Day 350 Intention ~ Accept the Ups & Downs

Day 350 Intention ~ Accept the Ups & Downs

 

 

Perhaps it's the holiday blues (or stress surrounding the holidays) or too much holiday cheer being injested, but this time of year tends to catch me in a rollercoaster of emotions. One minute, I love the ambiance created by the fire, Christmas lights and snow outside, the next moment, I am distraught over the money needed not only to pay my bills, but to buy gifts for all of my loved ones without breaking the bank.

 

 

Ups and downs. This time of year also creates reflection. It's normal and natural. I start questioning my choices wondering if I will ever stack up to the vision I have of how I am supposed to be at this age. I also wonder if I will ever be satisfied with that in years to come. So it goes. It's almost like a holiday ritual.

 

 

In reality, we need these up and downs to appreciate the good times. We move in cycles. Our being is made up of three doshas according to Ayurveda: vata, pitta & kapha. Very basically, when we have too much vata we tend to feel "windy", flighty, and hard to focus...ungrounded. Pitta is unbalanced when we feel firey...angry, hot headed, etc. And an unbalanced kapha creates laziness, sluggishness and even weight gain.

 

When balanced, these doshas are wonderful. They help us be creative and motivated, we find our way to be great leaders with a calm, serene spirit. We need each of these to balance the others out. When we feel ungrounded, we need the kapha influence to bring us back to Earth a bit, to slow us down. When we feel lazy, we need that vata wind to motivate us.

 

But, there are the cycles. They aren't always the same and there is no set time frame for how long you may be feeling more lazy or windy. Once you notice it, if you start to take steps to balance, it should even out more quickly. This cycle right now for me is definitely more of a kapha laziness, depressed cycle and now that I realize it, I accept it, but am searching for what will bring me out of it. Not sure what just yet, but hopefully this cycle is short lived.

 

 

Although, it could be considered a bit depressing, knowing that it is normal actually helps.

 

 

Til tomorrow...

 

Shanti,

 

Marcia

Day 152 Intention ~ Look Around & Smile

Day 152 Intention ~ Look Around & Smile

Yesterday I was driving home from class and realized that I had a grin across my face as I drove in this crazy traffic that was happening. It was that moment of realization that struck me...life is a wonderful amazing thing, no matter what is going on. Sure, sometimes things don't go as we would wish and are tough or sometimes we're just plain bored, but sometimes that is okay. It all moves in cycles and we need those times to appreciate the blissful times. 

Last weekend I spent so much time driving, from Cleveland to Rochester to Toronto, back to Rochester and then back to Cleveland, all with so much activity inbetween (which was fabulous), but it was also exhausting. 

Today, after my class, I chilled at home, made vegan cookie dough and watched "Dexter" with my husband, dog, George & cat, Stella. At first I felt guilty, wishing it would start raining, so that I didn't feel like a lazy good for nothing. But then I realized that there was nothing else I'd rather do than have a lazy afternoon with my family...relaxing. Bring that smile back to my face. 

Lo and behold, as soon as I came up here to write this blog up, the downpour came outside. Hopefully it cools it down, so that actually baking the cookies won't create a sauna in my house! 

Til tomorrow...just look around and smile...life is so full of richness & wonderment. Enjoy.

Shanti,

Marcia