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I love Hawai’i. It's a place where I feel free.
My son and I learned to surf with Titus Kinimaka's school in Hanalei Bay on Kaua'i. I had my honeymoon on Hawai'i. I became entranced by the Kilauea volcano. (This was when the eruptions were minor in from 2008 - 2016. Now the road I drove on surrounded by lava fields created by previous eruptions is gone!) I learned it was ok to be a "Haole". I learned to respect the coral reefs. I met many aunties and uncles. I climbed Diamondhead. I stayed in a cottage on the ocean at the Pacific Missile Range at Barking Sands on Kaua'i, AND for the first time saw the Milky Way as clearly as you are reading this now. (It's a remote military installation. We are a retired military family with some spectacular perks.) I stood waist deep in a cove outside my rented cottage in Kaneohe Bay on Oahu surrounded by sea turtles while the rain came down and a double rainbow appeared over my head. I snorkeled with sea turtles the size of large dining tables in Poipu. . (They followed me, I did NOT follow them because that is illegal and upsets nature's balance.) I ate the most delicious macadamia nuts I've ever experienced. AND butter mochi... ...and avocados the size of my head (for ONE dollar!). I visited the most spectacular farmer's market I have ever experienced in Hilo on The Big Island. There was quite a bit of produce I had NEVER seen before. I did my best to at least TRY most of it. (One in particular smelled like dirty feet, Yes, that is known as Durian, and it's an acquired taste, to say the least.) The list goes on and on and on. I will do what it takes to help keep Hawai'i's integrity. If you have been to Hawaii I'm SURE you know exactly what I mean. If you have not been to Hawaii, my hope is some day that you see it. Regardless, no-one whether they have visited the islands or traveled there from their living room can ignore its splendor. There is NO PLACE like it. I have taken the PONO PLEDGE to keep its culture, environment, ocean, land, residents and wildlife intact, safe and thriving. Take this beautiful, heartfelt pledge with me! * I pledge to be pono (righteous) on the island of Hawai‘i. * I will mindfully seek wonder, but not wander where I do not belong. * I will not defy death for breathtaking photos, or venture beyond safety. * I will mālama (care for) land and sea, and admire wildlife only from afar. * Molten lava will mesmerize me, but I will not disrupt its flow. * I will not take what is not mine, leaving lava rocks and sand as originally found. * I will heed ocean conditions, never turning my back to the Pacific. * When rain falls ma uka (inland), I will remain high above ground, out of rivers and streams. * I will embrace the island’s aloha spirit, as it embraces me. * Lawe i ka maʻalea i kūʻonoʻono. “Take Wisdom and Make it Deep.” Click below to officially join millions of individuals who believe Hawai'i is worth preserving. https://www.ponopledge.com/ As always thanks for reading. I post articles and pictures Monday through Thursday for your viewing pleasure!
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With all of the traveling I've been doing I see a lot of different faces, in a lot of different cultures and countries.
Most are NOT so obsessed with looking like they are 25. MOST are into aging gracefully, or as I like to call it PRO-AGING. Why would any of us want to ANTI-age? I know there are many people who don’t want to age. THAT is IMPOSSIBLE no matter how hard you try. That's one of those things we just have to "get over". Wouldn't you rather age than the alternative? And by the alternative, I mean death. Or is “die young, stay pretty”, the preferred option? I am extremely passionate about aging intelligently. What do I mean by that? You can age intelligently by caring for your skin, your mind, your body, your relationships, your career and your health. We have to get out of the mindset that "aging is a curse". I have seen gorgeous women (and men, for that matter) in France, Greece, Croatia, Italy, Spain, China and many other locales, who are absolutely stunning inside and out.. And over the age of 50. Or 60. Or 70. Or 80! They are living a good life, having fun, and taking care of themselves. They are loving, making a contribution to their communities, wise, knowledgeable and resilient. That is REAL beauty! I'm just one of those women who can’t wrap her mind around “anti-aging”. And it isn't just the entertainment industry that is obsessed with the clock not moving forward. It's everywhere. Is it Vanity? Fear? Ego? Insecurity? Societal pressure? All of the above? We can all spot, from a mile away, the person who has had so much work done on their face or their body that they don’t look real. And let’s face it (lol, pun intended), a 70-year-old woman with an extreme facelift still does NOT look 40. Plus, no 50 year old who has overdosed on fillers will ever look 25. Don't get me wrong I wholeheartedly support taking care of yourself. Get facials, Dermabrasion, Dermaplaning, some Botox, muscle stimulation and any of the non-invasive procedures that you fancy. Along with that exercise, eat healthy foods - be a health advocate - but going under the knife, sometimes again and again and again, seems to me to be another addiction. Is one ever REALLY satisfied after they get on that merry-go-round? Have we become such an insecure society that we only care about how others see us and that influences how we see ourselves? My West Virginian grandfather, on every one of his birthdays, would always say that he would rather be having a birthday than not! It took me a while to get there and now I feel exactly the same way. As we age, granted, everything isn’t still in its original place. We may not have what we had in our teens, twenties or thirties. However, if we really think about it most likely we have more. Some of the most inspirational people I know and observe are not in those age categories. That is not because I'm of a certain age, either. I have friends in their 20’s to their 80’s. When was it decided that only youth was beautiful? Is it a North American or western phenomenon? In my teens, twenties, and 30’s I didn’t give aging a second thought. I was too busy with my career, and in my VERY late 30's having and raising a child. The sad thing is that today those groups are getting bombarded with the notion that one tiny wrinkle or a grey hair is a fatality. AND... Keeping up with whomever is the only way to beauty or self-worth. We weren’t inundated with the products on the market today to keep us perpetually 25. When did that happen? Skin care IS important. Mostly so we don’t get skin cancer, which is a hell of a lot worse than a wrinkle. I have never met anyone who died from a wrinkle. With age comes wisdom. YES! It's CLICHÉ but it's true. Maybe wisdom doesn't come to everyone over the age of 40 but those years are life experiences and life experiences teach us. Who decided for me that my laugh lines were ugly or that my silver hair makes me old? (A guy on YouTube did last week but he was just asking for trouble online and I happened to be there.) The fact that I'm not still wafer thin makes me less than? Honestly, I'd rather be healthy and strong than skeletal. BUT the pressures I have felt and see my friends experiencing are an uphill battle. When did we lose our talent, creativity, abilities, and exuberance because we turned the corner of 40, 50 or 60? I was out one evening in Vancouver, Canada with girlfriends between the ages of 40 and 60. We were having a great time going dancing, hopping from restaurant to club, to coffee house. We were laughing and joking and having an AMAZING time. At one point in the evening, we were all crossing the street, and a group of 20 something women was crossing the street at the same time. They started pointing at us, laughing and making jokes about us. One of my friends turned around and shouted “What are you laughing at? We’re YOU in 20 years!” Well, that shut them the bleep up. If those ladies are LUCKY they will be anything like us in 20 years. We were a group of attractive, accomplished, talented, vital, vibrant and SEXY woman. We had life experience. We were walking, talking, living, breathing, oozing experience. Everywhere I go I learn something new from other women in other cultures. I love going into a European drug store to pour over the shelves of creams, notions and potions. Most which ultimately end up in my suitcase in the convenient travel size. Europe is light years ahead of us in self-care. Eating right, exercising, meditating, being grateful, making a contribution somewhere, going for it, going with the flow and making your mark (whatever that is) at ALL ages - THAT'S the ticket. It's wonderful to have older women friends to learn from and to absorb THEIR wisdom. What is NOT wonderful is to have pressure to be someone else’s idea and image of perfection. AT ANY AGE. So go ahead and use those potions and lotions (cuz soft skin feels terrific), but don’t lose sight of your beauty inside and out. Don’t let someone else tell you what is aging and beauty. (I'm also talking to the men out there, too. Pro-aging is not just for women.) Find your support system and nurture it. “Smell the roses.” ‘Grab for the gusto.” ‘Carpe diem” “Go for it.” ‘You do you.” Be YOUR best self. AND never let someone else define you - at ANY AGE! My wish for you is long and luscious PRO-aging on whatever continent you reside. As always, thanks for reading. I am on the road somewhere between Moab, Utah and Ouray, Colorado (the Switzerland of the U.S.).
There is spotty to no cell reception or Wi-Fi. I’m sneaking this little blurb in before I become incommunicado again. SO I’ve decided just to practice my Jedi Mind Tricks on this solitary leg of the journey. Instead of being antsy about posting a long article and some great pics and video I have taken, I will say: “Please come back next week and for the weeks to follow for A LOT of info about our travels, our experiences, the people we have met, food we’ve eaten, our health and a really exciting Jeep Rubicon 4x4 daredevil off-road tour we took.” (I do NOT say that lightly and have the video to prove it!! Let’s say I’m still a bit of an adrenaline junkie and hubby...not so much.). I’ll be back next week at my desk with full internet and full use of my desktop computer. By the way, we were able to log onto my laptop, while plugged in, just long enough to transfer all my files into an external hard drive. Then it went dead. Whew! Grateful!! As always, thanks for reading. Will definitely see you again next week. I'm writing from a hotel computer somewhere between Denver and Grand Junction, Colorado.
WHY? Because early this morning a cup of coffee (not mine, I drink tea) was accidently deposited on my MacBook Air. I got the kiss of death on the computer screen: a white folder with a black question mark in it. What does that mean? Au revoir, MacBook Air. It turned on for a while after it was dried out with a hair dryer. Now? Nada. To say I am frustrated because most of the last 15 years of my life personally and professionally was on that computer, is an understatement. I hadn't backed it up to the external hard drive for over a year. I wasn't using it that much, except to cross reference information with my desktop and occasionally write on the road. SO my BAD for not backing it up with a vengeance every week. There are no Apple stores for many, many miles from where I am staying. An authorized store trained to take a look at my computer to see if I can retrieve anything from it is also at least a hundred miles away from where I'm staying. This trip was purposefully one off the beaten trail. YES! Shit DOES happen. First, my Air was not synced with the iCloud like my Desktop, iPhone and iPad. How I overlooked that, well, OPERATOR ERROR!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Needless to say I'm angry but I can't be too angry because it was truly an accident. It's a good lesson to stay present and the moment you go on autopilot things like this happen. We start going through our day, often mindlessly executing tasks, we space out and then BAM. Plus, when you write for a living, or are on the road for business, it's essential to keep files backed up and do your best to make allowances for hiccups. Or big, ugly burps. Let my misfortune be your forewarning. Back it up. Keep the liquids a mile away from your computers. MOST importantly, even on holidays and vacations, don't check out. I love this saying from the 1936 Olympic rowing team: "Keep your mind in the boat." The biggest lesson? When both of your hands are full, don't try to do anything else. Unless you sprout a third arm and hand. I'll let you know next week if my computer is now a really pretty, shiny paperweight. As always, thanks for reading. See you again next week! (Hopefully!) The above quote is from my sweet next-door neighbor.
She's right. We travel. A LOT. We are away from home about as much as we are at home. As we move forward in life we decided to "get it while the gettin's good." PLUS, we are REALLY fortunate that we CAN travel. So WHY am I transitioning into a travel website? It's not REALLY a travel website. Travel IS one of the great joys in our lives AND because we travel worldwide we have amassed a TON of information about travel. All kinds of travel. AND we have experienced so many facets of travel... retreats with meditation, water sports, nature, wildlife, soaking in hot mineral water, dealing with health issues while traveling, visiting friends and family, making new friends, cuisine, culture, the arts, history, language, traveling with a service dog, eating right, exercise, and the delays of travel. This is just the tip of the iceberg. (And by the way I just saw a mind-boggling number of icebergs in Alaska recently. Get yourself to Alaska, if you can!) I was chatting with another writer friend yesterday and he said the subjects I can write about embodied in travel are practically limitless. What better to write about than the things you enjoy the most AND the things that affect you the most, coupled with expeditions? I've taught meditation and Qigong while traveling, had singing gigs, percussion performances, taken care of family, rescued lost, injured and displaced animals and made sure, on many occasions, that families on the street got a decent meal. We have connected with interesting and unusual people. Not the least of which, we have benefitted from it all with a world view. We see life beyond the four walls of our little town. THAT helps us to understand others and be more global citizens. That being said... You don't have to travel the world to get a bigger view of life. Start in your town or city, then within your county, state, and region. The U.S. has a myriad of discoveries waiting for you. Some cities don't even feel like they are in the U.S. They have wonderful foreign influences. New Orleans is one of those examples. There is a lifetime of travel in the countries that border the U.S. It's not difficult or bank-breaking to get to Canada. Unless you are traveling to Vancouver, THEN you may need to break into the piggy bank. Don't get me wrong. I LOVE Vancouver. I lived there for nine years. But it's cheaper for me to spend a month in Thailand than a week in Vancouver. Sorry, Vancouver. South of the U.S. there's Mexico, Central America, and South America. Gratefully, my limited Spanish goes a LONG way. ("Learn more Spanish" is on my list.) A flight from where I live in Florida to Costa Rica is cheaper than a flight from Florida to California! Keeping an eye on airfare has become a hobby and we have reaped the rewards by booking airfare to Europe with a combination of points and lower flash sale prices. Do you have a credit card? Most of them offer airline miles: Chase Sapphire, Capital One Venture, Citi AAdvantage (we use this card), and Alaska Airlines Visa (we also use this one) just to name a few. (By the way, NO airline, restaurant, town, or business has paid me to recommend them.) On the flip side of travel: We have seen unimaginable wealth and unspeakable poverty. We have come face-to-face with a worldwide homelessness issue. Everything I have been addressing in my topical "human interest" writing I have also experienced through our travels. We have learned to cut corners when necessary without EVER feeling we have cut corners. We BOTH are also VERY "go with the flow." We know so little is in our control that we don't get crazy about challenges that crop up in our travels. (Ok, sometimes maybe a little. And by that, I mean me.) It pays to keep your cool. We have a family member who travels constantly and it never ceases to amaze me the compensation received for inconveniences, mistakes, bad service, bad attitudes and out and out bad business. There is a way to complain and a million ways not to complain. Freaking out gets you nowhere except with a headache, stomachache, anxiety attack and possibly escorted out of the building or off of the plane, banned for life. (I've seen it!) We have stayed in lousy to luxury accommodations. We prefer somewhere in between. It doesn't mean we don't treat ourselves. We do. However, we don't take advantage of the higher end accommodations in certain extremely expensive cities or countries. It doesn't make sense for us. I will talk about that in future posts. I have "intel" on our personal explorations. Some of the information came easily and some required a little blood, sweat and tears. Again, somewhere in the middle works best for us. We shop deals and do a ton of research AND have the benefit of military perks since my husband is retired Navy. By military perks I mean being able to stay at some military resorts throughout the world, and staying in incredible lodging on bases. A cottage in your own cove in Hawai'i? YES! Saying "thank you for your service" is nice, however, the perks are even nicer. My husband earned it! When our schedule is really flexible, we can fly military flights to destinations all over the world. For free. (That's a lot more planning and flexibility and SO worth it!) Not to mention we are frequent flyers with 4 airlines. We watch websites like hopper.com , www.airfarewatchdog.com and the airline and cruise line websites. We monitor them several times a week. As far as cruise lines we have sailed with three and our favorite HANDS DOWN is Celebrity. www.celebritycruises.com We highly recommend getting on a repositioning cruise if you can. We took one Transatlantic from Miami to Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain, France and Italy. It was reasonable and a great way to get a taste of several countries. The upside was a beautiful cabin with a veranda, incredible food and peace and quiet. The downside was a freak storm from the Arctic that brought with it 30 foot waves. As dishes crashed in the dining areas the band played. A moment out of Titanic. My husband showed me where the life vest was, gave me a sleeping pill and I slept through it waking to a beautiful, storm-free day. I was a bit anxious, but I'd do it all over again knowing we were on a ship engineered to handle rougher seas. Again, kudos to Celebrity! In a nutshell, although I'm focusing here on writing about our travels, I will include human interest, holistic health, tips, ideas, feedback, reviews, recommendations, photos, videos, and more. I hope you enjoy traveling with us and that you, too, can hit the road in some way. Regardless what I say - go and see it for yourself.
As always, thanks for reading. I'll be writing next week from Colorado!!  I left Facebook, Instagram and Twitter and here’s what happened:
For personal and ethical reasons I have been working my way towards leaving "the Big Three" for quite a long time. I have had about 6 Twitter accounts and deleted them all within a week or less of having them. Then against my better judgment and someone's advice I'd make another account, participate for a little while only to delete it again. I got tired of the drama, the political backbiting, the name calling, fighting, arguing and the seeming lust for 15 minutes of fame. I also got uncomfortable with reading so many people's deepest, darkest, personal secrets. My heart goes out to anyone dealing with life challenges. I'm just not sure I want to be privy to all of that information. I guess they aren't so secret since they are being displayed all over the Internet. I’m not certain that people understand when you post online to any social media that it’s accessible by anyone, even if you mark it friends only. The fact that Facebook has over 3 billion users means it is pervasive worldwide. It also means that what you post to your “friends” is not just to your friends. Anyone can read your posts via your friends. SO it’s to the world. People have gotten fired from their jobs for posts on the leading social media. People I know! Mostly for their 3 am intoxicated rants about this, that or the other thing. (That reminds me of someone but I can't for the life of me recall who that is.) People have been caught breaking the law, and cheating on their partners on social media. They also allow graphic videos of violence, murder and in some instances videos that are just this side of pornographic. (If we want to watch porn it's easy to find. I guess not easy enough if it's all over social media.) There's lots of sex, sexual Innuendo, profanity, and near nudity Oh, who am I trying to kid? Nudity. Again, isn't there Hamster X for that? I'm just sayin'. Don’t get me wrong I love the human body. I think nudity is gorgeous, and sex is amazing, but there are some great and not so great ways to express it. Then there is the ethical issue. The issue of media dominance, and allowing horrible atrocities to be posted. Not to mention election improprieties, bullying, lying and covering up of said lies. Yep, gonna tell you exactly how I really feel! Look, this is ME, not anyone else. This is what works and does not work for me. This may or may not bother or resonate with you. AND THAT IS FINE! That’s what bothers me about the three amigos. Here is what I loved about it: I made a couple of friends in the 9 years I was on it. I got several introductions to potential jobs. I saw wonderful photos, reconnected with friends, classmates, colleagues, and distant family. I experienced vicariously the adventures, trials, tribulations, successes and failures of the aforementioned people. I shared, collaborated and commiserated. I also wasted A LOT of time. Ok, that may not be a plus... Here is what happened the couple of times I posted that I was leaving (was I crying wolf? I guess not since the wolf has left the building. Sorry, mixed metaphor.) I was asked not to go. I was told that what I posted was really appreciated. How was I going to keep up with everyone? How would I know when there are events, parties, births, and reunions? The state of the country? Won't it affect my business, or work? How can I live when "everyone", and the most important news, announcements, connections, etc., are on these particular social medias? Aren't I afraid I will be looked at as an outcast? Or with suspicion? How can I be much of a teacher, writer, artist if I'm not on said social media? Only legitimate businesses and people are on the big social media, especially Facebook. (You can't have a business page without a personal page. Nah, I'll pass.) Okaaaay... Here is what happened when I actually left: Of the original 3000 people who were my Facebook "friends", I whittled those down to 1800 (this was the beginning of the end), then to 1200, then to 800. I knew each and every one of them. Maybe we weren't pals or close but knew them all personally. I gathered emails and phone numbers, posted my website, where to find my writing on other websites and my LinkedIn page link. I downloaded my archive. I made a commitment to connect in different ways with my connections. Then one day I just left. No fanfare. No parting gifts. Just poof. Mind you, this was not without Facebook specifically asking me about half a dozen times if I knew what I was doing? They posted photos of my friends telling me who would miss me. (Those who really ARE my friends actually have a life with me outside of Facebook.) "Are you sure you want to leave? You will miss out on x, y or z..." In the final stages I could deactivate my account and it would take two weeks for it to be deleted. Maybe this would lead to second thoughts and in a moment of weakness I would log on and that would start the two week clock ticking again. This time there was nothing anyone could say that would change my mind. I had already moved on and broken the addiction(s). And it WAS an addiction. I wasn't on the big three every day but I fell into the "check in" trap when I could have been doing so many other things. LIKE just sitting there and taking a few deep breaths, OR getting on a yoga mat and stretching for a few minutes, OR picking up the phone, texting, calling or SKYPING with someone, OR WRITING!!!!! So what REALLY happened? NOTHING! NOT A DAMN THING. People I was already in touch with outside of the triad have stayed in touch with me. Most people that were not in touch with me outside of the trinity have not communicated with me. AND THAT'S OK!! There are plenty of ways to communicate with me if desired. I haven't eradicated my presence online or through social media. I'm just selective. It hasn't affected my writing, or travel endeavors whatsoever. As a matter of fact, I have taken up a few more percussion instruments. I spend a lot more time writing, meditating, AND DANCING!! I am learning new languages, and strengthening my relationships one-on-one. Sure, there are those who told me that they only used (fill in the blank), and only messaged and communicated via F, I or T. That had no effect on me. That is their choice and this is mine. I sent a newsletter to 161 people, including many from my F, I and T days. I heard from about 30 of them. Some told me personally, later on, that they had read my newsletter and enjoyed it. YAY. I understand there are those who need the interaction of the biggest social medias, for whatever reason. I don't judge. Use it as you see fit. (No pun intending.) These platforms are happy to have as many members as possible. Members mean money, and lots of it. It's business. Just business. For each attrition there are new users. The triad isn't going anywhere anytime soon. The sun will still rise regardless of click, comment or swipe. As always, thanks for reading. See you next week.  Picture you are teaching a one-on-one class with a student.
In my case, we were working on breath work and energy work in a moving meditation class We started by sitting in chairs facing each other. We had closed our eyes and were taking some DEEP breaths to help us relax. All of a sudden I felt that my student was not sitting across from me anymore. I opened my eyes and he was standing in the back of the room. I said, "What's up?" He said, "I gotta fart." I tried to be as cool as possible with that statement. What I mean by that is I tried so hard not to laugh about it. It was funny and endearing and... FUNNY! When is anyone so REAL with someone they don't know well; someone they are just beginning to trust? Mind you, the young men who I taught in juvenile justice took my class after they having their dinner and a shower. YOU KNOW that gas will sneak up on you after you eat; especially if you are eating a more institutionalized diet. He said he wanted to be respectful of me and not "stink me out" with the smell. I said that it was perfectly OK and not to be concerned about it at all. Then he said: “Yea, it's a natural body function." I was so proud of him for having that attitude. My students could be so real and genuine, that is why I loved teaching them. They've been through tough times and can still be honest. Sometimes VERY honest! So he stood there waving his gym shorts around and actually very discreetly taking a whiff to see if it smelled. Can you imagine? All out of respect for me AND so he wasn't holding it in struggling with pain for an entire class. Maybe we ALL can take a lesson from that. Then he simply came back to the chair and we finished up the session. It happened to him again at the end of the class, but by then we were completely relaxed about, I chuckled because little did I know that it would become an all too regular occurrence in ALL of my classes. I would be teaching and all of a sudden someone would yell "Oh man, that's disgusting.", then there would be a parting of the Red Sea away from one of the students in the class. There was no hiding who actually committed the "offense". "Sorry, Ms. KaZ." "Come on, that's ok. It's natural. I hope you are feeling better." "Yea, A LOT!" I would then tell the story about someone I knew who hated when women burped or farted. Women, not men, women. Or maybe it was just me. This person said it was gross and unladylike. He could fart and burp away but for me or another woman to do it - absolutely not! It makes it difficult being in a relationship with someone and not being able to be yourself. Much less get any kind of relief from holding in the building gases until the "opportune" time to release them. To this day I'm pretty shy about that. My student looked at me with a very quizzical expression and said: "well, that sounds stupid". All I could think of was the quote from the film Forrest Gump about stupidity. It says it all. That leads me to the timeless and wise saying from the movie Shrek : "better out than in". Maybe holding in our burps and farts is a metaphor for life. Sometimes "better out than in". Words to live by on many levels.. As always thanks for reading. See you next week. Or sooner!  I do my best to be apolitical, although I LOVE the quote above. Even though the author is a political columnist I don't think the quote is particularly political. I think it is just good, common sense.
It's not that I don't care about what is going on in politics today (AND A LOT IS GOING ON!!). I DO care. I DON'T care to get into the arguments that happen lately if you and another person don't agree on politics. Or don't support the same people. I don't believe everything I hear or read. I like empirical evidence. I would like to think that I'm a critical, INDEPENDENT thinker. I have my biases, as does anyone else! If I do get political I typically write it, sit on it for a little while, and delete it. Perhaps I write it just to get it out of my head. All in all, in the end, it's not worth it. I believe in agree to disagree, dialogue and discussion. I don’t think everyone has to see eye to eye. That’s what makes life interesting. I teach you, you teach me, and every once in a while, when we don’t gel, we come to the conclusion that it’s not worth an episode from the WWE. However, there are some folks who want to fight to the death and be right at all costs. I prefer not to engage if a situation comes to that. I'm content to wish you love and happiness, and exit stage left. I’m not getting particularly political here. I just have a little story to tell. I wrote this a few months ago and decided to tweak it and republish it. I was shopping at the Marine Corps Exchange Henderson Hall in Arlington, Virginia (near D.C.). The White House Chief of Staff John Kelly and I happened to be in the same department. I saw him and his gargantuan Secret Service escort a few aisles away. Kelly is unmistakable. Quite tall, impeccably dressed and stiff. Yes, I said stiff. (I think pretty much anyone would be stiff in the White House today. Yes, that was a little political.) His eyes stayed forward. He walked with a determined and purposeful gait. He did not interact with anyone. I wouldn't expect any less of a retired four-star general and a presidential appointee. When my husband, who was in a different aisle, saw him he saw red, but then again he is much more into politics and political personalities. What I DO know is that I am not in alignment with Kelly's hardline policies on certain important issues. I was walking down the main aisle and texting my son about the sighting. My son had a few choice words to say that I won't share. (I will say they were SO funny!) While I was texting my son Kelly and his imposing Secret Service escort whisked by me. Right by me. Kelly and I were shoulder to shoulder. My husband (who saw the encounter) said that from his vantage point it appeared I hadn’t seen Kelly. HOWEVER, he said the moment after Kelly and his escort passed by me I nonchalantly lifted my head and rolled my eyes. He said he wished he had gotten it on video. Mind you, I knew he was there all the time. I chose not to look up. A friend told me that by doing that I threw “shade” at Kelly. Did I? (Honestly, I'm still trying to figure out what "shade" actually is.) I guess since I can’t say that I’m a fan, maybe I did "throw shade". The provocative thing is that the air was electric with his presence. He did not go unnoticed... by anyone. Being a sensory driven person, I could hear the creak of his expensive, polished, black leather shoes as he breezed by me. (My head was down so I got a glimpse of them.) I could smell a faint whiff of cologne or aftershave (or maybe it was his deodorant. As I mentioned he got pretty close to me). He walked like someone who knew he was important. A man with a purpose. If I had half a mind I would have stopped him and asked him a few pointed questions. But, I have more than half a mind and I decided it wasn’t worth it. AND... that I didn’t want to end up on the 6 o’clock news. You see, apolitical, critical, independent thinker, with a filter on my knee-jerk reactions. (At least this time...) As always, thanks for reading. See you next week.  I am posting early this week because on Sunday I will be floating somewhere off the coast of Alaska without internet!!
I rededicated myself to being vegan over a year ago after a few detours. The detours were good. They gave me perspective. I learned my lesson. I feel better and my digestion is better. My first attempts began in 1982 when the only real vegan choices I had were salad and oil and vinegar dressing. As the years have gone by, a pregnancy, nursing a baby )when I crave rare steak and chicken wings), the unhealthy packaged food vegan stage and NOW (Tah Dah!), vegan options are just about everywhere. I had no problem last year in Italy, France, Spain, Greece, Montenegro or Croatia. This year I had an easy time of it in Copenhagen, Denmark, There were three vegan restaurants within walking distance of each other. I had no issues in Sweden, Estonia, or Finland. Russia was interesting and I must say they did their best to accommodate me! For me, it’s not a fad or a new diet. It's my lifestyle. It's what works for me. If it works for anyone else, that’s great. If it doesn’t, that’s great, too. I’m not Draconian about it. I'm not going to lecture you, .quote statistics, show you horrible pics of tortured and slaughtered animals or force you to watch "What the Health?" I live my life the way I choose and you need to do the same.. I keep vegan as much as possible. When I can't, then I choose vegetarian. (To tell the truth, if a restaurant can offer me vegetarian food, it only takes a slight tweak to make it vegan.) BUT if I go to someone’s home and they work hard to prepare me a meal and it has meat in it, I'll eat it. Most people know that I’m vegan or they ask. I find that incredibly thoughtful. However, I won’t turn down food kindly prepared for me even if it contains meat.. A friend remarked how that was very Buddhist of me. I guess you could say that. I just think it's the compassionate thing to do. There are great health benefits to being vegan. AND YES, I get PLENTY of protein. My husband and son are not vegan but they DO eat vegan for their health at least 4 days a week. All the saturated fat from animal protein is NOT good for the health. Well, you might ask, what about coconut oil and the saturated fats from it? I don't use it anymore and mostly because it has a CRAZY amount of calories in just ONE tablespoon. I want to benefit from the calories I eat and a tablespoon of anything is not satisfying, or filling. Here's my little anecdote: Recently, I was in the Houston airport. That airport is like a GIGANTIC mall. I hadn't been in it in years and I didn't recognize it. There are restaurants for just about anyone. I found a healthy restaurant with bowls, smoothies, juices and soups. I asked if the “Buddha Bowl” on the menu was vegan? She said she didn’t know and she would check. After consulting a chart, she confirmed it was vegan. While she was ringing up my order she asked ”do you want meat with that?” I couldn't help but chuckle and think that, honestly, you can’t make this stuff up. Maybe it was an automatic question, like "do you want fries with that" or "do you want to make that a combo?" OR there are people who say they are “vegetarian” and actually eat fish or chicken. (I'm not sure I get that but to each his or her own.) I had to give her the benefit of the doubt. Maybe the tofu on the menu was classified as a meat add-on along with the beef, chicken and shrimp. Nevertheless, it still felt like someone was going to pop around the corner and say: “LIVE FROM HOUSTON, IT'S SATURDAY NIGHT!" If being vegan is for you, good for you. If you are curious about veganism, contact me with any questions. If you eat animal protein - to each his or her own. That being said, give vegan a try even if for only one day a week. Get your necessary fruits and veggies and give your digestive tract a little vacation. AND if you make a face and say " I HATE KALE!" even though it's a "SUPERFOOD", that's ok. I hate Kale, too! As always, thanks for reading. See you next week.  This is my response to the article "The Curse of Always Being Happy” by Qigong and Kung Fu master John Munro.
This is a subject that I have personally been thinking about a lot lately. For me, there is no light without dark. No up without down. No Yin without Yang, hot/cold, day/night, right/left, male/female (In general. Exceptions acknowledged and honored). It is when we are stuck in our emotions that it becomes a great challenge. When the pendulum swings wildly one way, it will swing wildly in another. We talk incessantly about being happy, and looking for happiness. What about the ease of being content? A very mild, pleasant sensation. Much like the theory of neutral talked about in the article. Have you ever noticed how feeling ecstatic can make your heart race and make your actions very amplified? Have you also noticed how anxiety, too, can make your heart race, make you frenetic, or active in an entirely different way? These are both still very heightened states of emotional or physical response. Being more “neutral” helps us remain more unattached in differing situations. I look at it as going with the flow. As teachers it is crucial that we go with the flow. No two classes are the same, no students are the same, no responses to the material are the same. Remaining flexible in these environments makes for better classes and better teachers. If we are constantly in states of heightened emotions it is not good for us or our students. “Put on a happy face” or “Don’t worry, be happy” may not always be the best course of action. We have all known someone who just puts on a happy face all the time. They are exhausted putting up a happy front BUT they are not truly happy inside. Do they feel they need to maintain the facade because that is what they feel is expected of them? (That is classic people pleasing behavior.) Everyone has a less than perfect day. All the teachers we look up to: Gandhi, Dalai Lama, Desmond Tutu, Martin Luther King, Jr. etc. expressed and express themselves sometimes with passion and sometimes with dismay. However, there is still a calm running parallel to that expression. There may be anger, frustration, pain, elation, jubilation and ecstasy but the way it is expressed is gently, lovingly, firmly with reserve and self-control. Additionally, as teachers in the healing arts, we can put so much pressure on ourselves to be a perfect example. OR our students and critics put a lot of pressure on us to be perfect. Granted, that is more about them than it is about the teacher, but the pressure is there nonetheless. It takes a strong, confident, self-aware teacher to remain unaffected by this external pressure. Why put immeasurable pressure on ourselves to be other’s idea of perfection and adopt that as our idea of perfection? To walk, talk, live and breath as what we feel or have been pressured to feel is as the perfect master, guru (or whatever you choose to label or not label) is completely unnecessary and counterproductive. It’s a tough role to play in today’s world. When we develop our emotions to be expressed in a more serene, calm and composed manner, our existence will follow suit. If we can have the self-discipline to enjoy the middle ground, instead of the tumultuous highs and lows, imagine how much more peaceful our lives can be. The old story of the monk facing every situation by saying “We shall see” may be one of the best examples for a content life. So "don't worry, be content." As always, thanks for reading. See you again next week. If you would like to read Master John's article here it is: http://longwhitecloudqigong.com/2017/06/25/the-curse-of-always-being-happy/ |