THE MERRY MONTH OF MAY

The Merry Month of May.  Thomas Dekker penned this well know phrase in 16th century England. It has certainly withstood the test of time. Consider the first line:  

O the month of May, the merry month of May,
    So frolic, so gay, and so green, so green, so green! 

As I write, it is April 30th. My thoughts skip around from sweet to somber to reminiscent. My personal tradition of gathering some sort of flowers or budding branches to arrange near my front door to welcome spring dates back to early years spent living in Annapolis, Maryland. Residents of historic Cornwall Street outdid each other with door decorations in the annual competition for the best May Day display. To my surprise the tradition continues, 71 years old this year, and is widespread throughout the city.  (If you are curious, take a look:  https://www.downtownannapolispartnership.org/may-day-baskets)

I was stunned, therefore, when my new, now former, husband smashed my romantic notions of lovely May 1st by saying “Oh no,  you are wrong. May Day is all about military parades.” I beg to differ.

Many years ago, and I do mean many, before I graduated from the Peabody Institute, Preparatory Department, in Baltimore, Maryland, I was a young dance student destined for New York City and a future career on pointe. Each spring our stern and demanding ballet mistress carefully drilled selected students in the art of the Maypole. On the big day, the Mt. Vernon Flower Festival (which continues today), skipping along in frilly dresses and hair bows, we meticulously braided the long streamers of the Maypole. (Trust me, no one dared to make a mistake.) By chance, I discovered the above photo of the event (thanks to Facebook) – taken in the 1950s.

May is most likely named for the Roman goddess, Maia, goddess of growth and fertility. Appropriately, Mother’s Day is celebrated each year mid-May. Who can argue with the coincidence? The full moon of May, this year on May 1, is aptly named The Flower Moon. Full moons are spaced every 29.5 days so we have a bonus Blue Moon this year on the 31st. While these are consistently lovely items to list for this month, there is something else, for me, that I am considering this year.

Let us consider the polite usage of the word ‘may’ in daily speech. May I do this or may I do that? Twice I have participated in a beautiful learning experience: a 6-week training in Lovingkindness presented by the Vermont Zen Center in Shelburne described as: “Lovingkindness, or Mettabhavana, is an ancient Buddhist meditation leading to the development of unconditional lovingkindness and friendliness. Metta is something you feel in your heart, a positive emotional state towards others as well as ourselves.”

Metta is becoming familiar to many as more and more people today adopt an uncomplicated, usually brief, daily meditation practice. Sometimes simply sitting in stillness and quietude for a minute or two, breathing, in mindfulness, is all that it takes to reduce escalating stress, so easy to fall victim to these days. As the mind, unaccustomed to a break, looks for something “to do,” it can be useful to quietly think or say the various phrases of Metta.

May I be happy.

May I be healthy.

May I be safe.

May I live with ease.

These simple words can be modified to fit one’s personal needs. But the concept holds true – wishing oneself well no matter what else may be happening in life. Perhaps the beauty of these blessings is grace. MAY I…. Ultimately we toss the pebble into the pond of existence and in ever- widening circles we bless, send Metta, or loving and kind thoughts, to those dearest to us, then to those we barely know, then to those with whom we might have difficulty, and finally to the community or world at large. It is somehow satisfying to guide our thinking in these directions. Rather than a vacant imagining, we have ways in which to organize our thoughts, though freeing all to land as they will.

This practice has become a tool I carry with me through my day. If annoyance sparks, I have somewhere to direct my thought. If sadness, pity, fear, lack, or any negativity enters my world, I have a tool to use to pause the momentum. And if there is joy, I can share that as well. So simple. And all beginning with the word May. May I… May you… May all….

I am a Personal Trainer and Yoga teacher. I do not presume to teach meditation. But I do share Metta with my students. What a lovely way to end a practice!

April showers just might bring May flowers – depending on where you live. Here in Vermont, I am hopeful.  We do not dare plant before Memorial Day so I wait. But there are signs if one looks. Daffodils are poking through, buds are appearing on trees and shrubs, and even early crocus blooms are randomly visible.

As daylight hours lengthen, the sun appears intermittently, and previously white-covered ground evolves to green, May you be happy in this Merry Month of May.  Blessings.

APRIL IN VERMONT

April in Vermont, in fact, in the Northern Hemisphere, harkens spring. While the opposite may be true in the Southern Hemisphere, October-like days, we are seeing signs of growth everywhere from longer days to flowers, shrubs and trees. In fact, one of the possible origins of the word, April, is the Latin Aprilis, suggesting opening. 

Warren Spring by Jeb Wallace-Brodeur
Warren Spring by Jeb Wallace-Brodeur

As in other parts of the world, April kicks off with April Fools’ Day, often includes Easter, and tops it off with Earth Day, 4-22. This year, Easter was celebrated early in April which means the rest of the month seems slow to catch onto the notion that spring should be happening.

When actually, here in Vermont, we have a history of snow through May and even on rare occasions into June. And not just on the mountain tops!

One of my memories involves a sunny day in April when I uncharacteristically and impulsively played hooky with my kids, packed lunches, and spent the day on the mountain. Since soft snow slowed us down, I was able to ski terrain that was otherwise impossible for me, (of course my kids were just fine), and we had a full day of unstructured, simple joy.

Another memory was of a May Mother’s Day celebration that needed a last-minute change of venue. My children had planned a picnic for me – so sweet – but we needed to cancel the trek and move it to the hayloft of our barn. They pushed hay bales around to form a table and benches, decorated, and opened the hayloft doors out of which we could see snow falling heavily. Go figure. But it is a celebration I remember in detail when other more perfect plans have been filed in deeper vaults of memory.

As I write, it is chilly. Tomorrow will be the day of the (in)famous Mad River Triathlon – comprised of four events. A few weeks ago, mamma bears and their cubs began to explore the Valley in which I live. There is a mamma and 3 yearling cubs (and their den) quite close to my front door – less than 1,000’ I’d estimate. So far we have not met in person, but news traveled through the community. My dogs are on high alert and my grip on their leashes is unrelenting. (High alert is exhausting.)

High alert is exhausting.

My chocolate Lab, Sophie, sits at my big windows and barks at robins hopping around just outside. A little farther away, I spotted two ducks making their annual pilgrimage to our pond. Down in the field below our home there has been a pair of geese walking or simply basking in whatever sun appears. 

As some of you know, my entire community was buzzing with construction activity from last spring through fall. As the snow melts this year, areas that had been excavated around our homes groan for attention. On this morning’s walk, Sophie ran off to inspect something – it was a huge dump of topsoil. Yay, help is on the way. And soon I will be able to see what I can reconstruct on my patio, where I might add some plantings, and how I might bring back my small but beloved sanctuary.

Lizzie, my yellow Lab, is finally settling and has accepted that, while Sophie roams off leash, she must remain on. She does not complain (especially since she gets her own time with me and blocks of ball play on the basketball court now that we’ve thawed) and is often simply confused about what Sophie might be up to. Her latent sudden bolt can catch me by surprise – but it’s only a chipmunk or squirrel. 

Perhaps what I love most about April here, though, is the subtlety. One must make the effort to look closely. But signs of growth are happening. Subtle signs indeed. And perhaps that is the lesson of the month. While speed and efficiency are good in their rightful environment, taking time to pause and to notice may bring unanticipated pleasure.

Someone dear to me gifted me with a small book about this year of the Yang Fire Horse according to Traditional Chinese Medicine.  The author writes about these April weeks:  “Growth begins gently. Energy turns outward, but vision matters more than speed.”* We are in the season of the element Wood, according to TCM. Observing new growth in nature, budding trees and warming earth, it makes sense to relate the outside world to our inner being as we emerge from winter’s shorter days and quiet times of renewal. It is no accident that many of us are motivated, filled with a sense of anticipation and encouraged by possibilities. All that remains is for us to put into action developing energies. 
I will close these thoughts with a quote from my gift which, I believe, says it all!

“Growth now has somewhere to come from …let the Horse find its stride.”*

*Traditional Chinese Medicine, Yang Fire Horse Lunar Health Planner 2026, Lindsay Herrara Kaplan, L.Ac., Achieving Health, LLC

LEAN IN

Lean in. Brianna Wiest, in her book The Mountain Is You, counsels: “Embracing the grit of it all was what you were made for. Lean in and start living.”  What does it mean to Lean in? What does it mean to you to do so?

To say we live in turbulent times understates the obvious. Reducing global experience to the minutia of our own daily lives, we may still live in turbulent times, facing challenges of health, budget, climate, safety, or more. To dismiss political tensions and tragedies is disrespectful; to ignore them is irresponsible. To begin with ourselves is a step that needs to be taken.

I first learned of antifragility when I was studying to become a Yin Yoga teacher. In his teachings, Bernie Clark, Yin Yoga master, teaches that physical and mental stress makes us grow stronger. Over years of teaching and practicing Yin Yoga, I can agree. Lately there has been some press on the term, antifragility. For example, Weist suggests that dealing with adversity makes the mind stronger and more creative. [I might note that overwhelming stress is not what we’re talking about here. Clark, for example, always recommends moderate stress to the dense connective tissue and joints when practicing and I doubt that any other professional would recommend getting lost in the quagmire of chaos.]

In 2013 Sheryl Sandberg published a book, Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead that encouraged women to lean into their lives and take more control of what lies ahead. So, the concept is not totally new. 

In the world of endurance sports, names like David Goggins, Eliud Kipchoge, Camille Herron and Courtney Dauwalter conjur images of humans meeting larger than life adversity. Some face the work with grit and sheer will power while some, like Herron and Dauwalter, are know for their cheerfulness as they enter the often hours-long “pain cave” of their ultra endurance race. They know it’s coming. It always does. So, rather than try to avoid it, these runners lean in until they are through.

While few of us are out there facing extreme challenges, we may note that there are some little challenges in our everyday lives that make us want to balk, but do need to be faced. Each time we wash the dishes, shovel the walk, take the car to be serviced, clean up after a pet, do our exercise, etc etc – each time we are practicing leaning in. 

Just this morning, the following arrived in my inbox: “Not everything that is faced can be changed; but nothing can be changed until it is faced.” James Baldwin. In a very small moment of practice, I used this powerful statement for something simple – walking my dogs. Trivial, I know. But it was cold, dark, and, though I am grateful for it, my environment is deep in snow. I geared up, leashed my silly girl, grabbed my hiking poles and out we went. My chocolate Lab, the one off leash, is like a snowplow and forged ahead breaking trail for my less adventurous yellow Lab. Realizing the yellow would not get very far, I unleased her and our adventure became magical. The girls romped and raced along the trail that the chocolate had created and I followed, enjoying the deep woods quiet as the sun rose and eventually filtered through the trees. We all three literally and figuratively leaned into our adventure and returned home much the richer for it.

While we may not be able to reframe all challenges into something manageable or positive or even sunny, we can put one foot in front of the other as we step into the process of meeting what we can. To lean in may not be sexy or exciting or dramatic but it may be methodical and ultimately effective. At the very least, we might get the job – whatever it is – done. We may arrive at our destination.

Motivational quotes have become an industry. I will not share one here but instead suggest that to move into a challenge rather than shrinking from it is an act of emotional intelligence. It is a practice of looking squarely at the obstacle, determining what is possible, and, even if uncomfortable, doing it. Life is messy. When the winds blow, let us lean in.

New Year’s Resolutions’ Low Approval Rating

New Year’s Resolutions have a low approval rating – and so they should. But first, let’s define ‘resolutions’ as we use the word. How do we qualify or even quantify its use? If the concept demands determination, self-discipline and control, well, it’s time to reconsider. If, on the other hand, as we transition from one year to the next, do we see this as a time to consider the past twelve months, reframe troubles as lessons learned or even growth, and reorganize our intentions for 2026? We know only too well that a great deal is beyond our control. However, conventional wisdom suggests that our reaction to our experience is what is significant. If we gain strength through solving problems or simply weathering storms, we, simply, gain strength! If flexing a physical muscle against resistance makes our bodies stronger, so too, flexing our ability to apply personal wisdom and individual ethics to the flood of obstacles that meet us daily must certainly enhance inner strength. Aligning ourselves with our own set of morals and standards and acting in accordance with them, is a continuing challenge but an unending opportunity to build our own fitness in every sense of the word.

Years ago I had the privilege of writing and editing a weekly Sunday full page for the Rutland Herald & Times Argus titled ACTIVE VERMONT. (There is a link below to one of my articles that is as relevant today as it was in 2013.) As I researched back through some of my stories, I came across these paragraphs from 12-30-2012:

“At this time of year when the ubiquitous New Year’s Resolution list beckons, I am doing something a little different. I am taking a page from the book of the Roman god Janus after whom January is named.

Janus is the god of beginnings and endings, of transitions and of time itself. The two-faced head of Janus often crowns doors and gates with one face looking back and the other looking forward. Is this not what we are doing at this time of year: looking back over the year that has just passed and looking forward to the year ahead?

An interesting aspect of the Janus head that I recently observed is that each face is the same. One is not looking forward with furrowed brow or looking back frantically as if to say ‘where has the time gone?’ Both faces consider what has gone before and what lies ahead with equivalent composure.”

Here we are more than a decade later preparing for another transition into a new year, 2026. And yet, many of us celebrate a variety of transitions throughout a 12-month cycle. Often we see a birthday, anniversary, full moon, solstice or equinox, even a sunrise or a sunset as a time to segue into something, if not new, at the very least deliberately different.

Each time I wring my hands and think our country or the world has never seen such hard times as we are experiencing, I need only to turn my head to look back – way back – into the history of the world. We are still here. That is not to say we should stick our heads in the sand or that we should fail to show up, but it is to say the tides turn randomly and we should always seek to both participate and to hope.

What about those resolutions? If you need help goal setting (S.M.A.R.T. goals continue to be an excellent way to go about that) there is plenty to be found with the help of your favorite search engine. I recommend that you take a hard look at your goals before setting them, however. Be original. Trash those consistently vulnerable goals such as…I will lose weight, I will get fit, I will make a lot of money. Each of us has within us (sometimes hidden, but there) tools of creativity. Now is the time to find those tools, dust them off, and fashion resolutions with a gentle determination to breathe life into our expectations and create habits that will ultimately define each of us.

Recently I shared with a Yin Yoga class a forgiving analogy with respect to the Water Element that coincides with the season we are now experiencing. This season encourages us to go deep – to take time to think, to value even a few moments of stillness and to recognize the value of darkness. As water flows around obstacles in its way, as water takes the shape of whatever container it fills, as water soaks and nourishes, may we, too, flow with composure around whatever obstacles we encounter.

Finally may you always have a close friend.

Happy 2026.  

“Be like water making its way through cracks. Do not be assertive, but adjust to the object, and you shall find a way around or through it. If nothing within you stays rigid, outward things will disclose themselves. Empty your mind, be formless. Shapeless, like water. If you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup. You put water into a bottle and it becomes the bottle. You put it in a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Now, water can flow or it can crash. Be water, my friend.” Bruce Lee.  https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/32579.Bruce_Lee

Revisiting a New Year

Revisiting a New Year

A “NEW” YEAR

Submitted by Linda Freeman for 12/29/201

“Active Vermont” [Rutland Herald and Times Argus]

At midnight on December 31st the year 2014 will begin. How do you feel about that? Do you remember this time fourteen years ago when we were about to enter the year 2000 amid predictions of massive universal computer failure, terrorist threats in the red zone and all kinds of foretold evidence of doom and destruction? Guess what. . . 

And then there are the interminable, gag-me New Year’s Resolutions that are abandoned before memory can preserve them. All too often, rather than resolve to make worthwhile changes in our personal lives, what we really do is set ourselves up for failure, deepening the pit into which we may have fallen through bad habits or inappropriate lifestyle choices. Ugh.

What do you do to celebrate the New Year? I can remember my dad donning a tuxedo and my mother zipping up her favorite floor-length gown to go dancing on the eve of the 31st. Once they took all of us kids along. It was my father who taught me how to follow my partner’s lead and my mother who taught my brothers how to hold the door or seat her at the dining table. (Of course, being boys, they pretended to dump her on the floor, but they did get the message and subsequently polished off a few good manners when the occasion warranted.)

There was a formal sit-down dinner and a live orchestra that played until the famous countdown when everyone blew whistles, wore silly hats and left to drive home. (Sobriety? At that point I didn’t know enough to check.)

Later when my children and I moved to Vermont we celebrated big time but in pjs, watching old movies, abandoning dinner for a mound of glorious Vermont made snack foods and then dashing to the barn to wish our horses and ponies a happy new year of soundness and good horse show results.

Though friends of ours told of traveling to Woodstock to dine, dance and spend the evening at the Inn, it seemed that more of our friends were choosing to celebrate quietly at home reducing the risks associated with being on the road on a party night.

Some of us will look back on 2013, sorry to see it end. Others are already anticipating turning over a new leaf and moving into a new year. 

As I write this, the word that pops out to me is “new.” Is January 1st really any different from December 31st? Do we feel older the day after our birthday? Probably not, but we did recognize the newness of the first day of school, didn’t we? Perhaps January 1st is similar. We turn to a new calendar page, begin a new session, and may even begin to think about the end of one tax year and the beginning of another.

By the time we get to New Year’s Day, we need a change. The preceding season has been hectic and our personal life is like a computer on overload. When the system is jammed we shut everything down and then restart. Could that be a better way to consider the transition into 2014 than a list of daunting resolutions?

When a client tells me he or she wants to become a new person, I discourage that concept and instead coax into definition parts of that person that are positive and worth developing. Over time we find that each has inner strength, inner qualities that make that person who he or she is. They don’t really want to chuck them all and begin again.

It’s classic that many folks want to “lose weight” and vow to begin on January 1st. To think that overnight one can turn from habits that have caused packing unhealthy and unnecessary body fat, is an exercise in sabotage. Can we begin the process? Of course. The more we learn and choose to eat and exercise healthfully, the better our chances of continuing a journey that may be long and sometimes slow, chiseling away extra stuff (body fat, stress, unattractive habits) that will chip away to reveal the real you or me underneath, the hidden athlete within, the optimism and enthusiasm that may have been buried for a long time, and the spontaneous laughter that can transform a discouraging day into one with possibilities.

In the long run, “new” is not what happens. Instead of “ring out the old” how about bring out the old, taking a second look at opportunities in the light of inevitable change.

If we are athletes, we may have already run our fastest race, but perhaps it is time to run our longest. If we cannot run, we can ride. If we cannot afford lift tickets, we can ski back country. 

If overwhelmed raising small children or developing a professional career, perhaps now we can carve out daily time for deliberate physical activity. We might be able to step back for a few years, but at some point we need to prioritize our own well-being. It’s a no-brainer that if we want to be there for others, we need to be healthy, strong, and fit with enough energy to support and sustain.

Take this notion and go with it. Gather up all the frenzy and stress that drive your days and shut down your internal computer. Then push the restart button. When you open to a blank screen, what will you type in? Some things are up to us. Certainly circumstance, health, economy and relationships play starring roles, but where does one cross the line into excuse? 

Connect with friends, explore the vast outdoor experience that the state of Vermont offers, commit to ourselves. There’s nothing new about any of this. It’s all here and now waiting to be utilized.  Maybe giving ourselves permission to actively move into 2014 is what is new. The old is who we are already, undiscovered possibilities.  Happy New Year.

December 2013

I APPRECIATE YOU

I appreciate you. 

I appreciate that you are reading this post.

I appreciate that you are taking time from what is most likely a busy day to pause and read a message from me. 

And now I ask you to pause again, and think about this. If I say to you, “I appreciate you,” how does that land? Does it make you think I’ve gone beyond muttering thanks and truly mean that you – not just your deeds – are important to me? Or do you find it annoying?

All one needs to do is hop on the infamous Reddit site and one will find a plethora of pros, cons, opinions and purported facts about the recent trend to use this phrase. Perhaps beginning in the southern United States and slowly migrating north, maybe around the time of Covid, increasing in popularity in younger communities, the words “I appreciate you” can now be heard coming from the lips of just about anyone, any age.

As I write this post, here in New England we have stepped out of Thanksgiving weekend straight into a snow storm and the month of December. As I work with clients, encouraging each to continue to work to build the habits of strength, cardiovascular fitness, flexibility, balance and play, I also encourage taking time each day for a few moments of stillness.

Last night in my Yin Yoga class, I suggested that during this season of the year, the most Yin time of the year, we are to give ourselves permission to slow down. We have permission (not that we need it!) to pause to simply think. Perhaps that is why I decided to write this post.

This morning I was on a leisurely walk with my two beloved Labs and as I watched them play in the snow, and then nearly stand on their heads, noses buried deep down into who knows what, I went down the proverbial rabbit hole of thinking about the phrase “I appreciate you.”  And so it is that even on a mundane walk, one can think deeply.

I remembered that seated at the Thanksgiving table, I looked around and thought “I appreciate you.” Why didn’t I say it out loud? Is the phrase new enough to me that I need to try it out a few times first? I do think there is a certain personal sincerity to it, so the phrase should be used selectively. One day this past summer a contractor was speaking with me and paused, then quietly said “I appreciate you.” To me it was a gift.  The other day it happened. I had the perfect opportunity to use this phrase. The exhausted Postmaster at our tiny local Post Office – always seriously overworked – was doing his best to serve many of us. I was the last in line and when he handed over my packages I thoughtfully said, “I appreciate you.” The smile that lit his face reinforced my growing fondness for these few words, judiciously uttered. A pause, eye contact, maybe a soft smile, and some nice words – what does this cost us? Nada. 

So perhaps, if we use this phrase carefully, check to be sure of our intention, and then gift another from the heart – perhaps this simple phrase could be the beginning of something sorely needed in the current culture of discourtesy. So much is out of our control. But we do have total control over the words we speak. As Epictetus said, “We have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak.” I would add, then when we do speak, may we do so wisely. 

I appreciate you.

AUTUMN RESET

An Autumn Reset dovetails nicely with the academic calendar. Not that long ago, the school year began in September. For weeks before the first day, most of us indulged in new notebooks, pens, backpacks and that oh so important outfit we would wear on our first day back. Though so much is now digital, there is similar excitement to beginning a new year.

I suggest that the beginning of an academic year is more significant than the beginning of a New Year. There may be similar hopes and dreams, goals and aspirations, but traditionally one’s New Year’s Resolutions disintegrate before the month is done. That which we define at the start of a new school year – in school or in our personal lives – has a better chance of realization. Whether first grade, senior year of high school, or somewhere along the journey of college or post graduate learning, there is a structure of study upon which to pin one’s efforts.

What about those who are no longer in an academic setting or endeavor? What is it about the fall months that stir in us so many of those “re-“ concepts such as reorganize, refresh, restart, replenish and, my word for today, RESET?

So often, in spite of ourselves, we find ourselves on a parallel course with the seasons of the year. (Mind you, I write as one who lives in Vermont where we experience at least four – though most suggest more – annual seasonal changes.) If you are familiar with the Five Element Theory, you know that we are now firmly functioning in the midst of the Metal Element’s season, a time of refining, stripping away what is no longer useful, and preparing for the winter ahead. As the leaves fall, colorful as they may or may not be, what is left is the tree which is, after all, the roots, trunk and branches while the leaves are only the costume.

Similarly, perhaps in the autumn we might feel impelled to pause, take a good look at ourselves, our values, and our daily lives to see if we are defining who we truly are or aspire to be.

I am a huge fan of a deliberate Autumn Reset. While one idea of a reset is to put things back in order or to go back to what was, another idea is to do so, but differently. As always, so much is personal. Personal wisdom. Have you slipped from the path you want to follow or do you think you might want to wander off on another? Is what you have been striving for no longer accessible or even desired? Where does it say we cannot change our minds or implement new ideas?

A reset, I believe, takes a lot of honest energy, effort, creativity and integrity. Furthermore, a reset cannot be done on the fly. In the midst of the hurricane of one’s daily, personal and professional life, it is beyond challenging to do a valid reset. In a perfect world, we could each take some very private time – hours, days, whatever is available, to think things through, assess, and, well, reset. And, I suggest, that reset needs to be clearly identified and stated if only to our own hearts.

Look closely to see the full Supermoon rising
Look closely to see the full Supermoon rising

A few weeks ago, someone dear to me provided a reset opportunity and then joined me for the adventure. Off season, in a lovely, private area of just a few  generationally owned old houses, we, and our dogs, indulged in an empty beach farther up the coast from the rugged, rocks we had previously enjoyed. By the best of coincidences, we watched the full Supermoon of October rise one evening followed by an exquisite sunrise the next morning. We walked and talked. The dogs swam and played in the sand. We explored unknown areas and took time to literally and figuratively frame and focus moon, sun, ocean, islands, unusual sights, spectacular light, grasses – all imbued with the joy of spending time together and knowing that life doesn’t often bless us this way.

My third and final full day of my gifted retreat, alone with my girls, was the fruit of the reset. In spite of a slow rain, we could barely stay indoors as I wanted to (pardon the pun) soak up all that made our experience rich. I wrote and wrote, made notes, outlined plans, created classes and training programs, reframed and reset personal goals and goals that I hope to bring to my clients and students. The ideas flowed along with energy in which to make these ideas realities.

I learned that along with new and different objectives comes hope, excitement, energy and a glimpse of clarity. I wish this for you, my friends. I wish for you the time to gift yourself the opportunity for reflection and then, yes, a reset. Perhaps you are satisfied with your road as well as your means of travel, and if so, bravo. Perhaps your personal reset is simply a boost to what you are already doing and where you are along the way. Self-acknowledgement and self-support. Perhaps there has been some upheaval in your life and you are still staggered by it. This could be time for you to right your own personal ship. Whatever your situation, to become aware of the unique energy of the season and allow it to carry you along, to sustain you and to provide the impulse to do what needs to be done is what is important in this moment.

To pause for a moment at the beginning of each day, to hesitate before leaping into the next thing on your to-do list, to take a deliberately mindful breath, to step outside for a grounding walk, to push that reset button – it is what I wish for you.

I close with one of my favorite quotations: “Take your good fortune and lift your life to its highest calling. Understand that the right to choose your own path is a sacred privilege. Use it. Dwell in possibility.” Oprah Winfrey

THE MONTH OF AUGUST

As we near the end of August, let’s pause.

On the Old Cabot Trail
On the Old Cabot Trail

We in the Northern Hemisphere celebrate this month as somewhat a closure to summer. Perhaps summer provided opportunity to vacation, kick back, play in sunshine or float on water. Perhaps summer was a time of family get togethers, gardening, outdoor adventure or time spent in a hammock with a book. August represents different things to different people, of course, but August aligns with the Five Element Theory of Traditional Chinese Medicine in that it is a time of harvest and fruition. The Element Earth corresponds to this time of year – a time of transition from one season to the next as well as personal grounding and nurturing. The Earth Element is known to be the center of all the Elements and thus the center of our entire year of life experience.

August has long been enigmatic for me. I wait all year for summer to arrive and dread the onset of autumn. When I was a child, August meant getting ready for school. As a mom, August meant losing all that special time with my children as the school year seemed to begin earlier and earlier each year. 

But there is another side to this month. All that has gone before it in nature, is thriving and we, as consumers, are reaping the rewards. Though the daylight hours are shortening, the nights are comfortably cooler. Yes, there is new energy to adhere to academic calendars, and for some, sending kids to college has begun, but summer lingers.

Many years ago I was introduced to the European practice of taking the entire month of August as vacation – shops and businesses closed, homes left in quiet as residents flocked to summer cottages. This came about for me when I learned of the ballet by Frederick Ashton, (1976) based on the play by Ivan Turgenev. It is a gorgeous 40 minute or so piece of choreography set to music by Chopin. (If you’d like a glimpse, take a few minutes to watch this video of 2 of my favorite dancers from the Royal Ballet. It will be time well spent!  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARbeUw6a3sg)

But, how are YOU? Did your summer evolve as you had wished? We have certainly had our share of ups and downs, haven’t we? Here on the East Coast, dry conditions have proven to be a fire risk. I learned this first hand.

Driving the Cabot Trail
Driving the Cabot Trail

August, often a winding down, was a climax month for me. Ongoing construction on my home continues and though the experience is excellent, it is definitely impactful! Furthermore, I had the uniquely amazing opportunity to travel with my brother. We drove across Maine to the Canadian border, crossed the Bay of Funny by ferry, traveled up the Western Coastline of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia and spent a glorious 4 days at Cape Breton. We, of course, enjoyed every inch of driving the famous Cabot Trail over to the Atlantic and back, but it was a rather stunning disappointment to find ALL trails everywhere closed! Since the violation could be a demand of as much as $25,000, I gave that up. 

My wish for each of you is that you find ways to enjoy the remaining moments of summer before plunging into a more demanding fall schedule. Of course, many embrace autumn as the ideal season of the year. So be it. In the meantime, I will treasure the warmth of each day keeping one foot grounded and the other preparing to take that next step.

Closure
Closure

ALIGN AND ALLOW – SPRING

May 2025

Spring invites, teases, promises and, in spite of ourselves, stirs our souls. Perhaps Spring, more than January 1st or a birthday, marks a beginning. According to the Five Element Theory of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Spring is the season of the Wood Element. It is the beginning of growth as the season transitions from winter – the most Yin time of the year – to summer – when Yang energy is at it’s peak.

In the world around us, new growth is evident. Geography informs the weeks and months in which this happens, but in any event, green appears – leaves on trees, grass pushing up from the soil, bulbs creating their hopeful display and buds opening to the sun.

This time of growth is also apparent in animals and humans as cubs, pups, goslings and lambs are born and spirits are lifted. Motivation and the awakening of sleepy energy are almost tangible.

How might we align ourselves with this season of new growth? Can we allow the fragile stirrings of energy and hoped for abundance land in our hearts and minds? As our roots grow deep, like trees we can open our branches and let time itself take over the process of flowering.

Returning to the Wood Element each spring makes sense to me. There are many resources but my continuing favorite is WOOD BECOMES WATER*, by Gail Reichstein. Here the author writes simply of relating the five elements to everyday life. For example, in the human life cycle, Wood parallels childhood. Consider the coincidence of dawn, creativity, green, wind, vision (physical and mental/emotional) and flexibility (literal and figurative) – all associated with this season. Again I ask, how might we align with this season of new growth?

Spring Tapestry

Here in Vermont, spring arrives late and is often subtle. As I write this, it is the middle of May and we are experiencing severe thunderstorms and buckets of rain. Gardeners are cautioned not to plant until Memorial Day weekend. (Snow, though welcomed in the winter might make a quick but unwanted appearance well into the month.) For the most part, frost has left the ground and mud season is past. Flooding is always a possibility. Fields of dandelions are about to pop with yellow-gold and hills are displaying texture and color as that gorgeous green of newness superimposes the dark green of pines, firs and their relatives. One cannot help but allow all that spring suggests to enter one’s being.

Yes, the world is a bit of a mess. Yes, we face daily challenges in many aspects of our lives. Yes, we feel helpless at times. And yes we really haven’t much to say about the changing seasons – they will happen one way or another**. So perhaps, the best thing is to let go, align with what this particular season suggests, and allow the growth to happen. If we are motivated to creatively look forward, let us follow those plans with good energy. If we are able to reframe our challenges and look at them – not as Pollyannas – but proactively, well then, let us get on with the business (and privilege) of problem-solving.

Spring is an invitation. If you have read this far(!), I invite you to pause to consider the season of your present life. Recently I was reminded that to pause and simply follow one breath cycle – I am breathing in; I am breathing out – is a meditation in and of itself, a moment of presence. It is a moment to align with oneself, to begin again.

Last night I stood with a much-loved family member to watch a boys’ lacrosse game. Approaching severe thunder storms mingled with intense competition as the two teams played a grudge match. Yet at one point, my companion said ‘Look!’ There across the sky was a complete rainbow. It was breathtaking.

A rainbow means many things to many people. From Noah and his Ark to  Judy Garland to Irish folklore, a rainbow represents an infinite display of meaningful emotions and values from art and religion to color, diversity and creativity; new beginnings. One of my favorite rainbow thoughts is from a work by Kristin Armstrong*** published many years ago in which she writes: “A rainbow is a symbol of mercy. It is more than a happy reminder of the holy calm after a storm. It is an arrestingly beautiful reminder of every single time in our lives when we did not get what we deserved – when we received blessing in place of punishment.” Armstrong goes on to suggest that seeing a rainbow marks a time to pause, a reminder to breathe, and the moment in which to say “Thank  you.”

Look up/

Look up. May you pause to align and allow.

*Wood Becomes Water, Chinese Medicine in Everyday Life, Gail Reichstein, 20th Anniversary Edition, (1998 and 2018) Kodansha USA Publishing, LLC

**There is no political implication in this statement but a rather naive sentiment of the hoped for permanence of the natural world.

***Strength for the Climb, Kristin Armstrong, (2007) Hachette Book Group

MOBILITY

January in Vermont

JANUARY 2025. Another year begins. What will we do with it? Partly, that is a choice each of us can make. Sometimes we can be proactive. At other times we must be reactive – in the highest sense of the word. Might it be that managing our reactivity to circumstances that are  unexpected, alarming or beyond our control could be the key to our daily quality of life or success in living? Or perhaps it is reframing those circumstances and addresses that which is within our capability to mold and form and live in accordance with our uniquely personal wisdom and values.

As I write this, it is the weekend during which we celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr., and, by stark contrast, the inauguration of a new old president. I am compelled to ponder a few thoughts which I will now share. (Not to worry – not political thoughts!)

making training fun

Each year I choose a word for the year. I am certainly not alone in doing so as it has become the practice of many as well as the topic of many posts online and in social media.

This year, 2025, I will work with the word, and broader concept of, MOBILITY. Yes, it is a buzzword in the world of strength, fitness, physical therapy –  you name it. But the concept of MOBIITY can be expanded to include my significant four elements: physical, mental, emotional and spiritual. MOBILITY extends beyond flexibility – though, of course, flexibility is excellent. MOBILITY suggests having the strength, stamina, power, resilience, stability and yes, flexibility to move through a wide ROM (range of motion) of the body (muscles, joints, fascia, etc) as well as of the mind and of each individual’s personal experience. When our beliefs are challenged, our fortitude tested or our bodies exhausted, can we continue to move safely and soundly through our experience? It is my personal and professional goal to help us to do so by sharing what I have experienced and learned as well as brilliant guidance from others.

This year I urge us each to adopt a morning practice, dedicate time each day to fitness, adhere to the principle of progressive overload as we strengthen our precious muscles, step outside our comfort zones, experience new things, nurture enthusiasm and positivity, read words of wisdom or words that make us think our own thoughts and form our own conclusions, eat well, sleep well, practice self-care in its highest and most accessible form, get outdoors daily no matter the weather, connect with friends, honor family, and incorporate modest amounts of breath work into each day learning to reduce stress and to be, according to Thich Nhat Hanh, present. Oh my, this list could go on and on!

Adventure whenever possible!

Furthermore, this year I urge us each to redefine and build on our strength – again, applying this to physical, mental, emotional and spiritual. As the world turns upside down globally and locally, as excesses and shortages savage all aspects of our daily lives and future dreams, may we each address our current resolve to be strong as the hours pass and the years accumulate – if we are lucky. For years now, longevity has been another buzzword referring to Health Span and not just Life Span, to living long but living well. Though we may not have the genetic predisposition to age well, we do have a certain amount of agency over that which we do have. And, even if we cannot look into a crystal ball, wouldn’t it be smart to take the best possible care of ourselves? Just in case we CAN affect results somewhat?

What do you think of this from Parker Palmer?  “Self-care is never a selfish act—it is simply good stewardship of the only gift I have, the gift I was put on earth to offer to others.”

So, on this cold January day of 2025, may we each and all consider taking up the challenge of self-care, personal strength, and, perhaps the culmination of it all, MOBILITY!