Walking The Path In Go Go Boots

Preferably thigh high black patent leather ones. Nancy Sinatra wore white ones in her classic video "These Boots Are Made For Walking", but as any fashionista will tell you, white shows dirt. And trust me, those boots are gonna get dirty.
Walking the path of enlightenment isn't for sissies, it requires body armor to deflect the arrows of hate, sloth, greed, temptation and desire. Sturdy boots to trudge through all the knee deep in manure chasms life dumps in our path. A brave, bright heart  to position you back on the path once you've lost your way in the darkness. Finally, a lifeline to pull you out of quicksand (unexpected tragedies) that swallows you at the blink of an eye, paralyzes you and knocks the breath out of your lungs.
Walking the path is the yoga of action. Our everyday actions or inactions determine our way, change our course. Our reaction to unexpected and/or unwanted events shape our future. My path was forever altered after Annie's death and slowly my new world is revealed, one layer at a time. Life's small inconveniences don't bump my ride anymore. I don't take my friends or loved ones for granted these days. On the odd side, my threshold for offensiveness is 100% higher (not that I was a delicate flower before). Not much could EVER offend me after Annie's tragic death, that was obscenely offensive. I also couldn't give a fig what anyone thinks of me, living life fully demands snugging on my go go boots, holding my head high with a sweet smile and doing my thing.
It's a long and winding road embarking on the right way, yet it is also the ONLY way. There are no shortcuts or bypasses, those all lead to unhappiness. The road to spiritual joy is at times rocky, its journey uncertain during turbulent storms, yet the path is always lit with the beacon of faith and trust. I choose to walk the path in style, 'cause those boots were made for walkin'!

Ring In, Toss Out.

This new year is the year I look towards what I want, not back on what I don't want. Say what, you ask? Instead of focusing my energy on negative patterns I want to change, zero in on the positive trends I'm starting. One of my favorite films is from the 1970's titled "The Gumball Rally" starring a young, handsome Raul Julia as an Italian race car driver. The story is about a handful of car enthusiasts and their yearly illegal race across the country. As Raul Julias' character steps into his Alfa Romeo, he grabs a hold of the rear view mirror and states: (insert Italian accent here)"What is behind us is not important!" and yanks the mirror off, tossing it into the backseat. Fabuloso! In life, what is in our past should stay there. Notice it become smaller as you move forward down the superhighway of life. Travel light carrying only what you need. The new year is as good a time as any to assess our needs, wants, desires and hopes. The more "needs", the more luggage you haul. One of my New Year's intentions is about conquering fear, fear of the future, of failing, of not achieving my full potential as a human being, fear of falling (on my head, that is, in pincha mayurasana-forearm stand). Tall order. And yet, my path towards less fear is by heading straight into it. Forgetting about past failed attempts at the above entreaties, tossing out the rear view mirror, and heading down the road pedal to the metal no speed limit in sight. I realize the only obstacle in my path is myself, I'm the one with invisible constraints on my future. How to bypass that? Distinguish between true fear and imprinted fear. True fear is flying at 120mph well beyond my driving skills, imprinted fear is speeding up to 30mph beyond my comfortable driving speed. A bit frightful, adrenaline going, but not really dangerous. And without a rear view mirror I won't steal glimpses at it for those dreaded flashing red and blue lights. I'll just keep moving ahead until I reach the finish line. With a new year comes new beginnings, renewed hopes. May yours be guided by an open heart and an open mind as you reach for your goals.

Flip It Over

Back in the days of records (those round, ebony, circular disks with grooves that play tunes), you'd flip it over to side B for the other half. That side was usually reserved for the lesser known tracks and didn't get played as much. Hence, the speed of light invention of eight track tapes, which didn't need flipping. They did, however, take a ton of space in my 1981 Mustang center console. But I digress. The universe is sending people my way lately who, against their better judgement, believe I can help them. I'm a good listener, give advice when asked, and for the most part, have clarity of thought. In other words, I'm others' sounding board. I don't mind. At a young age peers would come to me for advice and it's been ongoing. I should have become a psychologist as my husband points out, but I didn't want to listen to other people's problems at work AND on my off time. A wise yoga teacher presented me with the concept of flipping over an unsavory situation. When I find myself with a problem, I try the flip side. What positive aspect can I take out of this? If I am going to suffer, which I truly dislike, I might as well learn something. Say you've experienced a life changing situation (divorce, unemployment) and feel like a deer in headlights. Paralyzed by the floor falling away beneath your feet. I see it as an opportunity to start over with a new life. Move to a new city (my choice is Lake Tahoe), go back to school and reinvent yourself. Flip yourself over and explore side B. **Disclaimer- No, I am not getting divorced or unemployed, although being in real estate these days is kinda close.

I Survived My First 5K!

Thank you to those who donated to the Susan G. Komen Race For The Cure in Phoenix Oct. 11, 2009 (hope I didn't bug too much)! That's me and my hubby, who was very supportive even as I dragged him into this. My own experience training for this race taught me a couple of things: 1. Running is hard! 2. Training on a treadmill has little resemblance to real running.

We live in brutally hot Phoenix, so running outside to train was not an option. My first foray outside my front door in running shoes was last week. I was pretty demoralized by the time I got back home, and after running a second day with severe side flank pain as if my liver were about to explode (for some reason duck liver pate kept coming to mind) I was positive I'd made a mistake. Looking on the bright side, I'd raised a lot more money than I could've ever given on my own and heightened awareness to breast cancer so all was not lost. I resigned myself to a run/walk on the big day. Race time neared and I started hemming and hawing. My husband, who was walking the 5K walk event, looked me squarely in the eyes and reminded me I'd trained for this and to go run it. As I started jogging, ASU cheerleaders, marching bands and just regular folks along the route cheered us on. That's what was missing from my street running! Marching bands and cheerleaders to keep me motivated! Before I knew it, I was dodging and passing other runners. At one point, my lungs started to constrict and considered walking a few minutes. Until my thoughts drifted to all the breast cancer survivors who COULDN'T run today, just walk, if they were lucky enough to be alive. I kept running and forgot about myself.

Even though the race is not timed, those of you who know me will not be surprised that I brought a stopwatch (there's that type A seeping out). 35 minutes, not record-breaking but not too shabby for my first 5K. And yes, I will be running another one.

Are the Flying Monkeys Chasing You?

There are weeks I feel the Wicked Witch of the West is relentlessly chasing me around with those flying monkeys of hers. I swat them away but they continue to be on my back. Surrendering to the green-faced evil one is no option in my book, but there are times I am tired of running! What if Dorothy hadn't run away? She would have been safely tucked in the storm cellar and had no adventures at all. How boring. Many of us took calculated risks to boost our retirement savings or advance our financial nest eggs and got caught in this economic down spiraling tornado. Hindsight is 20/20 and perhaps we would rethink some of our choices, but the only regrets you have in life are the risks you didn't take. Yes, didn't take. I personally don't believe in regret, so I do wander outside of the farm every once in a while to check out Kansas (the world).

Would I change some of my past choices? Absolutely, but I made the decisions at the time with all the information I had, and not knowing any wizards, could not read the future. So I will keep trekking to Oz and dreaming of multi-color changing horses. Just watch out for the flying monkeys!