Buttercupchappati Chronicles

do it anyway

are all the planets retrograde this week?

there are lots of little challenges going on, aren't there ...

and the Easter full moon is making us all crazy as usual.

That's why we thank the divinities for the small graces, the little smiles and the occasional treats that fall from the sky into our laps and distract us from chocolate and self pity.

This week I am so very grateful for Lenny Kravitz in The Hunger Games, why wouldn't you be?

In fact we should all be more grateful for Lenny, more often.

And, I am also grateful for, no wait, Lenny is enough!

 

 

Being grateful

Today everything points towards gratitude.

That's not a bad compass point to head towards.

Things on Facebook, web sites I regularly visit, emails, okay okay I am paying attention.

The last weekend at the MindBodySpirit festival was huge for me on so many levels. It was a big endeavor to get ready for, it was a substantial investment of time and money, it was a leap of faith that the time was right to get out there and really promote myself as a practitioner of Tibetan medicine. There are family things going on, it was a big deal.

And it was fantastic. I am sure that there will be follow up connections made, I talked to lots of people, gave treatments, gave brochures out, all that stuff. But the big lesson in gratitude and one that still has me smiling was the first person on the first day.

I have worked much of my adult life in retail so when people come up and say "do you remember me" it's always a tricky moment. Usually after a minute I do recall them, but not always. (Sorry guys! I am sure you are all memorable and unique, its my brain that lets it all down.)

So this lovely lady is standing in front of me and we are doing the do you remember me thing, when in a flash I do recall her.

And she has something so beautiful to tell me.

Many years ago she came into my shop when she had really hit rock bottom, I won't go into the details, it's not my story to tell. But I did the best I could at the time to help her out. So here she was in front of me, so excited to have found me again to be able to say thanks and to let me know that she was doing okay now.

And what I felt was gratitude. Grateful that she had taken the time to tell me, and grateful that I had been in a position to help her.

It was a lovely affirmation that I was meant to be there, and with gratitude, I took it as a blessing for the next three days.

There was plenty to be grateful for last week, my husbands support in the whole venture, my friend who shared the stand and the costs with me, my son who came and worked on the stand with us, my friends who have given me so much encouragement, my teachers who had got me to this point. Starting to feel like an Oscar speech...

But it was this exchange that really put me into this feeling. Wonderful.

a new one

Two thousand and eleven, a year well launched with friends and family, laughter, dancing, singing, momo's, Texas chili, margaritas and The Rocky Horror Picture Show on dvd.

I suspect the horror part was all of us doing the time warp some time around midnight, but anyway...

It was cozy - and that is one of my main words for this coming year. I want to snuggle in and read, study, work, create, be myself; with occasional outings for travel where I do all that, just in a different place.

Key words for 2011:

reflection

meditation

mantra

reading

study

music - really listening, not just playing in the background

healing - myself and my patients

art

writing

solitude

gratitude

poetry

a dharma year
a catching up year
a year where I return to Amdo - always!
a year where I say hello to myself, everyday

well - resolution comes from resolve, so let's just see.
Intention is everything, I tell everyone else that! Best listen to my own awesome advice.

Happy new year everyone!
Peaceful, safe, prosperous and brilliant.

in the mailbox this morning

Howard Zinn: “An optimist isn't necessarily a blithe, sappy whistler in the dark. To be hopeful in bad times is not just foolishly romantic. If we remember those times and places where people have behaved magnificently, this gives us energy to act and at least the possibility of sending this spinning top of a world in a different direction.”

This is courtesy of gratefulness.org a magnificent group of people that I have raved on about before, and will do again. Go and visit this site, you will surprise me if there is not something there that inspires or comforts you or just makes you happy and connnected.

Go forth, and rejoice that the internet is not just bad news, you tube, shoppping and porn!

so, now I get it about the Birkenstocks

I never understood Birkenstocks.

European backpacker types and aging hippies wore them, until they fell apart seemingly.   Often, most un-attractively, with socks. The whole socks and sandals thing was a crime against nature when I was a young thing. Worse than hairy legs under pantyhose. And why was such an unappealing shoe so expensive? Really?

But, when I first visited Kathmandu a few years back I started to re-evaluate the whole Birkenstock thing. Everyone was wearing them, especially all the monks. Why? Because there were cheap knock off's for sale on every corner in Boudanath.

How bad can they be I thought. $19 as opposed to $150 at home, hey give me two pairs, I'll go crazy.

Oh I did go crazy. Those things tore my poor feet apart. There was no way this footwear was ever going to not hurt me. I threw one pair away while there, and tried and tried with the remaining pair when I returned home. But no, these shoes were mean.

As you can imagine, this did nothing for my relationship with the brand.

Until, I was getting my gear ready for this last trip and and the voice in my head spoke (the same one that said, yes I know you have asked people to kill you if they see you in a pair of crocs, but have you tried those puppies on? They are comfortable! Forget about ugly!).

And as I was close by an outlet place, thinking about the hot humid weather I was heading for, and how a girl can't wear her hiking shoes all the time, I let the voice sway me.

Half price set up a wave of panic, but I re-assured myself that these were actual Birkenstocks, from the proper Birkenstock making place. And to make me even happier, the half price ones were red patent leather. How could I not.

I wore them around home for a few days, gingerly, remembering shredded feet in Nepal. So far so good.

So into the bag they went and I am GLAD. These shoes are awesome! Comfort plus, everyday it was a pleasure to slip my toes into them. Light, soft, make-me-happy because they are red. I am never looking back. Humidity did not phase them, walking over all terrains did not phase them. Thank you to the shoe deities who made them so.

In the photo here, you see me with the sartorially splendid Ngakpa's from Jawa village. While my away from home for too long bedraggled self cannot compare, just look at those shiny red shoes, those are happy feet!

yes, it's me

I love Pema Chodren, she is like a beautiful dharma grandmother, even her voice brings you comfort!

This is my launching place for 2010.

I needed this reminder that all the tools, the wisdom, the advice, and the knowledge I need to navigate this coming year, are already in my life.

My practice room/meditation room /office/girlcave also has my library of dharma books. And Pema is well represented in there.

Just looking at those books brings me comfort sometimes.

I know that whenever I need it, I can just take one down, and words will pour over me in a stream of compassion, learning and even - maybe - a glimpse of enlightenment. And when it is kindness that I need, and understanding, and a hand over the rough bits (plenty of those), and a gentle nudge that all the teachings I need are in front of my face every day - then Pema Chodron is the one I reach for over and over.

So many times I bless the friend who pointed me in that direction, and have passed the blessing on to many others, as we should.

Thank you Pema, may all of your aspirations be swiftly realised, may you live long, happily and well.

To Write Love On Her Arms

I can't say it any better than they can, so:

"MISSION STATEMENT:

To Write Love on Her Arms is a non-profit movement dedicated to presenting hope and finding help for people struggling with depression, addiction, self-injury and suicide.  TWLOHA exists to encourage, inform, inspire and also to invest directly into treatment and recovery.

VISION:

The vision is that we actually believe these things…

You were created to love and be loved.  You were meant to live life in relationship with other people, to know and be known. You need to know that your story is important and that you're part of a bigger story.  You need to know that your life matters.

We live in a difficult world, a broken world.  My friend Byron is very smart - he says that life is hard for most people most of the time.  We believe that everyone can relate to pain, that all of us live with questions, and all of us get stuck in moments.  You need to know that you're not alone in the places you feel stuck.

We all wake to the human condition.  We wake to mystery and beauty but also to tragedy and loss.  Millions of people live with problems of pain.  Millions of homes are filled with questions – moments and seasons and cycles that come as thieves and aim to stay.  We know that pain is very real.  It is our privilege to suggest that hope is real, and that help is real.

You need to know that rescue is possible, that freedom is possible, that God is still in the business of redemption.  We're seeing it happen.  We're seeing lives change as people get the help they need.  People sitting across from a counselor for the first time.  People stepping into treatment.  In desperate moments, people calling a suicide hotline.  We know that the first step to recovery is the hardest to take.  We want to say here that it's worth it, that your life is worth fighting for, that it's possible to change.

Beyond treatment, we believe that community is essential, that people need other people, that we were never meant to do life alone.

The vision is that community and hope and help would replace secrets and silence. 

The vision is people putting down guns and blades and bottles.

The vision is that we can reduce the suicide rate in America and around the world.

The vision is that we would learn what it means to love our friends, and that we would love ourselves enough to get the help we need.

The vision is better endings.  The vision is the restoration of broken families and broken relationships.  The vision is people finding life, finding freedom, finding love.  The vision is graduation, a Super Bowl, a wedding, a child, a sunrise.  The vision is people becoming incredible parents, people breaking cycles, making change. 

The vision is the possibility that your best days are ahead. 

The vision is the possibility that we're more loved than we'll ever know. 

The vision is hope, and hope is real.

You are not alone, and this is not the end of your story."

http://www.twloha.com/vision/

almost forgot

This mornings post was my 250th blog entry here on TypePad! Whee for me!

And another gratitude entry:

My beautiful clients who give me far more than I give them. Two ladies today, one new and just delightful, and another retuning who has been so supportive of the work I do, and who came with a lovely surprise gift for me.