Purple

I was running around the lake yesterday and I couldn't help notice the spring flowers coming up.  

In Minnesota, we are still getting snow!  

Anyway, it made me think about spring colors and how much I love purple.  It is such a warm color.  I love the way it has so many different hues and how it can compliment many different colors.  Think about your favorite color.  Doesn't it make you smile?

Do Something

I have a new routine on Friday nights.  I have started watching a PBS show called Need to Know.  Besides being a super exciting Friday night (ha, ha), I have learned a little bit about current events.  Well, a few weeks ago the topic of the show was all about professional sports referees and how they call games.  It has been shown that referees will choose to not call a foul over calling one, especially when a game is tight.  The idea is that it is easier to take the blame for not calling a foul than to make the wrong call.  The newscaster also sited the CEO of Amazon as saying companies loose millions of dollars because they do nothing in fear of making a mistake that will hurt their business.

This got me thinking.  I started to reflect on my own life and how many situations I have been in where I did nothing out of fear of doing the wrong thing.  Risk can be one of the scariest feelings we experience.  I try to avoid "getting in trouble" at all cost.

What has "doing nothing" meant for my life?  Have I missed opportunities?  Have I been stagnant because I'm worried about branching out?  What can I do to change my current habits?

It's a scary proposition to try new things, go out on a limb and take a risk.  I can't promise anything but I am now aware.  I hope when I meet the next fork in the road, I will make a leap of faith and possibly fail but know I took a chance.  Can you take that risk and do something?

Balance

I have written and rewritten this blog in my head over the past four months.  Sometime in November, life fell out of balance.  Between sewing, preparing for the holiday sales, family life, training and work, I felt like I had to stay in motion to get everything accomplished.  There was one deadline after another which lead to late nights hunched over my sewing machine eating walnuts and granola.  

I remember when I woke up and realized a few months had passed.  It was February 13th, the day after our handmade arts sale at school.  I started to think about my day and what I had to complete for the next deadline.  I had no immediate due dates.  I started to look around my house and saw what the past four months had created.  When people would ask how I balanced everything, my response would be "you should see my house."  

So as always I am pulled back to yoga.  I think about every pose I practice that pulls me in opposite directions.  If I stand in Warrior II pose, my arms draw me forward and back.  It is a balance between the two that I seek.  It is in Warrior III that I feel each side reaching toward an opposite wall.  If I were to allow one side to over power the other, all balance would be lost.  I want to carry my yoga postures off the mat and into my life.  I think about the commitments I make and activities I start doing.  I enjoy everything I am involved in but at what price.  Am I missing the daily experiences enjoyed by slowing down?  Isn't the saying "less is more?"  All I can say is I'll try.  As always, I challenge you to think about the balance in your life.  Are you immersed in work with no light in sight?  Are you finding time to sit down and savor a whole meal you made from scratch?  Are you saying yes to every opportunity at the cost of yourself?  Let your days be filled with balance.