Reflections from the Mat

“Regard the fleeting world like this: like stars fading and vanishing at dawn, like bubbles on a fast-moving stream, like morning dewdrops evaporating on blades of glass, like a candle flickering in a strong wind.” ~~ The Buddha

(Travis took this during sunset in Key West…isn’t it beautiful?)

First of all, apologies for not posting a blog last week. But for the first time ever, my husband and I took our girls on vacation for Spring Break for the WHOLE WEEK! Yep, you heard that right. We’ve never done that before…maybe a long weekend here and there, but never a whole week. We have family who lives in the Florida Keys and she graciously offered to let us stay with her and her husband so that we wouldn’t have to pay the exorbitant hotel prices, so how could we refuse? So we rented a very nice mini-van, equipped with a DVD player, satellite radio and leather seats, and we drove on down.

You know, they say when you’re in the Keys, you’re on 3/4 time. Everything just moves at a slower pace there, and everyone is so laid back. So I vowed to be like that while I was there…to relax and enjoy things, not worry so much about everything. That is asking a lot of myself, as many of you who know me can probably guess. I mean, I am always worrying about SOMETHING, even when it’s something silly and stupid.

But I did it. I totally and utterly enjoyed myself while we were there. I slept in, I didn’t plan out every last detail and instead just waited until I woke up to see what everyone felt like doing and that’s what we did. Since I couldn’t find a yoga studio that I could get to, the islands were my yoga mat. I meditated on the edge of the water at the house we stayed at, and while watching the sunset each night. I stretched my body while overlooking the island waters. I practiced my breathing while smelling the wonderful salt air and feeling the island breezes wash over me.

It was amazing. I feel like I left the islands a little more “present”. A little more aware of all the beauty around me wherever I go and whatever I do. Watching how the locals in the Keys live, how they appreciate their lives and everything around them, has seeped into me a little. My goal now, as I settle back into my “real life”, is to see if I can maintain this happiness I am feeling. Life is too short, and the quote above by the Buddha says it wonderfully…this world is fleeting, so we better regard it as such, appreciating all that it has to offer NOW…not LATER.

Namaste,

Melanie