The Problem with Oatmeal
I awoke from a deep sleep to a sweet kiss from my husband, followed by a query, “ Where is the oatmeal?” “The oatmeal? I replied, “ I don’t know if we brought it from the old house.” I stumbled to the kitchen. No. The oatmeal did not make the journey from Texas. I went to give the dog a treat. The lid on the treat container was stuck. I pulled with all my might and smacked my hand on the shelf. Now I was grumpy and my hand was bleeding. I got dressed to walked the dog. My lip pencil needed sharpening. I sharpened it, but it got stuck in the sharpener. I tugged with all my might and my hand flew out and dotted Mauve Rose lip pencil on the bathroom wall. The happy news is that I moved quickly to clean it off and there’s no rose dots to be seen. It all started with oatmeal and my mood took on a power of its own. Or did it?
I conciously decided to change my response to the day when the lipstick came off the wall with ease. (FYI what the heck is in that stuff that it is SO oily and waxy at the same time?) Delighted that I hadn’t marred the wall of my new home, I decided to be grateful and to control the only thing that I could control all along: my response. At any moment, any day, we choose how we react and how we frame things. For me this all goes back to the yoga mat.
Sure there are poses that I cannot do and poses that I’m currently working on. But instead of focusing on what I cannot do, I’ll tell you how far I’ve come. For 23 years I practiced lots of stretchy, passive yoga. At 58, I stepped out of my comfort zone and became a yoga teacher. After a year, I jumped into my 300 hour training and started practicing a more athletic vinyasa at 59. After 2 years of drills and training, I can do bakasana (crow pose) and I am working on other arm baIances. When my knees are cranky, I modify. I have some injuries that I work with and I believe this makes me a better teacher. I choose to define the way that I age. I choose wonder and learning.
I choose to define the way that I age. I choose wonder and learning.
Life happens. Oatmeal goes missing. Jars and feelings get stuck. When we notice the little, good things, we can decide to pivot and plant our feet in a different direction. As author Louise Hay noted, the point of power is always in the present moment. Be well.