costa rica sunshine

doubling down on happiness

 i'm back from costa rica.  predictably, it was wonderful.  like it was more wonderful than last year--which was pretty darn great--and filled me with a deep sense of hope about life.  the reasons for that could be that it's such a nice retreat center and the people who came were so open and  the gift of taking a big time-out from life to stare out at the sea from a hammock. or maybe it was the food--all organic, local and prepared con mucho amor--that had me wondering if i was going to adjust to living back in the states again.  i've been joking with adam that he was going to have to cut up fresh fruit for me every morning for a week so i wouldn't be too shocked on the realities of living in the real world.  he seems to think i am kidding about that...

but home is good.  today i mapped out photo albums, planted window boxes with arugula and scallion seeds, met a dear friend for thai food and had the most surprisingly fast experience of getting my car inspected. i love it here and hope that every time i leave it's so that i can come back to my real life with more joy and hope and love to share.  so in that spirit, i choose this photograph of a the view from my plane ride from houston to washington, dc.  i spent the whole week freaking out about the beautiful sunsets that we saw from the yoga deck and thought about how i never see anything like that back in the states.  and then i saw the most ridiculously beautiful one in the home stretch of my massive travel--probably somewhere above oklahoma.  i love it!  it was the perfect reminder to me that we are all living in paradise, we all walking in beauty.  we just have to pay attention and call a thing by it's proper name.


i started my first day back in dc with this ridiculous grin on my face, wanting to share the love with everyone.  then in the afternoon, someone innocently said something that challenged me and my big bad ego. it was small but big enough that i stopped smiling and started worrying. when i realized what i was doing, the phrase that came into my mind was that i had to "double down on my happiness."  i'm not a gambler and don't even know if i am using that in that in any kind of right way.  what i mean though, is that if we are ever lucky enough to find what we are looking for, then we have to work extra hard to keep it up.  this means giving more when we start to feel stinginess invade our sense of generosity and loving deeper when the person we care about is really challenging us.  it's about paying attention, having intention and again and again, choosing who we want to be.

because it's precious--our lives and what we choose to do with them--and if we are lucky enough to know how to pay attention then we have a responsibility to keep trying for what we really want.   deep down i believe that what we all want is to access our own hearts and know that we really belong here in a meaningful way.  i've felt that a few times in my life and it's so big and whole that i know i'll spend the rest of my days headed in that direction.  and you too? maybe it takes you a week away doing yoga in the jungle to get there or maybe your life dictates that your own sense of inspiration must be found in the walk home from work each day.  regardless, know that i am there too, looking up into that sweet night sky, savoring the bigness that's there.

for a sunny monday morning...

these songs have been on my yoga playlist (and in my head) this past week.

a great instruction manual on how to say no.

love this quote from arundhati roy:

"To love. To be loved. To never forget your own insignificance. To never get used to the unspeakable violence and the vulgar disparity of life around you. To seek joy in the saddest places. To pursue beauty to its lair. To never simplify what is complicated or complicate what is simple. To respect strength, never power. Above all, to watch. To try and understand. To never look away. And never, never to forget."

stuff i like

 

the pool at dumbarton oaks (thanks for bringing us there lili, it felt like a dream)

i just dropped off adam at the metro for his annual conference in jacksonville and suddenly i have a slower week and a condo of one's own.   a part of me wants to start in on my to-do list of swiffering and finance organizing, but first i need a little time to savor a few of the lovely things that have sustained me during this past month of moving, power outages, and the art of co-habitation (which is going really well so far--i'm feeling what it means to be part of a team).


first, i must appreciate this breakfast at teaism that was the only thing i wanted to eat when it was 102 degrees and we were on our third day without power.  i came in a sweaty mess and left feeling human again.  it's in these moments that i truly understand the different levels of nourishment.


orchids at johnston's, the plant store where adam likes to go...a lot.  it's been fun having his green thumb around.



isn't this installation art at dumbarton oaks incredible?  my friends marcie and lili helped to hand tie those glass beads.  go see it if you are in dc.


i like these people a lot.


we spent our 4th of july at tricia's house, eating incredible indonesian food (happy birthday sylvia!) and watching the fireworks from the rooftop.  all of the shadowy turrets on either side made me feel like we were in mary poppins. 

and of course our new place is inspiring me! we got our couch on sunday and now it really feels like a home.  all we are missing now is a dog....

also:
beautiful cooking philosophies.  they feel a lot like mine.  we've been having some fun meals of thrown-together leftovers like panzanella with avocado and fresh corn, kimchi spring rolls, fresh mango sprinkled with cardamon for breakfast.  although i will endlessly love my roommates,  i don't miss the group house fridge with it's broken handle at all.  i've really moved up in the kitchen world.

i spent a half-hour giggling last night at these hilariously inappropriate test responses. 

i like this poem by wendell berry a lot too:

THE LAW THAT MARRIES ALL THINGS
1.
The cloud is free only
to go with the wind.
The rain is free
only in falling.
The water is free only
in its gathering together,
in its downward courses,
in its rising into the air.
2.
In law is rest
if you love the law,
if you enter, singing, into it
as water in its descent.
3.
Or song is truest law,
and you must enter singing;
it has no other entrance.
It is the great chorus
of parts. The only outlawry
is in division.
4.
Whatever is singing
is found, awaiting the return
of whatever is lost.
5.
Meet us in the air
over the water,
sing the swallows.
Meet me, meet me,
the redbird sings,
here here here here.

excited to see him in october!

looking for massage therapists around dc

does everyone around dc already know that amma is coming in just two weeks?? she'll be here from july 6-7th in alexandria. if you don't know who she is, check her out here.  she's the truest of yogis--giving is her practice. last year she hugged 32 million people around the world.  whoa!!  she goes and goes for 12+ hours without a break, hugging until every last person has been seen.  if you've never seen her before, then make some time to go for a visit (i'll give you a ride if you need one!).  even if you don't totally believe, it's still an awesome and totally interesting experience.

my own personal story is that i met amma three years ago when she came through on her annual tour.  i was curious about the hugging saint from south india but wasn't sure if i wanted to drive all the way to reston to see her.  i kept it in my mind and on her last day here, something deep within me told me to get myself out there.  my schedule freed up and a car appeared, and within a few hours i was sitting at her feet and receiving my first hug.   she hugged me in close and whispered "my daughter, my daughter, my daughter" into my ear.  during that evening, a man told me that his life changed dramatically after his first hug from amma.  looking back now, i see that within two months of that hug i completed my yoga teacher training and thai massage training soon after.  within six months, i was at her ashram in india and since then my life as a teacher and student of yoga and massage has been an amazingly joyful path.

i'm helping to coordinate the massage seva--selfless service--for her visit.  if you know of anyone who does bodywork and may be interested in giving their time to support amma's mission then send them my way at gracy.obuchowicz@gmail.com.  it'll be guaranteed good karma :)

ps  adam and i are all moved in. whew! in case you have forgotten, moving kinda sucks (especially in the dc summer) and is kind of awesome in that it's a great opportunity to start over again.  especially when you're moving in with a person that you think is pretty awesome.  i'm sure we'll hit some snags along the way, but so far, so fun :)

playdate

 

ellie, jess and i are so limber at the end of our retreat

 

the yoga house of our dreams

  

wild peacocks, need i say more? (there is one hidden in the tree)

 

view from the house deck

 

me with the dream team 

it seems like fridays are just going to be my blog posting day.  i would have missed this one because i was due to leave for chicago at 7:30pm, but with these thunderstorms rolling in my flights are delayed and i've gained a few extra hours this evening.  as long as i make it by 2pm tomorrow to photograph my friend blair's wedding, i'm happy to have them.

this gives me time to tell you that our acroyoga/thai massage retreat in winchester, va this weekend was a smashing success.  as predicted, we had SO much fun!  i have everyone who showed up to thank for that.  as my dear friend mark says 'if you bring it, it will be there" which is exactly the weekend worked.  we brought boxes of food and plans for yoga classes, but the most important part of anything is the spirit that each bright attended pulled out from the very beginning.  it reminded me that life is fun and that play can be the most effective way to grow.   it was all fueled by our amazing kitchen team--jenn and liza (with assistance from julie)--who helped me remember that you can find the perfect intersection of health and deliciousness, when you have that magic touch.   i hope to get back out there again soon so stay tuned for more yoga escapes in the fall.

in other big news, adam and i found a place!  it's not too far from where i live now, has lots of space and light (our priorities) and even has a swimming pool.  we were so sad when our first place fell through, but as everyone reminded me, life works out how it should.  when we walked into the place during the open house, it felt just like home.  luckily, we didn't scare the owner off with our enthusiasm and we move in two weeks! now i'm beginning the digging out process that must happen after living in the same place for four years.  if you would have stopped by yesterday morning, you would have found me in my pajamas at 11am, crying over a box of letters that i got while i was in the peace corps.  it was cathartic in exactly the way i needed. 

oh and why have i not watched friday night lights until now?? i started last week and i'm almost half-way through the first season.  i can't say it's making me like football anymore but i'm into these high schoolers from texas (i don't think i have ever said that before :).  i have a feeling it's going to the perfect balm for the next month of travel/moving/photography craziness.