taught an entire class on letting go of all the frenetic and anxious energy. I guess what I am feeling IS happening! I started asking around and everyone seems to agree!

Why, I wonder during this season of supposed comfort, joy, peace and love is there so much anxiety, tension and stress in the air? The more I feel on this subject the more I believe the reason to be that the season and the spirit of this holiday are changing as we continue to lose the meaning behind the true Christmas Spirit. The focus seems to no longer be “what can you give and share from your spirit and heart” but rather from your wallet. People, and I of course am guilty of this as well, seem to be spending most of their energy rushing around trying to get their loved ones the “perfect gift” desperate in their attempt to “get everything done in time.”

Since when did Christmas have SO many expectations from us? If we remember, the first Christmas there was few gifts and a whole lot of love, peace and joy. How did this shift from love and peace to extreme gift- giving and running around with crazy long to-do lists take more of a focus in the holiday season. A time of peace has become a time of panic for many!

And is it even our faults? I don’t know about you but everything I seem to read, hear, or see lately is all about how I can make my “loved ones happy this holiday season” by purchasing the “perfect gift!” They are beautiful indeed, wrapped up in pretty bows and cost a pretty penny. Sometimes, I find myself actually beating myself up for not having the money this year to give these perfect gifts to those I love. I start to get anxious that my loved ones won’t be happy with the small gift I get them or the words I write in their card. If I can’t give the perfect gift, what then? If I give too much thought to it, it is easy to get sucked up into the holiday marketing propaganda!

Yet, I believe there is a reason that God has chosen to give Mihai and I a temporary financial challenge during this time of year…and I believe it’s to help bring us back to what really matters and help remind others as well.

It takes great shift of thinking to bring me back and reconnect myself to the true meaning. And this is what I have come to know… It is not how much money I have in my wallet and how I use that money to buy the perfect gift. WE are the perfect gift…each of us. It is in the sharing of ourselves that matters and is, I believe, God’s (or universe or whatever you want to call it) intention for us during this time of year. It is not in the rushing around… it is in the sharing around of your hearts and the Christmas spirit that matter. It is in the spending of time with family and friends, the helping of others in need, the opening of your hearts to compassion where perhaps you once judged, writing thank you's and appreciations to those that make a difference in your life…it is in the giving of yourself, your true beautiful loving joyous compassionate self. And in this sharing you inspire that light in someone else so that they then pass that along to each person they meet. Together we invite and inspire the true meaning of Christmas just by being spirit.

Please don’t misunderstand, I’m not saying gifts are to be forbidden ☺. I love getting others special gifts, especially for my nieces and nephews. There is so much joy seeing their little faces light up when they open a gift. I am only implying that gifts are wonderful but, I believe, were never meant to take over the focus of the holiday. I am hoping for thought, awareness and self-inquiry as I did for myself. Ask the question: “’How am I showing up this holiday season?” If you were anything like me, you may be more anxious/stressed and less open to sharing yourself and your heart with others.

Peace. Comfort. Joy. Stillness. Love. Laughter. Family. Friends. These are the messages of Christmas.

Tis the season to be…?
The choice is yours.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS and much love and cheers in 2011!

The Joy Seekers

This past Nov 13th my dear Uncle Kelly passed away from a massive heart attack in his most favorite place in the world, Italy. We know he had an amazing Italian meal that night after visiting his most favorite museums in Rome with a dear friend. He went out for a peaceful walk in a garden where he passed away and was found the next morning.

For those of you knew my dear uncle you knew the light that filled him up and was so magnetic and infectious to be around. He was always smiling, dancing, singing, and full of spiritual wisdom and perspective. He radiated a joy and a peace that always fed me. He worked hard to seek the good and the joy in any situation. He had a way of bringing any life experience into a spiritual teaching. I remember being very nervous about driving Route 1 in california (getting lost and for those of you that have made this drive, you remember how the cliffs plummet down with no road barrier and for one (me) who is afraid of heights this was more than nerve racking). I remember him saying "Cala don't let fear stand in the way of seeing God's beautiful gifts. And don't worry about getting lost. You can never get lost. Wherever you end up is where you were meant to be."

He loved Barbara Streisand, show tunes, movies, traveling, good food and people. Every time I returned after our visits together I felt more joyful, more peaceful with my life and certainly more on purpose. He always reminded me of who I really am. Babes he would say... Sing! Dance! Let go and let life unfold... Be you...WHO CARES WHAT EVERYONE ELSE SAYS OR THINKS!

He worked tirelessly helping others. He did amazing things working as a franscisan friar in San Fran's Tenderloin for 25 years helping the homeless and the hungry. He believed you could do more help by living with the poor and he did just that. He genuinely viewed people as his sisters and brothers and treated them as such. At his funeral I learned even more just how many people's lives he touched and how much of an impact he made in the lives of others. 1,000 people attended his funeral and that was just one of many memorials all over the world.

I am sad. I feel there were so many dances and songs to sing together, more wisdom I wanted to take from Kelly, more or his light and his smiles and his great big hugs. I wanted him to marry Mihai and I as he did for every one else in my family. But more than anything I wish I had picked up the phone more, emailed more, made myself more available to connect with him and deepen our relationship, let him know just how amazing and proud I am to have him as my Uncle Kelly. If only I had known...

I guess what I'm getting at is that none of us know when our time on earth is done or those we love for that matter. All we have is the present moment and what we choose to make of that moment. Choosing joy, choosing compassion, choosing love as my Uncle Kelly did is certainly that...a choice, an action. It isn't a personality type you are born with. It is a beautiful conscience effort in deciding how you want to show up in your life every day and how you want to make a difference for yourself, your relationships, the world and putting one foot forward toward that intention each day.

Uncle Kelly inspired me throughout my life to find my joy and to then share it with others. To stay true to my goofy hilarious sometimes painfully awkward self ..celebrate it and share it with the world. I hope that I can honor him and make him proud by doing even more of that.

I love you Uncle Kelly. Thank you for sharing your beautiful heart, your radiant light, your gentle spirit, your wisdom, your music, your dance, and your beautiful creative expressions. You made the world and my life brighter and way more fun. Until we dance and sing together again, I will seek the joy in your name.

Rest in peace my sweet.