A Blast from the Past: Life Lessons Come from Yoga Class
In the column that will be in the newspaper this week (and will be on my blog on Friday), I refer to a column I wrote more than ten years ago about a yoga class I was taking. The column originally appeared in the paper on August 9, 2001, and I'm publishing it here now in case you'd like to read the whole thing. In over ten years of writing my column in the Chanhassen Villager, this remains one of my favorites. Enjoy! For a long time now, I’ve been thinking about taking a yoga class—even after playing a trivia game in which yoga was the correct answer to the question, “In what type of exercise do you stand on your head?”
Majesty and memories shoot across the night sky
I did something last week that I haven’t done in a long, long time. I set my alarm for midnight, and when it went off I got up, bundled up, and slipped out the back door. I brushed the snow off one of the chairs on our deck, sat down, and leaned way, way back. I positioned myself so I could see as much of the sky as possible. Then I watched and waited. I had read a few days [...]
How will YOU change the world?
“Let this be the year that you change the world.” These are the words that were going through my mind when I woke up on Christmas morning. This is something that happens every once in a while – I wake up in the morning, and by the time I’m fully conscious, which is just a second or two later, I realize that there’s a phrase or sentence repeating itself in my brain. Sometimes it’s a line from a song, and [...]
First response to New Year’s Resolution
My New Year’s Resolution for 2012 is to become a First Responder. This doesn’t mean I’m going to train to be a police officer, fire fighter, or EMT – the people equipped to be the first ones on the scene of an accident or other emergency. Instead it means I’m going to train myself to get in the habit of responding immediately when I get an invitation, request, or a question from someone in person, by mail, or by email. [...]
“Peace on Earth” has a new meaning now
I received a number of comments on last week’s column about my trip to Duluth for a Toastmasters presentation the previous weekend. Some people mentioned their own visits to – or memories of –Duluth, including someone who recommended that I visit the aquarium the next time I’m in Duluth, if I haven’t already done so. I haven’t, but will make a point of it the next time I go. Others commented – and eloquently so – on Lake Superior, in [...]
Magic and majesty in a trip to Duluth
I was in Duluth last weekend for a presentation at a Toastmasters educational/training event. Two friends came with me, partly because they wanted to hear me speak and partly for moral support and for a bit of a girls’ weekend. It was late on Friday afternoon when we got to Duluth. For several miles, I had been admiring and commenting on the bright, full moon in the crisp, clear sky. As we reached the edge of Lake Superior, the time [...]