Melissa Ann Goodwin

Melissa Ann Goodwin

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Carpe Diem, but Slow Down and Pay Attention

We seem to be in a strange phase at the yoga studio. I told you about our dear teacher Cynthia, who got the sudden diagnosis of breast cancer. Then yesterday, another teacher, Jenise, was in a bad auto accident. She is in the hospital and will have surgery today. They are putting steel plates in her ribs, and they need to see how much damage was in her back. Her dog, Laverne was also in the car, and Laverne is not in good shape either.

Cynthia, I'm happy to say, is doing well after her mastectomy. Please say prayers for her continued healing and for Jenise, who was actually the first person who befriended me here in Santa Fe and at YogaSource. I'll go to visit her later today, after her surgery. And prayers too, for Laverne, whom Jenise dearly loves.

I'm co-teaching the Level 3 yoga class this morning. We're going to do a wall rope sequence that elongates the spine. I'll start the class by having everyone chant the Lokah chant 8 times. The words are:

Lokah Somastah Sukino Bhvantu

The meaning is: May all beings in all realms experience joy.

It's the one we do when we need to send loving and healing thoughts to someone - or to the whole world. I'll be saying prayers too, but there is something powerful about a group of people sending a beautiful sound into the world. Jenise has a beautiful singing voice, and she belongs to a group that sings for Hospice patients. Her group is going to sing to her before her surgery this morning.

Last week, both RVPainter and I fell down. We weren't hurt, but whenever you fall, you could get hurt. I take those unexpected events as signs: SLOW DOWN and PAY ATTENTION were my interpretations. Then my friend Jenise decides to go for a hike with her dog on a beautiful spring-like Santa Fe morning. She's driving up the mountain road, reaches for her water bottle and ... in that flash of a second everything changes. She veers off the road and into a ravine.

We never know what lies ahead, what the day will bring. The cover of the journal I bought for myself this year reads Carpe Diem. Let's all seize the day, but please Slow Down and Pay Attenion too. I pass on my sign in case it wasn't just for me, perhaps it was for you too.


17 comments:

  1. Prayers and good wishes to everyone you mentioned in this post. I'm glad your own fall wasn't serious.

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    1. Thanks Annalisa. I was having a bad day and tripped in the parking lot - over nothing! I started to whimper, and then I started to laugh. It was actually an attitude-readjustment. Thanks for the prayers xoxo

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  2. Anonymous3/06/2012

    Good advice for anyone at anytime .... slow down and pay attention. Here's hoping your friends come through okay.

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  3. I hope your friends recover soon. I agree, good advice on any day. On the other hand, worrying too much about what might happen can make you fidgety and ruin the whole carpe diem thing. :)

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    1. That's so true! You can't stay safe by trying to stay safe!

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  4. My sister was telling me of a young mother who just took her eye off the road for an instant to hand her baby in the back seat a drink and she hit a bicyclist, who was killed. A tragedy on all accounts.

    Yes - slowing down and paying attention is something I will remember. Thank you for the reinforcement.

    And I LOVE that the group is singing to your friend before her surgery!

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    1. She will be surrounded with a lot of love. I think she will be surprised by how much people care for her - she's always caring for others, so now the favor can be returned.

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  5. Since my life was slowed down for me I have discovered many things I was missing. It's so true that your life can change in an instant. We need to pay attention or live mindfully and with gratitude. So true. Sorry to hear about the misfortunes, but I'm also glad neither you nor RVPainter were hurt in your own falls. Smell the roses!! ;)

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    1. Yes, being mindful is a big part of it all. Smell the roses indeed!

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  6. I'm so sorry! I hope he is all right! Yes, we were just saying -strange energy. You go along and all is well, and then everything happens. Like Faye Weldon's quote: Nothing happens and nothing happens, and then everything happens.

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  7. Best wishes for you and all your friends. I am sending healing hopes to all.

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  8. I believe that attention, in it's purest form, is what you are talking about. Time is displaced and focus on rate or time step aside. Hope all is well and getting better for you. ;D

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    1. Yes, attention. I think of it as staying present too. Being present and paying attention slows everything down.

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  9. I have nominated you for the Sunshine Blog Award, head on over to my blog to check it out:

    http://courtneygordon.blogspot.com/2012/03/major-award.html

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    1. Courtney, you are a dear! I shall head on over! xo

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  10. This was a very uplifting post Melissa. Just reading your previous post. Yes, blogging is very time consuming and each blogger has to find a way to make it work for them. I value what blogging offers and like to make time to visit followers regularly. I get just as much out of it as I put in.

    Denise

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    1. Hi Denise, thanks so much for commenting. I agree - now I often feel that I get MORE back than what I put it. It can be very surprising and touching. xo

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