I've Got Sunshine On a Cloudy Day

Today was quite a lovely Saturday. Not only was the sun shining and radiating across the blue sky all day, but I began my day with the alignment of my body, mind, and spirit as I dedicated 3 hours to myself to attend a workshop at my yoga studio that included yoga, conversation, and meditation. Each time I am at yoga I am amazed and inspired by the words of wisdom by the lovely ladies that teach the classes. This particular morning an analogy was shared that seemed so obvious, so true, yet so overlooked that I had never considered it before. While listening to this analogy of life and water, I was amazed. It seemed so fitting to my personal life and its recent events. In life we can approach things two different ways. We can grab at things with fast moving, clenched, and strong hands- expecting to catch what it is we have in sight. Or, we can slowly and cautiously bring our hands cupped together to scoop up what it is we desire. Think and envision. If we grab for water with clenched,

For weeks I've seen it. Green trees. Bright lights. Sparkling ornaments. Christmas has apparently arrived early. But I must admit that it upsets me to see the packed catalogs, toy-filled store shelves, and Christmas wish lists in full force. We have completely forgotten about the holiday with a universal message of gratitude and skipped right to the holiday of wishing and greed. We have forgotten about what we have and are only worried about what we don't have and badly desire. As someone who practices the daily mindset, "attitude of gratitude" it bothers me to see corporate America and the media focusing on what we don't have and what we can add to our own personal wishlists. Although some people view Christmas as a time to give, help, and donate, many people also view it as a chance to receive. Let's not indulge in cookies, shopping, and seasonal bargains, but rather let's overindulge in family, gratitude, and some savory home cooking. I hope that peop

Often times in life we are faced with a choice. Some, far easier than others. There are so many different mindsets we can choose to take in a situation faced with choice. We can take a chance, we can play the "better safe than sorry" card, or we can remain where we are comfortable. We can make a pro/con list, we can discuss among other experienced peers. Regardless, making a decision is never a quick task. Personally, I fear the unknown. I get anxious, nervous, and worried even for things that are out of my own control. A large piece of making a decision is the unknowingness of what will happen once your mind has been made up. Will it be the right choice? Is there no turning back? What if it's not right? While our minds race trying to answer these questions among infinite others, I try to refocus my energy to something positive. I am positive, I have a lot to be grateful for, and when faced with a choice or fear, we must remember to look on the bright side. Every situ

So, I hate bad weather. I have hated bad weather as far back as I can remember. If I know a storm is coming or I watch the sky turn from blue to darker shades of gray to black, I develop this anxiety and fear. Fear of thunderstorms, heavy wind, tornadoes, and of course, hurricanes. Not that I've been in very many hurricanes- in fact only one that I can remember and that was just last year. But the state of CT is preparing for a hard hit from Sandy tomorrow. I can assure you that I'll be in the basement hiding. Luckily the couch from my apartment is down there so perhaps I'll dust it off and set up the coffee table in front of it. I'll make myself comfortable down there! I will play any music that I can to drown out the noises from outside, and I will pray. I will pray for everyone that they are safe and using good judgement. It's better to be safe than sorry, people! We are not invincible! I already have my board games and bananagrams ready to go! And of cours

I am absolutely blessed with the best group of friends a girl could ask for. As cliche as that sounds, I am constantly reminded and always amazed at the strength of my relationships and the miles we will travel in order to spend time together. Though the miles are too distant for some, they are easily traveled by others. Through traffic, rain, appointments, and the works of life, another reunion for a good cause was had and enjoyed. Yesterday I had friends come visit from New York, Boston, and Washington DC to enjoy a night of fundraising and bar crawling together. More than just a night of drinks, I got to spend time with friends for a night that we otherwise wouldn't have spent together. It's heartwarming to see the length that my friends go to to be there for each other. I say it a lot, I constantly tell my friends how grateful I am for them, and I see reminders often of how strong our friendships are. I continue to learn about my friends through every conversation; I am alw

One of the most obvious concepts in my yoga practices as well as in life is that of balance. At times our lives seem to be constantly on the go, finding it hard to even catch a breath let alone a healthy, energizing meal. Other days the time passes slowly and the chores get done with ease, finding a nice comfortable couch to rest on in between various tasks. Everyone moves at a different speed; some prefer to take the role of the rabbit while others enjoy watching the scenery as they stroll by like a turtle. I tend to think that we can't always be the turtle, sometimes we need to chase after good things and act on impulse. We need to involve ourselves in many important activities that are both helpful and rewarding. Sometimes we need to bite the bullet, be spontaneous, and fight the urge to play it safe. (I should take my own advice, really.) I don't think that being the busiest bee in the hive is wise at all times either. In order to let our body rest and replenish, we need t

So, I might be having one of those "what am I doing with my life" days (or few days) where I decided I want to do more in my life but I'm not quite sure what . I can't tell you how much I anticipate having my own classroom and I wonder when that day will come. I picture my ideal classroom the way some girls grow up dreaming of their perfect wedding. I even imagine what my office would look like if I ever had one. Somewhere warm, cozy, and green with a fun tissue box and positive quotes and inspirational pictures framed and hung neatly on the wall or placed perfectly on a shelf. The bookcase that I can envision having in my office would be immaculate. Books would be standing up in height order, organized by category, and the cute, fun, motivational books would be stacked perfectly. In the meantime, I think about what else I can do that involves my passions of writing, working with children, teaching, being creative, finding the positive, motivational quotes, and happi

As I got into my car the other day after work, I noticed a strange sight staring back at me from the hood of my car. I recognized the creature immediately as a praying mantis and felt excitement throughout my body. These insects are so special! They are not only the Connecticut state insect, but they are such a rare sight to see. This one was mostly brown but had a bright green belly. It stood beautiful and still. I got out of my car and walked around to the side where the bug was, and as I did, I noticed something peculiar. It was as if the praying mantis was watching me- his head turned and followed me as I came closer, then he just sat there staring. We were making eye contact- my hazel eyes were locked with his big, green eyes. After a few seconds, he turned his head back and I went to get a stick, with the help of a co-worker, so that I could move the insect to safety and away from the full parking lot. He was very cooperative, and we moved him to the field. As I drove away, I tho

It was a summer Sunday and I was away from my home house sitting for some relatives. I decided to find a church to attend for my weekly mass even though it wasn't my usual comfort zone church. I came across a Catholic church down the road from where I was staying that week and looked up mass times. I arrived early, a little nervous to enter an unfamiliar setting and wanted prime, comfortable seating not too close but not too far away. I found a perfect corner and sat at the end of the pew. Mass went on as planned, and I enjoyed seeing and hearing the new sights and sounds of a different Catholic family than my usual Sunday churchgoers. During the homily I was particularly enlightened as I listened to a wonderful story that I still carry with me. The priest told a story of a man at work. One afternoon this man had a co-worker over for some office related paperwork, and as they walked into the home of the man, the co-worker noticed an odd gesture. "Why did you just touch tha

Do you ever think about making a difference in the life of a child? There are many children and young adults around us that don't have a book to read or a smiling face to play with. Some just need a positive, fun, energetic role model. If you would like to become a mentor, or to learn more about this nationwide program, read the article below, and think about volunteering with Nutmeg Big Brothers Big Sisters . It would make you smile, knowing you are making the life of a child better. Consider making a difference today . Nutmeg Big Brothers Big Sisters Seeks Mentors   "Whether you live in North Canaan, Kent, Naugatuck, Bristol - or any of the towns in between - Nutmeg wants to talk with you about becoming a mentor."  Mentoring isn't only fun, it has the potential of being the adventure of a lifetime. It isn't expensive to do. And you don't need special education or training to be one. "At the Volunteer Recognition Event we held last April

As I sit here on my couch on this absolutely perfect Sunday, I am joined with millions of other people who are tuning in to the opening Sunday of NFL football. The air is lighter outside and there are even a few pumpkin beers chilling in my refrigerator which means fall is just around the corner! This excites me because I love any and all things pumpkin, I love wearing a nice, chunky sweater on a cool evening, and I am obsessed with football. Some people seem to be surprised to find out how much I love baseball and football, among others, however, my entire family is made up of die-hard New York Giants fans, and are split between the Yankees and Red Sox. (I like the Mets, yikes.) Regardless of all that, I have a few favorite athletes that I both love and admire. About a year and a half ago I read Drew Brees' book called Coming Back Stronger , and I instantly had an admiration for him as he has struggled through adversity to get to where he is today. A lot of what Drew shares i

After a lot of careful thought, trial and error, writing, rewriting, and editing, I believe that I have come to the final conclusion of what my own personal ten commandments are. I am going to make a strong commitment to these commandments and try my absolute best to practice them when it becomes intensely necessary, but also when I'm just floating through my every day. As promised a few weeks ago, as part of my own Happiness Project, I present to you...my list. 1. Think before you speak 2. Practice patience 3. Breathe deeply 4. "This too shall pass" 5. Count your blessings 6. The world is not out to get me 7. Learn how to trust and overcome 8. Learn to compromise 9. Find the positive in every situation 10. Be proud to be me. It's a lot to read and understand. For those of you who know me, some of these might seem obvious. Others might surprise you. I have learned a lot about myself this summer, especially in the past three weeks. By reading these com

There I was. A feeling of excitement came across me but I suddenly got nervous. I felt vulnerable, exposed, unsure. In the same moment, I realized what's done is done. There was no turning back now! I had no idea that my picture and an introduction to my blog were going to be on the front page of Saturday's New Haven Register, but there it was. For all to see. I was about to hop on a train to NYC when I heard that I was in, so I picked up the paper. I was very surprised, excited, and hopeful. As my nerves calmed down and the views increased I realized I may now have a real audience and that I must fulfill this blog and keep it going in order to hook in these new folks, and some old loyal readers, for the long haul. Visions of the movie Julie and Julia came to me, where Julie is inspired by the work of Julia Child and creates a blog while cooking in her footsteps, that suddenly goes viral. Her life suddenly got busier as Julie had blogs to post, people to keep up with, and co

Yoga enforces a mind-body-spirit connection and encourages us to practice stillness and serenity, however, the correlation between yoga and life is, in fact, quite parallel. A key characteristic to maintain through the ebb and flow of life is strength. We need to be physically strong, emotionally strong, and spiritually strong time and time again, and these qualities are tested quite often. Physical strength allows us to get out of bed every morning and begin a new day. It allows us to proceed through that day with our heads held high while we learn the easy, yet challenging, task of always putting one foot in front of the other. In yoga as we learn the most basic of poses, we are told to stand tall and strong, as in mountain pose ( tadasana ). We must plant our feet and extend the crown of our heads to stand tall. Our muscles are engaged and our hands, with open palms, point down to the ground, extended, and also strong. Emotions run high through life and through the practice of y

As a lover of the English language, I enjoy every opportunity that teaches me new vocabulary. As a recent yoga fanatic with extra time on my hands, I heard a word in class the other morning that was new to me. Knowing it must not have come from the English language, I still enjoyed the sound and flow of the word. My instructor said it a few times, and explained it a few different ways each time she used it. "We want to find our prana , our life force, and get it moving in our bodies this morning" she would say. And later, "so as we breathe here let's find a way to bring prana back into our daily lives." Interesting. I was on my own hunt for happiness, for life force, while practicing peace, patience, and calmness, maybe this "prana" thing was something I would enjoy. I wanted to do some of my own research on the topic, and wanted to make sure I had the word correct. It did sound a lot like the word piranha , which would have confused me quite a bit.

Yoga has really got my mind working wonders. For one, it's a relaxer. It takes away any uneasiness I may have and it makes my mind focus on the present moment rather than useless bits of nonsense that will cause me to worry. Each class we are told to set an intention, and usually I set my intention for the health and well-being of others close to me, though including myself sometimes, too. I felt it was selfish to set an intention for only me, and therefore felt uncomfortable doing it, despite the fact that I would be the only one who actually knew what my intentions were. To go along with this mini happiness project, however, I decided to set intentions for the things that I need to work on. Spending an hour and 15 minutes of my day breathing and practicing this intention will indeed keep it active and ever-present in my mind. Though my 10 commandments are still under construction, I know what a few of them are without a doubt. Today I set my yoga meditation intention to "pra

Instant happiness. My photo from Lyman Orchard's Sunflower Maze.

Silly me. I should have known that what works for one does not work for all. Night one of my mini happiness project started as I was creating papers to place inside my beloved mason jar, and I thought to myself, Well this is funny. If I pull out the paper that says, "take a deep breath"  is that suddenly going to make me happier? Taking a deep breath is something I practice in times of uncertainty or when I'm nervous or anxious. Starting my day by taking a few deep breaths is the norm, so why will completing this task from a piece of paper provide anything differently?If I pull out on that says, "call Christina" am I suddenly going to be happy and my job for the day is done?" The efforts that I placed on the cards would be nice acts of kindness or chores or reminders for myself, but that's about it. Remix! Writing daily tasks on a piece of paper is not going to solve my problem of being bored for three weeks or feeling anxious; they are not going

I would consider myself happy by any definition of the word. I am successful, I have a loving family and loving friends, I have had wonderful life experiences. I would consider myself grateful, positive, and friendly. Not positive every minute of every day, not over the top friendly, but enough so that I am pleased with my life at the current moment. Do I have a lot more to look forward to? Of course. Am I where I want to be at this point in my life? No. But challenges are placed in front of us to see how hard we fight for them. The walls are built for us to break down. Every setback is a setup for a comeback. This is not my first rodeo. I have figured out that if something doesn't come to me, I must go to it. My summer job ended yesterday and I have to be back at work August 29th. This means there are a few weeks in between now and then. Given certain characteristics of myself and knowing how easily bored and anxious I can get, I have decided to create a short and sweet happ

It's been a while. Hello, blog. You keep me sane yet somehow I manage to ignore you. I apologize. What is it about the written word that I find so attractive? When some people can use such a grand vocabulary and others can speak so eloquently, I find it easiest to speak in my average voice with average words, but I prefer to put them on paper. Is that because I like my handwriting? Of all things to be complemented on in my lifetime, my handwriting is one that I hear the most often. One of my most favorite compliments of all time came in creative writing class during junior year of high school- "Your handwriting should be a font on the computer." I feel as though I was born to be a teacher just because I create my letters the correct way; they reach from headline to baseline when necessary and even dip into the basement when needed. Many people have wonderful handwriting, but not that can be easily read by a child. Our squiggles and dots and lines come together in a wa

The day was much like today. The weather- quite similar. The trees stood still but the rain fell hard from the cool, gray sky. Not much of the Spring day we envision when we think of May, but the weather one year ago was just like today, though the mood was much more uplifting. It's been exactly a year since I walked across that stage for the second time, and shook the hand of the president of St. John's, as he handed me my (empty) diploma. My real diploma arrived in the mail a few weeks later, stating in fancy calligraphy, "Elizabeth V. Slot Master of Science in Education." Those were some words. Master. Master of Science. Education. They fit together nicely and flowed off my tongue quite fluently. It was such a happy occasion. I was relieved to be done, excited to see what came next, proud of my friends and peers. Of course I was sad to leave the place that had been my home away from home for six years, but every new beginning comes from some other beginning's