I used to drink coffee.    I have many fond memories of going to the cafeteria with my work colleagues, getting a cup of coffee, and savoring it.   This was before every office had a coffee machine, let alone having a Keurig or one of those fancy single-cup machines.  We truly used it as a coffee break - we would sit around our shared work table, enjoy our brew, and chat a bit before we went back to work.   I used to get a shot of hot chocolate in my coffee to create a sort of Coffee Mocha (the cafeteria had a hot chocolate machine).    Even earlier in my professional career, I recall the pleasure with which I would approach a cup of coffee.  Somehow it represented something shared - something that connected me to the larger community and culture.   My co-workers and I used to all figure out what we wanted (in case we wanted a Danish or an English muffin as well), create a list, and one of us would trot (OK - maybe n...

This week of May 24, 2021 will enjoy a beautiful full moon - a supermoon.  The moon is at or near its closest location to earth, and thus appears larger in the night sky.    One thing that I find precious about yoga is that the practice is all about connection.   The word yoga means yoke or union.   The union of body, mind, and spirit.  The link between the inhale and the exhale. The connectedness between ourselves and the wonders of nature all around us.  The relationship of the individual to all living things. Many yoga practitioners are familiar with the Surya Namaskar - the Sun Salutation.   Just thinking about the meaning of those words can fill the heart.   We salute the sun with our breath, our focus, and our movements.    Less familiar to many, perhaps, is the Chandra Namaskar, or the Moon Salutation.   The Chandra Namaskar itself is a relatively recent practice - late 20th century - but the pra...

  What is it to be visionary?    Dictionary.com tells us, " given to or characterized by fanciful, not presently workable, or unpractical ideas, views, or schemes."  OK.  A bit flat, that one. Webster's Dictionary offers " having or marked by foresight and imagination."  There's a bit more energy behind this definition. Malcolm Gladwell stated, " The visionary starts with a clean sheet of paper, and re-imagines the world."  Ah!   A bit of magic here.   We're warming up. I like to think that the visionary is unafraid to imagine the future.  Inspired and inspiring.   In my mind I see the visionary somehow weaving a web that captures the imaginations of others.   The contribution that I'd like to make to a sense of being visionary is that of the consideration of scale.   So often, when we hear the word "visionary" we think of big things - vast enterprises - monumental endeavors - brave undertakings....

 I am feeling my age.   Interestingly, through my 40's and even a bit into my 50's, I felt as if I were aging mentally and spiritually, but not so much physically.    But then I hit 60.   BAM!   The Zumba and similar cardio-dance classes that I enjoyed at the local gym caused pain in the ankles, knees, and hips.  Reluctantly, I gave up the "great-fun-but-more-impact-than-my-body-tolerated" classes.   I continued my yoga practice, and turned my attention to walking.   I thought of walking as my meditation-in-motion time.   I could walk for 2, 3, and sometimes even 5 miles with no problems other than, occasionally, needing a place to pee when there wasn't one to be found.   But then walking became a problem.   My left hip became more painful with each passing month.   I felt betrayed by my body.   I had thought that if I just stayed active and took care of myself my body...