For those dreaming of a White Christmas, Mother Nature did not disappoint this year.
Trudged thru drifts in frigid Christmas Eve temps & attended my first candlelight service in 3 years. Never been to Mile Hi Church on Colorado Christian University campus.
GREAT program, GREAT music, inclusive congregation. Reason for the season ✝
During this holiday, reach out & reconnect with family. It’s not always easy.
I sincerely believe we are part of a bigger plan. Focus on this day, tomorrow, the day following tomorrow — leave yesterday in the past. Don’t just give, for-give.
Merry Christmas & God Bless.
- GREAT program, GREAT music, inclusive congregation
- candlelight service
O Holy Night (audio only)
Last year set the template for all future birthdays — National Park visit, local hike & dessert 🙂
- birthday month Nat’l Park visit: Crater Lake National Park. Check.
- trail ran 10+ miles at White Ranch Open Space in Golden, 2 loops of hike & hills in summer heat. Check.
- took advantage of Ash & Tom’s grilling skillz — chicken, grilled peaches & corn on the cob Friday; rib eye steak Saturday. Top that with homemade birthday cake: lemon curd, cream cheese icing, adorned with candied lemons. FAAANNNTASTIC!
Kicked off Birthday Week 2015 with dinner theatre in Boulder, front row table to Mary Poppins. Super fun Thursday, Chim-chimney!
- lemon curd, cream cheese icing, adorned with candied lemons – YUM!
- Mary Poppins pre-birthday celebration
- one year older but ageless on the trail — 10+ miles in Golden
- smoke currently clouds our mountain landscape (West Coast fires)
Ended Birthday week at the Shambhala Mountain Center, an hour west of Fort Collins. Quiet, peaceful alone time, deep in the Colorado Rockies. Good place to reflect — where I am, where I’ve been, where I’m going.
excerpt from buddhism & gnomes, October 2013
Don’t expect this to be a popular viewpoint, but I believe my God loves all his people & works through a series of faiths/religions to develop & activate our spirituality. HUGE fan of prayer & meditation.
I’m not a follower of Happy Buddha [I’m Christian], so why go? I challenge you to put your mind in the right place – push out judgment & preconceived ideas – get quiet, close your eyes, breathe, pray/meditate.
Diggin’ birthday month — lookin’ forward to 2016 🙂
- buddhist prayer flags: luck, happiness, compassion, prosperity, health & longevity
- banners & prayer flags line trek to the Great Stupa
As a birthday gift, a friend introduced me to sound therapy as an alternative means to relax & heal from multiple marathoning weeks.
Sound therapy…hmm.
Life is meant to be lived & new experiences allow the mind to grow – internally I know this – but unfortunately, mentally I often struggle with ‘new’. I create a wall – ‘new’ often viewed as far far out of my comfort zone.
limitation questions
what if people see? what will others think?
realization questions
what if I stay still, comfortable, say no? what if I later wish I would have, but didn’t? what if I miss out?
Arrived at Cindy’s home in Boulder, introduced myself. She directed me to a room downstairs, mat on the floor surrounded by multiple bowls of different sizes (Tibetan Singing Bowls).
Way, way out of my comfort zone – hippie vibe is strong in Boulder. LOL>
An older Native American lady, Cindy talked softly, put me at ease. Talked about a deer that frequents her yard, often stands outside the window when she plays the Singing Bowls.
I laid back, closed my eyes & listened to the deep contrasting tones.
Another brain wrinkle added to the wheelhouse. No regrets.
Living a life with no regrets means saying yes – opening your mind, taking a breath, experiencing life one stage at a time. I don’t know how I’ll feel in an hour…but I can control the next 5 minutes – just a matter of taking add’l breaths & adding minutes to the meter.
Whether it’s skydiving or sound therapy — the idea of new is often far worse than reality.
Glad I met Cindy. Like most folks, we know what we know…surround ourselves with like people, like experiences. Good to get exposed to different people, listen, learn, hear their stories. Super impressed with this lady & her work with Horse Nation & the Lakota.
I caught Cindy just as she & her husband were heading out of town for several weeks – camping in South Dakota, volunteering their time with a not-for-profit program called Tiwahe Glu Kini Pi on the Rosebud (Lakota Indian) reservation.
Specifically, they assist with an Equine Therapy Program for Native American youth, Sunka Wakan Oyate (Horse Nation). Young people on the Rez often grow up in poverty; many families suffer from alcoholism & depression. The lack of opportunity for Native Americans compounds the problem, perpetuates bad life decisions. Working with the horses are a therapy for these youth.
Left today educated & inspired — well done Cindy!
I’d like to talk with Keenan about our non-profit work and all that we support on Rosebud. I’m sure it would be possible for him to post about it on his blog. Maybe the best starting place is for him to look at the documentary trailer for We Are A Horse Nation. He could also look at the documentary trailer for Across the Creek. The Equine Therapy program we’re working so closely with now is featured in the We Are A Horse Nation documentary and that trailer and the other one are just a few minutes long. The department at Sinte Gleska University that sponsors it is Tiwahe Glu Kini Pi “Bringing the Family Back to Life”.