Fall 2020
In this moment, I am seated at my desk in my office at Healing Winds. I can hear the sounds of life and work happening around me.
Misael, our newly hired draftsman, soon to be graduate specializing in
Eco Architecture is working on a project presentation for one of our clients. I
have known him since before he was born; his mother is a dear and longtime
friend.
I can hear Javier next door talking with Carmen as they analyze costs
for a construction bid we are preparing to present for a house I designed this
summer.
Kim, our Acupuncturist is in her office every day working with
patients. We are blessed to have her 36 years of experience and thriving
practice at Healing Winds.
After sadly closing the studio
last spring to comply with safety precautions and social distancing, it
occurred to me: with everyone at home, there was a very good chance folks might
begin viewing the art of dwelling indoors and outdoors with potentially a fresh
set of eyes. Our homes and working spaces are an outer reflection of an inner evolving
imagination and unfolding lifestyle.
Before re-opening our multidisciplinary fitness studio, mid-September,
the space was professionally sanitized. In addition to researching COVID-19
safety Protocol with Yoga Alliance, checking in with resources in Mexico, the
US and Canada, we (Carmen, Juan Jose – Sabomnim Black Belt 1st dan Taekwondo –
and I) took courses provided by IMSS to become certified in safely reopening
the studio for classes with students.
In person Yoga & Meditation classes are offered in Spanish and
English. Deborah offers online Yin Yoga for those who preferring to practice at
home. Taekwondo is offered three evenings a week. With the Drop-In culture
being a thing of the past, we re-opened our classes to students who pre-register
for class and comply with a list of safety guidelines in order to attend.
After having the studio closed
during the first summer in five years for safety reasons – we are a year round
facility – reopening and gathering with students and friends to breathe,
meditate and move together is enlivening, soul nourishing and more special than
ever.
With lockdown re-occurring in
Ireland and France (and maybe other areas as I write), I am reminded to voice
my perspective: every time we gather, we don’t know if it will be our last for
any amount of time. The latter is true, pandemic or not.
Reminders of impermanence and new
ways of being are everywhere.
At a time in our lives when I
imagined our kids, Dylan and Paloma, would be more independent, my husband and
I are their main in person social life.
For example, on
Halloween this year, Paloma asked us to dress up, knowing we would be staying
home. We didn't talk about our costume ideas. Three
of us showed up for dinner dressed as travelers, adventurers of some kind. What
a delightful surprise!
Paloma was Milo Thatch from Atlantis: The
Lost Empire, an adventuring linguist obsessed with the history of the
underground city; Dylan was the castaway from a pirate ship. The stuffed parrot
on his shoulder was a hoot! I embodied the gypsy. Javier put on a mask that
matched his Day of a Dead T-shirt he smiled proudly to be wearing.
For the past 7+ months, I feel like the four
of us have been traveling on a long adventure, reminiscent of the shorter and
more distant travels in the world we've embarked upon as a family.
We are all travelers, adventurers of all
kinds. Whether we leave our homes or not.
That particular weekend marked the
celebration of Halloween; Samhain: The Celtic New Year; Dia de Los Angeles and
Dia de Muertos. Traditions from both sides of the border and across the
Atlantic Ocean. I also enjoyed the
Online offering of a Celtic Soul Immersion with Sean from New Orleans and Mary
in Ireland. What a joy to see friends and teachers on screen, to hear their
voices and invite their energy into our home. The internet provides a unique
opportunity to travel when in person presence is otherwise challenged.
Our family traveled to Ireland four years ago
to honor the threshold of Dylan's High School graduation while I attended a
Celtic Spirituality retreat. The following year, Paloma and I returned for a rite
of passage with Mary to honor the threshold of her teenage years. Paloma and I
were with Sean and friends in NOLA the year before last and had a blast! We
were ready to return this March when lockdown was set in place and our trip was
canceled.
Seasonally, this time of year and the weeks
leading up to the Winter Solstice offer a time of introspection, reflection; an
opportunity to release that which no longer serves us, is in alignment with our
purpose or may be holding us back from being fully present in our lives. We are
continually invited to open our hearts and minds to the dreams, goals, the life
we are living and journey we are on individually and collectively.
During that online immersion, Mary reminded
us of the way time is viewed in the Celtic Tradition: honoring the circular
nature of time and cycles of the seasons. Minute to minute, day by day. In
Mexico, we often say or hear of doing things ‘poco a poco’ (little by little).
There is great wisdom in moving at a slower
pace, an opportunity to see and be with the beauty and mystery before and
within us; the reality of there being no place else to be, but right here,
right now, with the richness of being fully human and alive to all the gifts
and challenges that life offers us on this ongoing adventure.
In the words of Lao Tzu, "“A good
traveler has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving.”
No comments:
Post a Comment