So everybody’s off to some serious bbq’ing today, attending 4th of July parades in nearby towns or they’ve left town all together for a long weekend get-away trying to find one patch of grass that hasn’t gone up in flames yet (we have over 1000 fires burning at the moment here in California alone and this is only the beginning of summer– God help us!).
Without setting a particular intention for this all American holiday I got up this morning, greeted the foggy, misty air and strolled over to the couch with my cup of coffee for some inspirational reading of verse 49 in Wayne Dyer’s interpretation of the Tao Te Ching. It couldn’t have been a more perfect start of my day as verse 49 talks about ‘Living Beyond Judgment’. Humor me as I share my favorite paragraph about this verse out of Wayne Dyer’s book:
“You can begin changing your view of judgment as a valuable or important activity by being aware of when you’re doing it to yourself. Then simply start substituting noticing for judging; from this perspective, you’ll realize pretty quickly that you prefer to observe what you’re doing or feeling rather than critiquing yourself. Calling your behavior “bad” or “good” just pits you against yourself and others by using competition, punishment, or dislike as your motivational markers – hatred, anger, and threats become necessary because love, acceptance, and kindness can’t be trusted. “ How true is that, especially the last sentence (highlighted in bold)!
The rest of my morning was the perfect personal retreat that I couldn’t have planned any better had I prepared it for one of my group retreats. Pranayama (yogic breathing exercises), followed by some quiet meditation time. To stretch my limbs afterwards and to awaken my body from the morning slumber I practiced some yoga asanas complete with some fun arm balances that got the blood rushing into my heart and brain. Hmmm, delicious! Afterwards, a light breakfast (Muesli, of course!) and out we went, my Australian Border Collie and best hiking buddy Luke and I for a long and vigorous walk. It didn’t dawn on me that I was indulging in a very sweet personal retreat all morning until we were almost back at home. What a treat!
The rest of the day was a combination of R&R and some serious de-cluttering of my office and various bookshelves, which further added to the lightening of my spirit! :-) Now my day is winding down in the same peaceful and perfect manner as it started. I’m content after a heart-healthy dinner of quinoa with sun-dried tomatoes on a bed of stir-fried, bright green kale and a yummy piece of wild halibut. Add to that a glass of nicely chilled ‘Spritzer’ (German for white wine with a splash of sparkling water) and there it is… the end of a perfect day. Hope your 4th of July was just as splendid!
