intentions

It was a wonderful Christmas redo. The only thing that was missing would be my Mom and my Dad. And Aunt Marilyn. No one puts on Christmas like Marcy Workman. That's for sure.

Curt and I cooked together, he's a fabulous cook and it felt good to be at home preparing a special meal as a family. My childhood babysitter sent me a great not: this is YOUR family now and you need to create YOUR traditions.

There's no place like home.

I can see how from the outside it might seem like I am angry at my family. I would have to respectfully disagree, if you know me at all then you know that's not my style. With my siblings I just have simply agreed to disagree. I think that can be a really good thing. Then we don't fake it, then we don't' force it, we can just live our lives and not feel obligated to one another.

This morning we had the most beautiful yoga practice. A room full of people, 100 degrees, and at the end our friend Rich played the piano while his daughter Dana, a sophomore in college sang the absolutely most stunning rendition of Imagine I have ever heard. Most of us cried it was so beautiful.

But on the mat this morning the lesson of the day was intentions. We pause as a universe on New Year's Eve, acknowledging the passage of time. We make a list of things we want to accomplish or change..... but don't forget that every day is a new year. every breath is a new breath. Every day is a new day. Every day we can set our intention for the day, for the moment and we can find a more authentic life that way. We are all a work in progress .... it's not like we reach the top of the mountain and then we are "set for life"..... there will be new journeys and new days and new opportunities.

If you think about it..... do you really want to climb to the top of the mountain? Away from your worries, away from the difficulties, away from someone who has hurt you? It's a lonely place up there.

I like to think as the mountain as upside down. We begin at the peak and we work our way toward warm and healing water at the bottom. It may mean we face discomfort, fear, disappointment. But with that will be all of the good things too, we can't have one without the other. But as we continue that journey towards and not away from we find ourselves joining arms and forming relationships and being able to feel every single moment.

It's nothing I have made up or created, it's Bodhichitta, something I use as my guide and my own personal teachings. Define it however you want..... but we can use this theory in all areas of our life.

So as we move forward towards 2009 I invite you to state your intentions rather than resolutions. Can you create your own daily intentions? How can we live a fuller life? How can we bring this into our sport, our careers, our family, into all the areas that matter and make our lives richer.

I learned that on a mat. In a room full of people and heat. Poses.... just the bonus. It's more than my religion, it's my life.

Here are some excellent books I highly recommend if you are interested in a more spiritual 2009:

Journey to the Heart by Melodie Beattie. I read a passage of this every day and I close my yoga classes with a reading.

The Four Noble Truths by the Dali Lama

Comfortable with Uncertainty; 108 Teachings on Cultivating Fearlessness and Compassion, by Pema Chodron