Stop "liking" me and just like me

And now an interruption from the regularly scheduled programming of uplifting posts for a slightly darker one. This isn't a rant really, just a plea for people to become more genuine. Put your money where your mouth is. Do what you say, and say what you do. Be real. All of that. 


It isn't enough to just click "like" and feel like you've done something. If someone posts about their upcoming (insert self-promotional event here), they don't just need your "likes", they are probably hoping you'll actually show up. It takes a lot of guts to put yourself out there, and it takes literally no effort to click "like." I'm thrilled to know people care about me, but sometimes I need a deeper caring, a less superficial caring. I'm not saying I'm not also guilty of this. I am saying that sometimes I need a hug, not a wall post. Sometimes I need a friend, not a friend request. Sometimes I need my friends to drag their ass to another borough, even if it isn't convenient, because the fact is, I would do the same for them. Give a little more, and take a little less.  -end rant-

Journey through the chakras

I drank the kool-aid

photo by @kelseynovi

When I decided to move to New York City, I knew that it was something I had to do in my life, and I also knew that I wouldn't stay here forever. Living here is almost like being in school with all the lessons you learn on a daily basis. I imagined I would come here, get my degree in NYC snobbery, and move on, back to my humble roots. 


A friend advised, "Everyone should live in New York once in their life. Just don't stay too long, and don't drink the kool-aid."


Last night after teaching my yoga class, while I was sitting on the India Pier in Greenpoint at sunset, drinking wine, I realized, I may have drank the kool-aid....

The space in between

inbetween

It's difficult not to fixate on the big moments, the marking events, the beginnings and the ends. If we were to sum up our day, week, year, or life, we would focus on a few specific events and forget everything in between. 


When we pause to appreciate those delicious moments in between the hustle, that's when we can experience simply being. But instead of relishing those delicious little moments, we run around like crazy people, our brain rarely ever even synced with our bodies. Our hands are typing a text while our feet walk us down the sidewalk and our brain makes a grocery list. Challenge yourself to take a second and see if you can focus your hands, feet and mind on the same thing, for even a second... Sounds easy-- I guarantee your brain will scurry off on its own agenda in a millisecond or two. 


We can practice focusing on these moments by using an anchor to root our attention. By linking the mind and the body into doing one thing together, using both simultaneously, we can practice honing in on that little space in between, which when you zoom close enough, is infinite. 

Facebook updated? Ugh, I'm never going on there again.

Ok, I'm not 100% sure, but I'm 99% sure that Facebook ordered my friends by how much I like them. I can't begin to imagine what that algorithm was, but I'm fairly certain it is accurate. Can someone check that and verify? 

Making sense of randomness

It takes very specific circumstances to create specific
results. If we are attentive, we can watch them align
to create something magical. 

I have a very loud internal voice that is always questioning whether things happen for a reason, or if they are completely random. Are things pre-determined, or does everything happen spontaneously and independently? If we only look forward, then it is all random, because nothing has happened yet. But if we look back, doesn't everything seem to line up? Isn't the reason you are living in that city because of the job you decided to leave? Didn't the bad breakup teach you about what was and wasn't true love, and didn't it lead you to consider something different as a result? 


The truth that I choose to believe is that each action has a reaction. Each effect had a cause. We can choose to pay attention to these relationships, or we can completely ignore them and say it is all just random. The truth that I choose to believe is that, even if someone randomly stumbles across some mind chatter I chose to write on a blog that no one ever sees or knows about, that reading my words can resonate with them somehow. Maybe it was exactly what they needed to hear at that exact moment. Maybe my positive action can have a positive reaction. 


Pay attention. Stay alert. See the connections. You can only see them if you are watching. It takes very specific circumstances to create specific reactions and results in nature, and within ourselves. If we are attentive, we can watch them align to create something magical.