Eight Simple Words

This week, a quote got stuck in my head like one of those earworms that creeps into your head off the radio and keeps popping up to annoy you and everyone around you each time you catch yourself singing the song.

This quote got stuck in my neck like one of those hungry vampires from true blood.

I found this quote stuck in my head so much that I (selfishly, please forgive me) posted it on my Facebook page twice in a few days to keep reminding myself of it and to explore and entertain all different meanings to it.

“Whatever is happening is the path to enlightenment.” ~Pema Chödrön~

Very few people that I quote on my page have Pema's ability to find the wisdom in everyday life with such clarity and intensity. Everyday life is not all unicorns and glittery angels but the nitty-gritty stuff that we go through each day.

How to Talk to Your Parents About Meditation

 Last Sunday, I was video chatting by Skype with my mom and dad in Argentina. We try to do that every week; in reality, it happens once a month. My husband came to say hello to them for a few moments. There’s only so much they can communicate, since my parents do not speak English and my husband’s Spanish is too basic for him to say much of meaning to them.

After that we had a few minutes of general chat and talked to each other's pets on Skype. Then my dad asked me where my husband went so I told him. He went to meditate.

Mom & Dad: Speechless

Mom & Dad: Still speechless.

Me: He went to the living room to sit and meditate.

Dad: How does he do “that”?

Praise & Criticism

A few days ago, I read a great, sweet, honest online review of my Warrior Flow class from a new student. (No, I won't share it!) Of course reading a good review made me smile and feel warm and fuzzy for the rest of the day.

But then I remembered the times when I received reviews that weren't warm and fuzzy at all. In fact they were kind of stinky and left me feeling like you know what for a few hours.

Criticism (constructive or not / sweet or not) is always challenging to accept. When it comes to online reviews, it's especially challenging because you don't know who else might be reading it. It's out there in the public domain. But that's part of what comes when you put yourself out there as a teacher or a writer or a public figure of any kind. You have to have a thick enough skin not to let the negative reviews get you down, while being open enough to let some of the light in from the positive ones.