A Good Sense of Direction

I wrote this to a friend a few minutes ago: "last night i took a meditation workshop where i addressed the same thing. i started meditating when i was at syracuse, and i stopped because i couldn't live with trying to pretend that i always felt like a seemless point of light in the universe separate from my feelings. i was too achievement-oriented." it was keeping me from actually being able to see clearly." last night i learned that it's ok to be ok with things. that that is the only thing." i can't tell you how liberating it was to be ok with being tired. to be ok with having an achy hip from driving all day. to be ok with my mind drifting. to not judge myself. to see the way i think. to see the way i think. when i started the workshop with my yoga mentor's mentor (who happens to be from Paris, by the way) (i happen to be half french, speak french, love france, and feel very connected to my french roots, by the way), she asked us why we were there. I said, "integrity to myself. i have said for too long that i was going to find a way to get back into meditation, and i haven't. coming to this workshop was making that commitment. i am going to study to become a yoga instructor this coming summer, but i had to face my commitment to meditation first." needless to say, it was an incredible workshop, and i highly recommend anything you can ever take or read by Danielle Levi-Alvarez.

Things fall into place. Recently, (since August) i have seen several of my favorite bands: Ben Folds, Cake (2nd time) The Presidents of the United States of America, Foo Fighters, Weezer, and on Friday night in NH, Guster. Let me tell you, the venue sucked, the sound equipment was terrible, but it didn't matter, and no one noticed. The croud was filled with people i didn't necessarily imagine myself wanting to be around, but everyone there knew all the words to all the songs, sang along, and were happy, and you could tell the band was happy, too. They were having a great time up there playing and singing, beating the shit out of the drums, putting on a great show to people who loved it. The energy exchange was amazing. Guster is truly for lovers.

We crashed in Portland with daN's brother Pat, slept well, woke up confused, and continued up the coast to the Union/Camden area where we attended and contributed to the baby shower for daN's eldest brother and sister-in-law, who are very excited about their forthcoming firstborn. It was a good time. It looked nicer outside, and it was awkward, but we still made a good time out of it playing word games and talking to people when we weren't "supposed to." We had dinner at his Mum's house -- deliciously rounded with the best eggplant parm i've ever tasted and a HUGE salad with shiitake sesame dressing, and went to play Karaoke Revolution and sing the night away with his mum and her beau at daN's other elder brother and sister-in-law's place. We then took a walk to enjoy the crisp stars of the night, slept, ate oatmeal, and parted for my Mum's for a morning visit before leaving for Mass, not before visiting his crazy aunt and uncle on the way out and seeing the filming progress at a friend's filmsite on aunt and uncle's property.

WHAT a stellar weekend. I love Maine. And all punctuated by an eye-opening workshop with a wonderful meditation teacher.

Today...

...was a good day. Work was nuts -- i couldn't believe it when i looked at the clock and realized i had to leave in 40 minutes with still so much to do. However, i got the completely necessary stuff done, and left on time for my first chiropractic appointment ever! What a great time! Something about this place felt right when i picked it out and scheduled the appointment, and my feelings were confirmed when i walked through the door. Of course, it helped that there was a lovable old dalmation wandering around. The chiropractor himself (Dr. Melman, aka Jonathan) is fantastic. He could tell exactly what's been bothering me and why. Go figure that the side of the body with all the pain is the side that is all cramped up. Go figure that my right knee had been bothering me all day and didn't when i left -- it turns out my body was so cramped on my righthand side that my right leg was actually shorter than my left. Dang! When i left, they were the same length! Coincidence? I think not. I look forward to working with this guy. I think it's the beginning of a healthy thing for me.

Then! YOGA!

then! Beertasting at Boston Beerworks with the brewmaster. I would like to say i learned a lot, but i didn't retain much of it. I had a great time, and confirmed my suspicion that i don't like hoppy beers. Most importantly though, i had a great time talking with a friend, and that was worth everything.