happy brag

I just want to take a few minutes to brag on how happy I am and how much my life rocks. Really. The last couple of months have been the total shift I needed. A big shout out to AJM for inviting me to do 40 days, something I didn’t know that I desperately needed. For a long time I wasn’t sure if moving here was the right decision, but now I am. I love everything about my life here. Every day for the past few weeks, one of my first thoughts of the day is how happy I am and how much I love my life. How cool is that?

I am so fortunate to be doing work that I love: I work with teens, at a very cool office with a laid back atmosphere. I serve craft beers at a fun brewery. I take people’s photos. I assist a commercial photographer. I will be teaching yoga soon. Seriously.

I adore everything about it here. I practice and teach at the coolest yoga spot in town, and sing for fun in a very talented choir with the symphony. Every day is full of play and people and new opportunities. I have met so many wonderful folks here and make new connections every day. I love that it’s such a small and intimate community here.

Example #1: Last weekend I got up early Saturday, went to Little Bread Co., a cute cafe here, and had coffee/studied some yoga books. Sarah, a friend from the brewery met me, we ate breakfast, and then joined all my Deza friends for a yoga flash mob at the opening of the farmer’s market. We played around on our mats, walked the market, watched a cool local band play, ate fresh fruit popsicles, bought some flowers, ran into my neighbor, and just enjoyed the sun. Later I bought my new bike, rode it home on the trails, and took a walk and chatted with Whitney. I worked a few hours in the evening and then went with Whit to her brother’s birthday party before ending the day at a small house party with some friends.

Notable points about this example: I have friends. MULTIPLE. :) I ran into my neighbor (love the small town-ness). Bike trails. Farmer’s market. Yoga family.

Example #2: Last night I decided to host a band from a couchsurfing request. I stopped by the brewery on my way home to pick up a few growlers, and met up with a group of friends at my favorite little bar here where the band was playing. Met the band and chatted with them for a while. Danced my booty off. Stayed up way too late chatting with the drummer and drinking pints. Today I worked my usual quiet Friday in my office. Tonite I will take a yoga class at the studio, celebrate Becca’s birthday with a group of folks, and enjoy another evening out. Tomorrow I get to hang out with amazing yogis all day for a teacher training, will go on a bike ride with some folks in the evening, and wake up for more yoga Sunday as well as choir rehearsal and a pot luck!

So much goodness in that example too. Random adventures with cool people (Somebody’s Darling is the name of the band-awesome music). Hanging out with several different groups of friends. Biking. Yoga. Dancing….

Another things that is making me so happy lately is knowing that I am a source of inspiration for some people. I’ve had a couple people in the last 2 days message me to ask for encouragement or to tell me that I motivate them regarding health and fitness stuff. I love being able to give to people.

I’m finally learning to let go and enjoy the ride. Do the things I love and everything else falls into place. I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be.

Feeling so happy and inspired. happy happy happy!

Happiness

I was getting ready to post a facebook status about happiness, but I decided it was better suited for a blog. And, besides, I have other things to blabber about.

First of all, I’m a little tired of this DOMA debate. I still haven’t heard a good argument as to why gay marriage shouldn’t be legal. I’ve heard lots of silly opinions, but nothing with much reasonable social, cultural, or legal validity. I have actually seen a few really awesome posts by Christians, the primary adversaries to the movement. Here’s a segment from one post I appreciated that a friend shared on facebook by a Christian man (note, these are not my words):

“The people we call “Christians” tend to go to 2 different extremes on this issue. They either A) Stand on a street corner and scream loudly while holding a sign, or B) Shrink back into our sheep-pens with the rest of the sheep and say nothing out of confusion or fear. I have found no in-between. And I’m guessing that this in-between, this tension, is where Jesus hung out daily. Do we really believe that Jesus would have stood on a street corner holding a sign that says “God Hates Fags?” Do we believe that Jesus would have simply hid in his church while an “equality” rally was going on outside? Shame on us.

Apparently, if you’re FOR gay marriage, you’re going to hell, and if you’re AGAINST gay marriage, you’re ignorant, old, and outdated. Do we really listen to how we sound sometimes? Shame on us.

There is another way. To my Christian brothers and sisters: stop being stagnant about this. I know you don’t agree with homosexuality. I personally plan to marry one woman and love her for the rest of eternity, and cannot see another way of life intended for us than that. But newsflash: God never gave us the command to “agree” or “disagree” with things of this world. God doesn’t care what our stand is on homosexuality, or abortion, or the legalization of marijuana, or who we voted for. God gave us the command to love each other. That’s it. THAT’S. IT. That’s our job.”

Anyway, I think that is the most reasonable thing I’ve read on the issue thus far. I don’t care to get into a debate on this. It’s a negative use of my energy, and that is all I have to say about the issue. :)

Now, you should watch this video because it will make you laugh and fill you with joy.

And that is the real topic of this post: happiness and joy. I had a little revelation this morning: happiness and joy are things you choose. You won’t always FEEL happy even when you are choosing it. Similar to love; you choose to love people in your life, but I’m sure you will agree that you don’t always feel love for those people. As with anything in life, dedication and consistent practice yield results. You can’t just decide to run a marathon and go out and run a marathon. You can’t just decide to buy a guitar and magically be able to play the guitar. You can’t decide to be happy and suddenly see rainbows and sparkles and Joseph Gordon Levitt, shirtless, feeding you chocolate covered strawberries

I mean…

Not your idea of happiness? Mine either, I just thought…

Ok, so I hope you are getting the idea here. Happiness takes work. You must choose it daily. Choose to smile at people, choose to be grateful, choose to do things that you love- things that fulfill you, choose people who build you up, and choose to be non-reactive to the inevitable challenges of your day. Stop choosing anger, frustration, reaction, and impatience. Recognize your negativity and redirect that energy into something positive. Consistently practice this. You will fail at it over and over, but persevere. Eventually it will become a more effortless way of life and you will start to feel happy. This may be the most important revelation I’ve had over the last 39 days. When they say to choose happiness and you will be happy, they don’t mean immediate results will ensue. It’s not magic, people. It’s just like anything else in this life: you must work for/toward it and have patience.

Go out there and choose happiness for yourself. I am happy.

This week, week five of 40 Days, was about centering. I failed week five. I know part of this process is to avoid dwelling on my failures and to meet myself where I am without judgement, but EFF that is SO difficult. I don’t know what caused me to derail so badly this week, but this train definitely crashed and burned and hard.

I practiced, maybe, once or twice this week. I got on my mat more than that, but I just couldn’t do it for some reason. I would start and then just…quit. I meditated, maybe, 4 or 5 times, which is a decent amount since I am doing 25 minute meditations, but this week called for 2 of those a day. I didn’t get anywhere close to that, and I feel like I’ve failed. I judged my body all week long-for it’s performance (or lack thereof), for it’s appearance, for everything. On top of not being dedicated to my practice, I ate like SHIT. Like, a whole-pizza-in-a-day and a keg of beer and McDonald’s kind of SHIT. So naturally eating like shit makes you feel like shit and that doesn’t help when you’re already kind of down on yourself for failing the week.

So as I’m typing this all out, I realize that all I’m really doing is making light of how silly my perspective is right now. I’m recognizing the fact that my mood is “below the line” currently, and by acknowledging it, I’m going to pull myself above. It was a good week, and I have plenty to be thankful for, as usual. I had a good time drinking and eating that pizza, I had a good week at work, though it wore me out, I have a pot roast in the crock pot, Iron and Wine playing, and lots of possibility. I’m going to finish up my laundry, put my yoga mat on the floor, and practice. I might take a bubble bath later and drink a hot cup of coffee and read a book. I’m going to set my intentions for this week and I am going to kick it’s ass. I do believe this week’s theme is triumph, so let’s go.

dating

So I’m going to follow up that incredibly insightful and deep like the ocean post with a more light-hearted essay about dating. (Should there be hyphens in “deep like the ocean”? Should there be hyphens in “light-hearted”? Eh, who cares.)

So, dating.

Here’s one area in my life where I consistently struggle with that whole balance and patience thing. It’s not that I’m dying to get into a relationship or anything, but it’s fun to have someone to be able to hang with regularly. I’ve recently jumped back into the world of online dating, and just like before, it’s proving to be a lot more wasted effort than success. I’m learning all the time that I am too damn picky. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not even entertaining the idea of changing that particular quality about myself, but seriously. I will rule your profile out based on your photos or your spelling or the fact that you’ve never read a book. The problem with this is that I’d probably give you about 74% more of a chance if we met first in real life, because I probably wouldn’t know those things about you, but doing it online pretty much begs particularity. It’s not that I feel like I’m too good for everyone or anything like that. I just have no desire to put the energy into people that I don’t totally dig from the start, and unfortunately my analytical inclination leads to more no’s than yes’s.

Online dating allows you to sort of refine the field and allows you to sort of choose who you want to talk with and meet. I said sort of. Problem is, people have the freedom to talk themselves up and also alternatively, unintentionally undershoot themselves when creating a profile. A really great guy might be overlooked because of awful pictures (and lets face it, how many guys actually have good photos of themselves?) A really shitty guy might be sought after because he is interested in cool stuff like wakeboarding and cooking, but is hiding the fact that he’s full of himself and unable to commit. You just never know. The difficult part is determining who to give a chance. I get a lot of messages (because let’s face it, I’m awesome, and really, why am I single?) and if I gave each person that messages me a chance, I’d never have time to do anything but date and keep up with people. (Helloooooo stuck up, conceited Jessica!!) But really, I’m not at all interested in giving it that much effort.

I’ve gone on a handful of dates now, all of which have left me wanting. The person is always too this or too that. Too country or too hipster or not talkative enough or emotionally unavailable. I’m a pretty balanced gal, and is it too damn much to ask for a guy who has a little bit of everything going on? I know these men exist. I have friends that are them.Someone who likes to play outside and get his hands dirty and can fix my car if I need him to, but can clean up and look sharp in dress clothes for a night out and maybe a cool show? Someone who doesn’t wear affliction t-shirts or gel their hair? Someone who doesn’t have stupid tattoos they regret from when they were 18? Someone who is successful and established doing something they love but not big-headed because of it? Someone who likes to travel, but can be content where they are at in the in-betweens? Someone who is physically active and fit and attractive? Someone who enjoys trying all kinds of foods and doesn’t order chicken strips on the first date and use a 20% off coupon? (I’m all about coupons, but the first date…please don’t even take me to a restaurant that accepts coupons on a first date…). Someone who isn’t going to be turned off by my CrossFit calloused hands or my muscles or the fact that I don’t wash my hair and style it every day? Someone who can appreciate a good beer? Someone who knows good music but doesn’t mind when I wanna crank up Justin Timberlake? Someone who has a car and a home he prides himself in? Someone attractive who takes care to be hygienic but isn’t prissy and is still a man? A man? Someone who understands my dry sarcasm and my awkward clumsiness? Someone who can make me laugh? Someone who gives good back rubs and kisses well and knows how to make a woman feel good? Maybe someone who can cook right alongside me, keep up with me (or kick my ass) at the gym, spontaneously suggests roadtrips, appreciates how insanely cool I am, and makes an effort to make me feel important on a regular basis? Yeah, I know that’s a lot to ask for, but I’m not gonna settle for anything less.

Sometimes I think I should just stop putting in the effort to do this and just let prince charming magically fall in my lap, but I don’t think that’s necessarily the solution. I think the solution is to keep an open mind and to be patient and not have expectations. Dating is a good learning experience, and I may never find the man I described above, but as long as I’m not constantly setting myself up for disappointment with all of my expectations and just appreciating people for who they are…..and patiently awaiting the day when it clicks, I think this journey will be fruitful. And hell, I’m sure I’ll have fun stories from it if nothing else…like last night when I rubbed jalapenos in my eye cooking for someone I had just met. ;)

And since this post needs a photo, here is one of my newest drink of choice:

And now, I’m off to meet yet another and drink a green beer. Happy St. Pats.

balance and patience

So it’s midway through week 4 of my 40 days yoga practice, and I’ve been thinking quite a bit about a couple of my biggest personal flaws challenges in my life throughout the last month. Balance and Patience. Most people struggle with these principles, at least to some extent. We live in a world of gratuitous instant gratification. We get what we want, when we want it, and as much of it as we want. If we want something, we make it (sometimes by force) happen. It’s abnormal to sit back and let our path unfold in front of us. It’s lazy. It’s unambitious. We decide the path our life is going to take or what we are going to do right now, and we pursue it fervently until we attain it. We often suffer and struggle in the process, forcing it (whatever IT is) to happen the way we envision. Now, don’t interpret this as a acceptance of lazy passivity. I’m not saying we should just crack a beer and sit on our couch waiting for the dreams and the visions we have for our life to manifest. (Though I do love beer, and I do love sitting on my couch.)

I believe we must find a balance between the two, passivity and action, in order to reach our full potential in this life. We must learn how to balance and to be patient.

Let me first express that I am not a huge fan of the word “passivity” because I feel that “passiveness” has a negative connotation to it, but for clarity’s sake, passivity is defined as: “accepting or allowing what happens or what others do, without active response or resistance.”

So in other words, balancing passivity and [re]activity means receiving what happens in this life with grace; meeting resistance and adversity with an equanimous perspective, an open mind, and an adaptable spirit. This is an invaluable skill, and is only attainable through practice.

I’m beginning to learn that this skill of balance manifests only when you actively practice patience. If we practice waiting patiently, letting our grasp loosen a little, practice relaxing, practice taking a step backward, we get out of our own way, and the energy and path of our life are allowed to flow as the universe or the God (or whatever you believe) intends it to.

We all have a purpose in this life. When we try to design our life and lay our own path, we sometimes lose touch with ourselves and never realize our purpose. We get wrapped up in the ideals of our culture and societal expectations, and stop listening to our hearts. We think the only way to be happy and successful in this life is to follow the route to some high paying job or to dive into a marriage or to live a flashy life. For some people, this may indeed be their purpose. I think the only way to truly know, though, is to put aside all of these ideas of what our life should look like, and instead diligently pursue the things we love with patience for the outcome.

I said diligently, with patience. Actively invest yourself into the things you are passionate about, but don’t become so wholly consumed that you lose sight of the big picture, of the balance. We are multi-dimensional creatures. We will never be entirely fulfilled by one thing (be it a relationship, a hobby, a career, a goal, etc.) When we walk toward the things we truly love or passionately desire (instead of the things we think we are supposed to love and desire), the universe has a way of manifesting the optimum path in front of us. Walking (not running or dragging or pushing) is diligent patience. It is a dynamic and adaptable action; determined but receptive and flexible, allowing time and space for balance and adaptation.

I’m learning these concepts daily on my mat, during my yoga practice. In yoga, in any given asana, you must first be patient with yourself, accepting wherever your body is at that particular moment in your practice. If you force yourself too deeply into a pose, you will not be able to find balance and peace. Some days you are able to go deeper and some days you revert. Just like in life, we must be adaptable to taking steps backwards at times. If you can resolve to be patient, to challenge yourself without taking it too far, balance will naturally occur, eventually resulting in growth in your practice. The cycle then continues.

You can apply these principles to anything in life. I personally struggle with patience and balance in most avenues in my life. I am a forcer. I’m impatient. I’m obsessive. I’ve seen these qualities manifest particularly in my fitness pursuit (CrossFit, running, yoga) and in my romantic relationships, but if I am not careful, I am sure to deal with it elsewhere. I get an idea in my head of where I want to be or what I want to do, and I become obsessive about it to the point that it consumes me and eventually burns out. This results in a total loss sometimes, whereas if I would just relax my hold and enjoy the ride, I might not experience so much frustration and failure. We can not force things to happen a certain way, especially if we want to maintain our passion for them along the way. We have to be open to alternative outcomes. Just like I cannot force my body to go deeper into a yoga pose without potentially injuring myself, I also cannot rush the path of a successful career or force someone to love me or hasten the journey of becoming an elite athlete or immediately possess the perfect body. If it is something that I love or truly want, and I patiently allow the journey to unfold in front of me, it will. We can have ideas of what we would like our future to look like (goals), but if we are not actively engaged in being present and patient with the road we are on today, we will probably trip over all the roadblocks and detours along the way, and worse yet-may never reach our destination.

my bucket list

In no particular order, and always being added to:

1. See a whale. See a whale breach. Touch a whale. Maybe give a whale  kisses. (you can do this-i’ve seen videos)

2. Become a certified yoga teacher. Teach yoga.

3. Try surfing.

4. Skydive.

5. Bungee jump.

6. Hike Mt. Kilimanjaro.

7. Hike Yosemite Half Dome.

8. Road trip across the US.

9. Spend a week (at least) on every continent.

10. See the Aurora Borealis.

11. Spend time backpacking in Patagonia.

12. Kentucky Derby. Big hat, pretty dress.

……..

letting go

I started a six week yoga program this past week. The program is called 40 Days to a Personal Revolution and it was created by Baron Baptiste, founder of Baptiste Power Yoga. I had seen it advertised at my yoga studio, Soul Yoga Lounge (which I love), but I didn’t put much thought into doing it because of the price. The teacher of the program, Alexandria, contacted me the night before the first day and asked why I wasn’t doing it, saying that she felt like I was supposed to and that she would really like to help me out if I was interested. I graciously accepted her offer and showed up to the first meeting with absolutely no idea what to expect or what I was getting myself into. Now, a week into the program, I’ve begun to form a habit of daily meditation and yoga practice. Each week is centered around a topic (this week was presence), a meditation and yoga practice, readings, journaling, and an overall consciousness of healthy living practices.

This week called for a 5 minute meditation in the morning and evening and a 20 minute yoga practice daily. I was successful this week with the exception of one missed meditation because I haven’t figured out how to meditate through tears yet (maybe I’ll learn that skill by the end of this). Next week the meditation and yoga get a little longer, and in week six, two 30 minute meditations and a 90 minute practice each day! I’m definitely intimidated by that, but I’m looking forward to the challenge.

I’m still not entirely sure why I felt led to participate in this. I have a pretty good idea. This breakup stuff is proving to be pretty hard for me still, even a few months afterward, and I think maybe this is the way I’m being led to deal with it to move on. The idea of moving on makes me deeply sad, but holding on isn’t making me happy either. I’m looking to the next five weeks to reflect on myself and my path, and hopefully to let go of the things that are no more.

Valentine’s Cupcakes

(recipe modified from smitten kitchen)

Chocolate Whiskey and Beer Cupcakes

Makes 20 to 24 cupcakes

For the Guinness Chocolate Cupcakes
1 box Duncan Hines Devils Food cake (yes, I cheated on the cake because I was lazy, but you can make any chocolate cake batter for this recipe. Just replace the water in the recipe with beer if you do)
1 cup stout (such as Guinness) in place of water
Oil and 3 eggs as the recipe on the box calls

Ganache Filling
10 ounces bittersweet chocolate (I used Ghirardelli dark)
2/3 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons butter, room temperature
1 to 2 teaspoons Irish whiskey (I used more like 2+ tbsp….ooops)

Baileys Frosting
3 to 4 cups confections sugar
1 stick (1/2 cup or 4 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 to 4 tablespoons Baileys (or milk, or heavy cream, or a combination thereof)

Make the filling: Heat the cream until simmering. Remove from heat and add the chocolate. Let it sit for one minute and then stir until smooth. Add the butter and whiskey and stir until combined.

Fill the cupcakes: Let the ganache cool until thick but still soft enough to be piped (the fridge will speed this along but you must stir it every 10 minutes). Use a knife to cut out the centers of the cupcakes if you like. I prefer to just use my thumb and push the center in (this leaves a good bit of cake compressed at the bottom to keep all the goodness in place). Put the ganache into a piping bag with a wide tip and fill the holes in each cupcake to the top.

Make the frosting: Whip the butter in the bowl of an electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, for several minutes. You want to get it very light and fluffy. Slowly add the powdered sugar. When the frosting looks thick enough to spread, drizzle in the Baileys (or milk) and whip it until combined. If this has made the frosting too thin (it shouldn’t, but just in case) beat in another spoonful or two of powdered sugar. Still too thick? Add more booze.

Ice and decorate the cupcakes. You can spread the frosting with a spoon or pipe it like I did. I used the leftover ganache to draw hearts on mine (some of which turned out to look more like penises…. still appropriate.) Happy Valentine’s Day! (Maybe I should have made these on St. Patty’s ?)

hello new year

happy new year!

did you make any resolutions? i didn’t specifically. i just decided it’s time to get back to feeling good and healthy. i glanced back at my posts on new year’s eve and new year’s day 2012, and i almost don’t recognize the person who wrote those posts. they are so inspired and motivated…. i don’t feel like that person anymore, and that’s my goal-rediscover her.

so in an effort to do that, i am going to start a whole 30 monday and commit to getting my butt to crossfit 5x per week during those 30 days. hopefully a month is the kickstart i need. i know these things (food and crossfit) are the catalyst for rediscovering that girl. i’ll let you know how it goes. the 30 days without alcohol is the part i’m gonna have the hardest time with…

regarding crossfit, i went today. i was terrified, as i usually am after a hiatus. i don’t know why i get so worked up about going. it’s a mixture of dread, fear, anxiety, insecurity, and excitement that is almost paralyzing sometimes. it sounds so stupid, and it IS! i’ve been crossfitting for the better part of two years now (in fact, my two year anniversary is in just a couple days) yet it still gets me every time to some extent. it’s worse now going to a new gym and having regressed so much in my fitness. it’s stupid because i know as soon as i finish the workout i’m going to walk out the door smiling, having done something awesome, and having made at least one or two new friends. how can something cause you so much anxiety and so much joy all within the time frame of about an hour?! seriously. anyway, i was still actually able to throw around a little bit of weight, despite my slacking over the last *$^% months. we did power cleans, and while i wasn’t near my max from a half a year ago, i lifted more than i anticipated. showing up is the hard part, people. just do it. it’ll make you happy.

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i had a great christmas and new year’s eve. i went home for a week for christmas, the longest i’ve spent at home in about six years probably. i didn’t do much; spent time with my family, babysat my niece, hung out with iris some, laid on the couch a lot, and ate myself silly. things were a lot different this year with my brother having a family. we didn’t wake up and open gifts but waited until his family had their celebrations, and then did a lasagna dinner and gifts that evening. i was a little bummed about the changes at the time. i’m not good at changes in tradition, but i guess that’s part of getting older. getting all kitchen things for christmas (and being excited about it) is also a part of getting older. :) for new year’s eve, i had my friends whitney and chloe over for a nice homemade dinner and drinks before going out with whitney and her friends to see the ben miller band at george’s on dickson street. the dinner was great because i got to have some girl time and share my cooking with friends. going out was also great because i was reminded that there are a lot of cool people and places in fayetteville that i have yet to experience.

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i did a lot of cool stuff in 2012. competed in a couple of crossfit events, ran a half marathon in seattle, took an epic roadtrip from tucson to seattle and back, moved to a new city, had a fun relationship, left a great job at brown egg in springfield for a cool job at tasc here, turned twenty-five, and learned a lot about myself along the way. here’s to 2013.

community

I think something that is missing in my life and maybe in our culture as a whole is real community. We all have friends and families, but how many of us spend time with mentors and sit down with other women or men and just talk about what’s really going on in our life? When I was a freshman in college I was a part of a small group bible study. We met weekly and the majority of our time was spent talking about what was really going on in our lives and then whatever bit of time was left was spent studying the bible and praying. Coming together with a group of women who I could be completely raw and honest with was a very uplifting and inspiring thing. It nourished me. I’m not so religious now, but I desire that fellowship; I always have, and I’ve never really found anything else quite like it.

There is something major to be said of the support and love and advice you can receive from other women, all ages. I was reminded of this today on a couple of occasions.

I had a work meeting with a woman at the U of A this afternoon. The director of my organization put me in touch to chat about ways we might be able to partner (she’s in charge of the volunteer program at the university). I had a feeling the meeting might be fruitful, though I didn’t expect much aside from the typical discussion about our respective programs and maybe a bit of brainstorming. After getting lost and showing up fifteen minutes late (because the UA union is beyond confusing), I was welcomed by one of the neatest ladies I’ve met in a while. I feel like I gained more personally from the meeting than I did professionally, but then again, the two are quite interrelated in my life. I felt energized and inspired as we talked, and on more than one occasion, she mentioned that she hoped I would use her as not only a resource for my work, but also personally. I fully intend to.

This evening I attended a holiday dinner for our interns at TASC. The dinner party guests consisted of myself, our director, our executive director, and three of our five high school interns, all women. We ate and chatted about a number of things, and then the girls all wanted to know a little about Heather, Dawn, and I’s backgrounds so I gave them a semi-detailed synopsis of the last eight years of my life. Talking about the journey I’ve been on as an adult is rewarding in that it is a reminder of the way things work themselves out. I believe more and more every day that each event in our lives, big and small, good and bad, is just a part of the process. It all happens so that everything else in your journey can. Even my meeting this afternoon was one of those events-I chatted about how I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life and was subsequently introduced to the Clinton School-a grad school with a Public Service Masters program I didn’t even know existed. Who knows if I’ll end up doing that, but who knows if I would have ever learned about the opportunity otherwise, and who knows if I would have started thinking of ways I could make public service into a full time career otherwise? My point here is that hindsight shows just how serendipitous life is, which isn’t always easy to see when you’re smack dab in the middle of it. Back to my point, though–spending time with these women fed a part of my soul that hadn’t been in a while. I was reminded that just being in the company of women you respect and who respect you is uplifting and encouraging. Plus I got six hugs and when you are starved for companionship… :)

I know that there are women’s support groups and other various ways in which women (or men–I think this is important for men, too!) come together, but I feel like the primary way this occurs is in the church. I wonder if anything exists independent of religious small groups. I am 1000% for the church being a vessel that serves to get women together and supporting one another, but I feel like there should be options. I suppose a group must begin by coming together with a common interest (as they do in small church groups) and then the rest develops organically.  I’m not sure there is anything like this as an option in our society as a whole. I may be wrong, and I plan to look into it… maybe it’s something that needs created..

I think that’s all of the thoughts I can muster for now. My goal with this post was to express how thankful and renewed I felt after spending time with people today. Apologies that it kind of turned into a boring brainstorm toward the end, but if anyone reads this and has any input, please comment or email me. I’d love to hear other women’s thoughts on community and it’s existence or lack thereof in their life.