The Marine Corps motto is ‘Semper Fidelis’ – Always Faithful. For those of us who served in the Corps, there’s another motto we heard regularly as well: ‘Semper Gumby.’ This amusing saying means ‘Always Flexible.’ I’ve been thinking about it a fair bit as the latest pendulum swing of the pandemic knocks over various events,…
Category: Self-Care
Many years ago, I was introduced to the idea of selecting a single word for each calendar year to act as an intention, touchstone, and big-picture goal. The beauty of a single word intention is that the simplicity means multiple ways of connecting are possible. For example, my word for 2020 was ‘Manifest.’ An interesting…
Within the world of agriculture, there is a vital part of crop growing known as letting land “lie fallow.” To fallow a piece of earth is to leave it deliberately unsown – to let it rest. This time of rest allows more fertility to gather in the soil, guaranteeing a better crop later. It is…
When my spouse and I first got together, they hated winter. An early career spent outdoors in the worst of the weather caused a strong aversion to everything related to the months of the inward spiral. Seven years on, they’ve shifted their viewpoint to a grudging tolerance for the season and genuine enjoyment of some…
When I turned 40, my social media feed changed. I’ve always gotten some advertisements for yoga and other fitness products and programs. I’m a yoga teacher, so I’m a good target for those kinds of ads. Likewise, I’ve always seen at least a handful of ads for makeup and hair products. But it seemed…
Some days, there’s just not enough coffee in the universe to get me going. During most of the year, doldrum days are pretty rare for me. I generally have good forward momentum: I have dreams and visions I’m trying to manifest, sacred Work I’m focused on, and a beloved community to serve. For some…
If it seems like the people around you are more volatile than usual, you’re not alone. Over the past month I’ve stood on the sidelines as multiple relationships around me caught fire in various ways. The stress of over a year’s worth of pandemic concerns and the whiplash of relief to restriction is applying pressure…
I was recently at dinner at my mother’s house and we were talking about how different her childhood was from my sister’s and mine. My grandfather was in the Navy, which meant Mom went to a lot of different schools over the course of growing up. Contrasting to that, my sister and I lived in…
I am a teacher of many things. Most of what I share here is pagan spirituality, but I am also a teacher of yoga. I love the way breath and movement come together in a flowing dance. I love the way these beautiful human bodies can move, twist, balance, and open. My great joy over…
This time was serious. I’d been hauled into Top’s office first thing in the morning, and my Staff Sergeant’s face looked thunderous. My Master Sergeant, Top, was furious of course. But also, oddly, concerned. “Why are you always so angry? Do you even know?” Top loomed over me. He was Nordic – tall and pale,…