reverb recap

Using the prompts from reverb 11 has been a great way to get me writing and reflecting on the past year.

Each day I pour myself a cup of tea and sit down with that days prompt. Here is the coles-notes version of what's been hitting the paper from the first week. I'll spare you the ooey gooey babble.

Warning: If you are tired of hearing me talk about Yoga or Indonesia or how either have shaped my life, stop reading now!

Reverb 1 - Pick a word to represent 2011. Pick a word you would like to represent 2012

2011 - Change “Your life does not get better by chance, it gets better by change.” ~ Jim Rohn ~

2012- Presence "I have arrived. I am home. In the here. In the now. I am solid. I am free. In the ultimate I dwell". ~ Thich Nhat Hahn ~ This is where I want to be.

Reverb 2 - Community - Which community do you belong to?

I don't feel like I belong to any community (sigh), aside from my family, and it upsets me. Something I need to work towards in the New Year is finding my community. I used to pride myself on not "needing" anyone. I realise now how unhealthy that is. Not necessarily to "need" people but to have people in my life who I connect with, who I can learn from and grow with. ...It can't always just be me and my homeboy.

Reverb 3 - Change - What did you let go of? Who did you let go of?

When I think about change I think about the changes that have occurred within - the growth over the last year. I think of new things, thoughts and ideals - what I've learned, what I've experienced. Not about what I've let go of. I see now the importance of acknowledging these things that I've had to give up in order for these changes, this growth, to occur. As though I've had to open up new space within to make room. The big thing that I've let go of are my ideals about who I should be or how things in my life should be. I'm more accepting of myself and my surroundings. This is a nice place to be.

Reverb 4 - Guru - What was the most important lesson you learned?

I learned that happiness is within myself. I learned that I am braver than I think. I learned to be connected with who I am today. This shift happened over the course of the year, but really got it's start in Indonesia. I guess I just never really took the time to get to know myself like that.

Reverb 5 - Dream - What was your dream come true?

Yoga! Indonesia! Practicing yoga in Indonesia!
I was so lucky to have the chance to take that time to explore the country, explore the practice and explore myself.

Reverb 6 - Health - What did you do for your body's benefit?

Yoga!
Quit smoking (pretty much)
Lessened meat intake (pretty much)
Learned to stress less (pretty much)

Reverb 7 - Calm - What quiet beautiful moment do you recall?

There were a lot of serene beautiful moments in 2011. Many from my time in the Gilis. This is the first place where we really unplugged. No t.v, no wifi, no motorized vehicles. Waking up to the sound of roosters. Falling asleep to the sound of geckos. Laying back in the water letting the ocean support me as I float around with the sun on my face. Drowning my chitta vritti, my monkey mind, with the soothing hum of underwater life. Calm. No where to be, no time to keep. Happiness.

And then there were the moments during Yoga Teacher Training where the quiet and calm would be enough to bring me to tears and leave me smiling uncontrollably all in the same moment. Actually feeling the love flow through me. Uh, I know, I just wrote that...I guess I had to include a bit of the "ooey gooey"

Are we noticing a pattern here? Yoga, blah blah blah. Indonesia, blah blah blah. Hopefully the prompts for week two will give me something else to write about.

~peace :)