Namaste

scarletseal.blogspot.com

Sometimes I get a little lost. It usually takes something as routine as a cup of coffee in the early morning and a little blog time to remind me who I really am.

What I mean by that is, I get a little caught up in the day to day. I get caught up in my job, or I become obsessed with making things perfect for my husband, or being the best Auntie Cole I can be. I just sort of lose myself.

I am more aware of that these days since the passing of the "dark time." Let's just call it the "dark time" - eight months of no job, no money, and separation from the egyptian. I sort of was given an opportunity to find myself, and I did. But then things ended up getting back on track and I found myself repeating the very behaviors I promised myself I would not do again.

Here is a quick list of things I was hoping to work on:

1. Recognize the joy.
2. Do not react. Listen.
3. Slow down.
4. Meditate.
5. Practice Mindfulness.

Guess what I did instead? I got caught up in how I was allowing others to make me feel. I was reacting, instead of listening. I was going as fast as I possibly could, I stopped meditating and I was definitely just blurring through the day.

That was last week. Three weeks into the egyptian being home and 5 weeks into a new job. It took that long to fall back into old habits. But today, I am able to regroup, slow down and recharge my battery. It's okay. Just time to reinstate the good habits I had committed to.

I've had a good few days. Thursday night I went to the historic Douglass Theater. It's the place where Otis Redding got his start. There was a special "invite only" event to meet Eddie Levert. You might know who he is - With the O'Jays. He sang a few songs like "Love Train," and then did a little Q&A with the audience. Part of the event was a presentation from Arbitron about the power of Urban radio and African American spending. It was fascinating and useful for someone like myself.

Friday night I attended the exhibit opening, "A Window, A Chair and a Door," at Middle Georgia Art Association. The food was delicious, the conversation decent, and the art was amazing.

Saturday night I went to "Music Under the Stars," an outdoor concert/benefit for Gray Station Better Hometown. The "Old Soul" band was performing old Motown classics. The egyptian and I took our lawn chairs, a bag of snacks and just relaxed at the Jones County Fairgrounds. I got the biggest kick out of the egyptian - as "Proud Mary" was being sung, the female lead singer came out into the crowd and grabbed him to come on stage. She asked him his name and where he was from, THEN she asked him to dance, he all but ran off the stage. LOL It was adorable and we laughed about it for a while. Good times.

It's Sunday, and I promised my niece I would take her to the park. I bought her a soft/water proof baseball bat and ball. She wants to take that, the Frisbee and the soccer ball to the park and for us to  play most of the afternoon. I am grabbing my dad and the egyptian to join us, and good times are in store!

To wrap things up - you'll notice I titled this post "Namaste." It means - "The light in me, recognizes the light in you." That's what I need to remember. Keep it foremost in my mind.

Radiate light. :-)