The privilege of focus should be called the beauty of focus. This post is the first in a three-part series, leading up to a review of a newly minted entrepreneur having the beauty of focus to strike it out on her own. I consider beauty of focus to be a form of meditation.

Wheels up at 5:00AM and a full day of work, I was determined to arrive at yoga in 45 minutes with proper toes. Obviously, the lack of sleep produced a completely unrealistic goal for the evening: hyperbole at its best. Equidistant between two nail salons, I felt logistics were in my favor and there was no line at the second location.

A cool blue screams spring, sandals and all things warm. Ironically, I selected “Gelato on my Mind” by OPI. As I sat patiently, I noticed the bottles of polish being arranged by color and how much time that must take to maintain. The jets softly bubbled and the refreshing smell of the salts lifted my spirits.

Pausing, I realized that this outlandish goal of arriving at restorative yoga in a half-hour was futile and laughing at myself because it is held in a dimly lit room. No toes to be seen. I was nodding off sitting upright and probably would have been out cold during shavasana, anyway. Lack of sleep does inhibits beauty of focus.

Being present for all things allows us to fully bloom where we are planted at the time. I view meditation as giving your mind something beautiful to think about. Displace yoga and pedi for x or y activities in your daily routine. Do we pile a lot of things on ourselves? Does our mind get a break? Do we truly enjoy what we have before us?

The times of natural pauses in our lives (stop lights, grocery store lines, etc.) have been filled by electronics. Try to give your mind a break by noticing everyday beauty. The next post will discuss meditation a little bit more and how it can help us find a brief respite for renewal. Can’t find time? How about when you brush your teeth? Try it.

Until then…Be well, friends.

How do you notice spring?  If you are stuck in the daily grind and can’t escape to the trail, nature will come to you. All you need is to be quiet and listen.

Morning:
Songbirds puff out feathered bellies joyfully announcing spring. There’s a few perched on the drainspout despite the snow. The North American Song Sparrow is the most prominent. Don’t know what they sound like? Give a listen: http://bit.ly/2mA8u3n

Evening:
Endless stoplights provide an opportunity to put down your phone AND the windows. Turn off the music. See if you can hear the peepers. Known as chorus frogs, these little green guys are wooing mates for all to hear.

At your desk and forgot to listen? Try this exercise:
Remember how happy you are when you can walk outside barefoot “without catching a cold.” Imagine what it feels like to walk across warm concrete to tend the grill, on freshly mowed grass to check the garden or over soft sand as the waves retreat.

Anticipate summer and get ready for all the good that is to come!

“It always seems impossible until it’s done.” is one of Nelson Mandela’s famous quotes. Another friend with a blog certainly isn’t novel.   Facebook has been a greenhouse for my content and I’m excited to put down roots in a formal WordPress blog. The object of the blog is to provide a quiet respite for those who can’t make it to the spa daily. Why not create your own place of solitude to escape and rejuvenate?

Ideas require mental cultivation first, then plans and actions.  What you feed the ideas over time will help them flourish. Do you build with pragmatism? Do you feed them positivity? Do you help them grow by building a trellis of plans?

Just like the randomness of the harvest, I can’t promise daily posts or even weekly posts, but I do plan on constant attention.  If you had to sit down and ponder where you’d like to while away some time and reflect, would it look like the picture? This is from an outdoor meditation garden dedicated to the Blessed Mother: The Grotto, in Portland, OR. Can you feel the calm?