Playtime

Mark and I went to the Bellingham Theatre Guild tonight to see “My Three Angels” and we were pleasantly entertained. It was kind of on a whim for us to go out anyway and it happened to be opening night for the play. The set was lovely, the people acting were talented and the plot was humorous. I was a little reluctant to go back to the theatre after the last experience over a year ago but now I’m looking forward to going again. Bellingham’s got talent! Even more reasons to Love my hometown. 

Extraterrestrial?

This high mountain Grasshopper appears to me as if it's from some other world. Exquisitely  foreign yet oddly familiar these fascinating insects are quite common. This reminds me once again how it's important not to judge something by the way it appears. It's so easy to become fearful and jump to conclusions however in that moment we must remember to trust our intuition. We must choose to help love win by acting from that expansive place within our heart as often as we possibly can. 

Roots and Foots

Can you see the roots for the trees, the feet below my knees, the sky so high, the rain so wet, I bet you can almost smell, the moss laden forest, the ferns drenched in rain, hear the creek as it rushes over the stones.

Forest Bathing today was was lovely as my Momma and I wandered along the Evergreen Trail in Rockport State Park. I have to be honest, if it weren't for her I probably would have been extremely lazy today after getting my ass kicked in another Barre3 Class yesterday.

It felt good to get out and walk in the woods in the rain. I made sure to breathe deeply and mindfully. I even brought my sturdy purple hoop which came in a handy for support a couple times navigating over logs with my sore muscles. It also helped keep me warm as the hooping motion on wide sections of the trail ignited my core fire. 

The forest in this park is quite magical as it is rich with diverse life beneath the giant trees. It sits below Sauk Mountain which is another one of my favorite hikes to do in the summertime. It was fun to explore today and the discovery center was kinda cool too.

Taxidermy is one of those subjects I have mixed feelings about. I have to admit that seeing a real preserved Wolverine up close and personal today was awe-inspiring. It was certainly something to appreciate since almost no one ever sees them alive out in the wild. They are beautiful and elusive as well as apparently bad-ass animals. It was worth a quick look before hopping in the car to head home. I'm sure the Ranger was happy to have a couple visitors on such a rainy day too even if it was very brief.

I'm so Thankful I was able to get out today and explore. There are so many cool places that are really easy to just drive by and never check out.  There are also so many times when I'm tempted to be lazy and I'm so thankful that I not only push past it but that I have good friends and motivators to help me get outside.

Western Pasqueflower

I'm still dreaming about hiking and the views... on my 76th day in a row writing a blog post and practicing French. By now this whole streak attempt has become a habit and with all the stuff on my to do list I wonder what else I can attempt to turn into a habit by challenging myself to do it every single day. By keeping track as a streak at least I remember to do it everyday. If I chip away a little every singe day on some of these long term projects I have then eventually they'll get finished too. I guess that means its time for me to start another list.

Organizing the insane amount of photographs I have taken is on that list. Finishing the 4 books I have halfway completed is another. I need to prioritize and get these things done. Especially the photography part, there's always going to be more photos I want to take especially when hiking season is here again so I must make the most of these cold rainy days. It's okay to daydream for while and then back to work. It's motivation to get thru the dirty tasks so I can focus on the fun that's to come when it's all done. And when the weather is better for being outside.

Art Critic

I love art in all of it's many forms and I love to create it too. I think I've finally figured out how to ignore my inner critic that says it's not good enough and share my creations anyway.

I learned the hard way that it's best to do things sheerly for the love of doing them. I'm creating art because I feel driven to create and I'm sharing my creations with the hope that it will inspire other people to be able to do the same no matter what their inner Art critic may have to say.

Why is it that so many of us are so critical of ourselves?

It's time to turn off that voice in our heads that talks down to us. There is so much beauty in the world and the beauty is in the imperfections. Nobody is perfect in the sense that most of us think of the word. We are all works in progress and that is part of the reason why we are alive. To experience the process of creation in a myriad of ways.

We are imperfectly perfect, consistently inconsistent human beings who are here to express ourselves from our hearts. We are here to learn about love and connection in a seemingly disconnected environment. Art connects us across time and space, just like dance which is a movement art, there are no boundaries or language barriers, its pure perception, creation and expression.  Free yourself from that voice that has been hindering you and create whatever it is that your heart desires.

Do it for the love of it, do it for yourself and you may learn to love yourself more in the process. You are beautiful and unique, there is no one else out there like you. So celebrate your gifts however they may express themselves through you and share them with the world.

World Record

I was looking for inspiration for tonights blog post and found this photo reminder.

Did I mention I'm going to break the record for the world's biggest hula hoop?

Yes, I'm not quite sure how to make it all happen yet but I submitted the application for this year with the Guinness Book of World Records and I'm waiting for a response.

I'm planning to make a hoop (with help) out of carbon fiber which will be much lighter and stiffer than the tubing that was used for the attempt pictured here. I would love to break the record and get some publicity for my hoop love coaching program and for when my book is released.

I have so many ideas I just need some cool thing like this to get me a bigger to platform to stand on and fast. I want to bring more joy to the world and I love how hooping makes people happy. Also, breaking records just helps to prove the fact that anything we believe we can achieve.

If at first you don't succeed, try again and I will.

High Times

Take me to the mountains, I want to get high. I started 2018 by watching the super moon rise while standing in Columbia boots strapped into my trusty snowshoes up at Artist point. January 1st wasn't that long ago but it feels like it's been too long for some reason. There is something special about the energy up there, about the feeling one feels when standing high on a mountain out in the wilderness. It's a natural high that is good medicine for the soul.

The mountains are calling but it's cold and windy and dark outside right now.

Soon, one way or another, I will get my fix of high mountain air.

I think some skiing may be on the menu in my near future.

Free Flowing

Free to go with the flow... that's how I want to be. Those rigid schedules just don't suit me. How do I make this work to my advantage when it's complicated for others who like routine to understand how I function this way. I get a lot done but not so much in an organized manner, creativity flows when I feel free to express without constriction. I was writing late last night and working on my website, somehow inspired to do so at almost midnight. I've been on a strange schedule lately and tomorrow I will attempt to change that.

My alarm is set for 9am and the March starts tomorrow at 10am which I plan to run or/and take photos of. Sunday I signed up for a Booch and Flow at Kombucha town so it will be another early (for me) morning too. I'm going to use these two days to attempt to get back to a "normal" schedule instead of my recent night owl tendencies. However, I wish it were easier to keep it free flowing and not worry so much about how it's perceived. I'm afraid I'm just not there yet but I do love sleeping in and have convinced myself to feel good about it regardless. Sleep is important.

Perspective

I suppose with a lot of what we see in our lives it's all a matter of perspective. Our point of view changes the way we look at circumstances that occur everyday.

How do we then consciously shift our perspective so we feel better about those events that seem to happen beyond our control?

I'm beginning to see it's all about awareness and being present enough in each moment to choose. It's really easy for us to go on auto pilot and react or act out of sheer habit. Just like I almost cropped this photo so it was level with the horizon and then I decided I liked it better this way.

Who said I always had to keep the horizon level anyway? All it takes is a moment of realization that don't have to do things the same as we have before. In any moment we can change our minds and our perspective. 

False Alarm

I wish I had a bigger platform to stand on so I could share what I know in my heart to be true with more people and have them listen. If only for the fact that I want to live in a world where peace, love and happiness prevails. I wrote a post on facebook after midnight last night, technically I wrote it very early this morning, so I'm copying and pasting it here for my blog for today. We all have fears and we all know that love can help us overcome them.

Here's what I wrote:

I’ve been thinking about this since the false alarm that occurred recently. I was inspired to write this after a friend posted a link to a news article regarding an explanation for the major mishap. Regardless of why or how they say it happened, the fact is, that it happened. And since it happened it really made me think about how life can change so drastically in an instant based on even a supposed threat. Just imagine what it was like for all those people who received that message and acted accordingly thinking it was “real”. In that moment it completely changed their lives.

Looking at the bigger picture here I see that what’s more important is that humankind as a species comes to a point where we can eliminate the need for such a warning system altogether. The fact that we still have to worry about getting missiles fired at us is a big problem.
I believe humankind is evolved enough by now to realize that we share a very small planet.

This earth is our home, it does not have boundaries or borders. We are all dependent on the health of the ecosystem in which we live. This system is completely connected in every single way therefore we are all connected too. What we do to one thing or one person or one country effects everything on this one earth that we all depend on for life as we know it. We need each other and we need this entire planet to survive and thrive. We can no longer think about competing against each other, about fighting between countries or firing missiles at one part of the earth without realizing that we are only fighting ourselves.

Ultimately we all want the same thing but the beauty in our diversity is that we have multiple ways to get what we want and what we need. There is more than enough for all of us, we have the technology and the capabilities to solve our biggest problems if we just choose to do so. We all need to choose to do so. I have a dream where it’s one global community here on planet earth. A community that understands the importance of taking care of each other and the earth that sustains us. Humans have the potential for curing diseases, ending poverty, eliminating hunger, celebrating our cultural differences, learning from our mistakes and creating a world that is healthy for every single one of us.

We can live in peace, it is not only possible it is absolutely necessary that we choose to believe in that probability. It’s more obvious than ever that it will take all of us choosing to change our core beliefs. We must believe in the power we have to make different choices because we now realize that we have that choice. We have to choose to spread the word and to work together to make these changes happen.

The time is here for a revolution, we need to act fast before it’s not just a false alarm. We all know what would happen then. Let’s choose to focus on the power that we have to set in motion a new direction for humankind. Not everyone will jump onboard right away but with enough love and compassion it will become clear that we must take whatever steps we can to keep the shift moving toward what we want. 

Deep down we all just want to be happy and healthy, to have time to experience the beauty of this life and solve problems that make the world a better place and make our lives less challenging to survive. Once we realize that we can only be truly happy & healthy when we all are then we will work towards helping others and this earth in order to help ourselves. And right now we all need all the help we can get.

Barre3 Bellingham

Gotta love Bellingham, City of Subdued Excitement  @JoylovesPhotography Winter 2018

I thought I was pretty fit until I went to a Barre3 class today for the first time. I'm participating in the Fairhaven Runners annual beginning of the year Bingo Challenge and one of the squares says "Try an new activity/exercise". Instagram popped up the other day with an ad for Barre3 so I thought why not give it a shot and cross that box off my bingo card. My friend Emily, who was already sore from Snowboarding yesterday, came along too and I can hardly imagine what it felt like for her. I've been lazy the past couple days besides the 30 minutes of hula hooping each day and hiking on Chuckanut Island, oh and hot yoga a few days ago. 

I felt like I was lazy anyway but generally I'm pretty active. This class kicked my ass, my muscles were shaking multiple times trying to keep doing the moves. It was absolutely fun but totally hardcore compared to what I expected. Yoga, pilates and ballet combined to create a type of aerobics on steroids. I will be going back only because they had a 3 for $30 special for newbies otherwise I think I'd prefer my ass kicking from reaching the summit of some mountain peak. However after class I did ask what it would take to become an instructor with some nutty post-workout adrenalin surging through my veins. Anyone who does that for a living deserves serious respect for that kind of dedication to fitness.

I like the studio too, with the floor to ceiling windows on two sides of the square room. I wish I could have a hoop dance studio like that. It was lovely to be able to see the lighting change as the sun set during class. I'm planning on going to Fairhaven Runners Tuesday night all paces group run tomorrow evening and I only hope my legs are going to forgive me for what I put them through today. It was a hell of a workout and I would highly recommend anyone give it a try at least once just to see what I'm talking about.