hello spring!

today marks the 1st day of spring. happy happy joy joy! i love springtime in the city because well it's just gorgeous. people flock to central park or other mounds of grass to take in the beautiful weather, the shining sun, and the best that new york city has to offer...dining al fresco & long walks are among my favs. we file out of our less than average-size apartments and experience expansion and freedom.

that's just one reason to welcome spring.

yet another reason is the idea of shedding the old and starting anew. leaving behind old baggage and opening up to new, fresh experiences. the season commands renewal and revival, exuberance and excitement.

i spent the middle of my day enjoying the sun with my friend kate s taking a leisurely stroll through central park. as we walked and talked, we periodically stopped for a moment to enjoy our immediate surroundings. it got me to thinking...by tomorrow, our time together will be stored away as history, a fond memory that we'll reflect upon in the following years.

"the journey IS the destination."

we have so many dreams, goals, visions for what we want our lives to look and feel like. sometimes we forget to live life right here and now, as it is. i'm terribly guilty of this. in the last year, my life has been a series of less than great decisions that have cost me dearly. i'm in major repair mode, so this easily lends itself to living in a far out future where all my problems are solved and the dust has cleared. but this is really no way to live. i find myself discounting my life these days because it doesn't look and feel good enough. it was during our walk that i was reminded one simple truth...there's really no tomorrow. there's only today. this is hard to digest when you desire something or someone that is not within your grasp. we live in the past through our memories, regrets and good times or in some unknown future that isn't guaranteed to us.

i wish for you and myself to really live each day as it comes this spring, relishing every moment. not sharing it's precious space with yesterday or tomorrow. just today.

just a day (or tonight) at the theatre

yesterday i was blessed with the opportunity to see the broadway play "stick fly." i say blessed because this play opened back in december and it was one of those things i placed on my "to do" list, but i felt like i had a million other things that needed to be prioritized first. thank god i came to my senses (after much word of mouth from friends and buzz on twitter) and saw this play.


everyone needs to see this play...as in everyone. talk about cramming in topics ranging from FAMILY, love relationships, culture, economic status, race, interracial dynamics, etc into 2 1/2 hours of broadway magic. this play was nothing short of fascinating. to end my pitch, you still have 1 opportunity to catch this play...tonight at 7:30pm. call telecharge 212-239-6200. if you are strapped for funds, try to scrap together $40 for a rush tix at the box office. it will be one of the best investments you make. and here's why...


one of the main reasons we go to the theatre is to take a break from our own lives filled with responsibilities, expectations, obligations (the list goes on and on and on). we want to be reminded of who were are. daily life usually requires that we stifle our real emotions in order to remain sane and civil...or atleast appear to be. well the job of an artist is to cook our emotions into a nice simmer so that they rest right on the surface...then be able to simultaneously access and express them...so that everyone else can too feel their own release, see a bit of themselves in the process, and understand that at the end of the day what connects us all is our humanity. stick fly did that in a way for me that helped me tap into an area of my life that i tend to ignore or place on the back burner.

production still from the show

"the first man who loves you is supposed to be your father. you were supposed to love me first. and best." - cheryl, stick fly


upon hearing the uber-talented actress condola rashad recite that line, my heart center immediately opened. whoa. a surge of energy warmed up in my heart and released itself right then and there. 


you see we accumulate years and years of experience in the form of pain, disappointment, tragedy that if not fully released or expressed, these emotions set up shop and ground down firmly into our bodies leaving us numb, resentful, confused, forgetful, fretful. thankfully, my actor and yoga training help me deal with these emotions but some topics, i.e. my relationship with my father, can find a way to bury deep into my psyche and physical matter and hide away until that is...an experience in the present moment triggers a reflex from the past or i witness a piece of art that tells me it's okay to  acknowledge and move through the pain. 


please go to the theatre. release, purge, express, feel.
and if you're so lucky and able to do so, go see stick fly tonight. it will help you.


thank you's to the writer: lydia diamond, the director: kenny leon, the producers: alicia keys and reuben cannon and last, but certainly not least, the actors: ruben santiago-hudson, mekhi phifer, dule hill, tracie thoms, rosie benton, and condola rashad. 


*image sources: www.stickflybroadway.com

sunday musings

dreams
thoughts
the decision
action
faith
alignment
manifestation

quote unquote

the greatest mistake in the world is to pretend to be someone you're not in order to please someone else. have the courage to be yourself, no matter what. if you ruffle someone's feathers their reaction is not your business. all you can do is be who you are and who you are is one of a kind. but remember, the same thing goes for everyone else so chances are you'll get your feathers ruffled, too. one word will solve all your problems, allow.

- jackson kiddard

shut the @#!% up!

okay so the title is a little brash. but it's honest. and it's needed. quiet please.

with today being the 1st day of the new year, there's tons of reflecting, new goal setting, dreaming, and resolution-making going on. at the end of the day, all i want for myself and for you is peace & quiet. okay that's not true, i also dedicated a year of:

* unconditional love
* acceptance
* truth

to you in the 108 sun salutations class i took for the 1st time earlier today, but i digress. see, i need to shut the @#!% up my damn self. it's too much! too much talking, too much thinking, too much doing, too much bragging, too much posting, too much tweeting, too much soap box standing. it's enough to drive anyone crazy. so after you shut the @#!% up, sit the @#!% down...and just do nothing.

be still for goodness sake. it's okay to not always be doing something or saying something or reading something or creating something or fixing something or .... (fill in the blank with your own damn verb) something! nike had it all wrong...just (don't) do it! something tells me if we let ourselves off the hook more often and do nothing, maybe just maybe...we'll get to the core of who we really are and rest our nerves a bit. then maybe just maybe...something real and authentic will come to the surface as opposed to just saying or doing something for the sake of it or to make ourselves look and feel important to other people.

i'm putting you on notice, don't ask me to say or do nothing! i'm hibernating.
in fact, i'm done with this article.

erica jong simply tweeted this morning:
please read "the joy of quiet" by pico iyer in the new york times.

so here you go, it's an interesting read:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/01/opinion/sunday/the-joy-of-quiet.html 

oh and...
happy new year.

downward-facing dog

one of the first poses taught in the vinyasa practice.
if you're fairly new to yoga, this pose will initially feel like a killer. your arms may wobble, legs may shake a bit. although strong arms & legs help achieve the pose, the real strength comes from the core, the center of our power.

bks iyengar 

hands planted firmly into the mat.
long extended arms.
shoulders spread.
engage your core, meaning tuck it within.
shake the head from left to right to release any tension.
imagine a string wrapped around your hips and a friend pulling it up high to the sky.
long extended legs dripping to the floor.
heels reaching for the ground.
breathe.

it'll take some time, but eventually this pose will start to feel more like a resting pose.

quote unquote

- be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind
- talk health, happiness, and prosperity to every person you meet 
- make all your friends feel there is something special in them
- look at the sunny side of everything
- think only of the best, work only for the best, and expect only the best
- be as enthusiastic about the success of others as you are about your own 
- forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the greater achievements of the future 
- give everyone a smile
- spend so much time improving yourself that you have no time left to criticize others
- be too big for worry and too noble for anger


- christian d. larsen, new thought leader and teacher
source: thedailylove.com newsletter