Breath

"Breathing is the greatest pleasure in life." ~ Giovanni Papini

Breathing is one of those things you take for granted and don't spend much time thinking about...until you can't breathe! And then it becomes the only thing you can think about. I forgot to do my inhaler before my last run and thought, "Oh, I'm only going to be running 3 miles and I'm not planning on going fast, I'll be fine." I ran about 1/4 of a mile and started getting a bit short of breath. Then as I got closer to 1/2 mile, I decided that turning around would be a good option. By the time I made it back to my car, stopping and walking a couple of times, I was wheezing loudly and literally gasping for breath.

Two puffs of my magical inhaler later and I'm back out for the remaining 2 miles of my run, thankful and very conscious of how light I felt and easy it was to breathe.

On the rare occasions that I am in that scenario, I always think about people who lived a long time ago that had asthma or other breathing difficulties. How scary it must have been for them to have been in a situation where they couldn't breathe and not to know that an inhaler was waiting for them.

Breathing and focusing on my breath while running or meditating or just in going about my daily life is such a focusing thing to do. When I'm thinking about my breath, I am definitely "in the moment" and present. While it is definitely something I do unconsciously most of the time, breathing definitely is one of the greatest pleasure in life!

"If water derives lucidity from stillness, how much more the faculties of the mind! The mind of the sage, being in repose, becomes the mirror of the universe." ~ Chuang Tzu

This Week's Still Moments

"Non-doing has nothing to do with being indolent or passive. Quite the contrary. It takes great courage and energy to cultivate non-doing, both in stillness and in activity. Nor is it easy to make a special time for non-doing and to keep at it in the face of everything in our lives which needs to be done." ~Jon Kabat-Zinn

Still Moments ~

Witnessing an absolutely amazing sunrise

Rubbing my dog's belly

Reading The Forgotten Garden and being totally absorbed

An exhilerating cold run

Meditation time

Taking photographs of the bridge

A warm shower on a freezing cold day

Snuggling into my flannel sheets

Hugging my daughter

Watching my daughter and her friends play

Writing in my journal

Seeing a heron flying low over the water

Savoring a delicious chocolate chip cookie

Running Late

Ahhh, Wednesday... My daughter's school starts an hour late on Wednesdays so we get to sleep in a bit. I stayed up reading an extra bit last night and that's always heavenly. The only drawback of these late Wednesday mornings is that I don't have a chance to run first thing. Running later in the day is always so much more difficult. I had lunch with some of my staff today so I couldn't run then and I had a meeting until 3:00 so I couldn't run before I picked up my daughter. Then a gift fell from the sky and she got invited to play at a friend's house this afternoon. So I got my run in after all.

I started out not feeling like running at all, but I didn't want to refuse the gift of the free time so I told myself I'd run 3 miles - out and back, easy, no brainer run. Then I started off and felt sluggish at first but after a mile or so I started feeling good. So I told myself I'd run 4 miles -at the turn-around point I still felt like running so I ran on to the 5, then the 6, then the 7 mile-turn around point! And then I turned around!

The sky was very gray today, and it was colder than I thought. My ears wished for more than a running cap, but I did wear gloves so my hands were comfortable. I ran along the riverwalk and the river was gray, the sky was gray, the trees even looked gray. I saw a beautiful heron perched quietly at the edge of the water on a fallen log. I love heron. Four ducks - 2 male and 2 female - were preening in the water near the 6 mile turn-around spot. Their feathers were so shiny and bright in the midst of the gray - brilliant blue and green. They were beautiful.

So while I prefer to start my day off with a run, running late is a gift as well and a great way to end the day.

Dreary, Rainy Tuesday

"Within you is a stillness and a sanctuary to which you can retreat at any time and be yourself." ~Hermann Hesse

Still some snow out but mostly rain today. I am glad my moods are not really tied to the weather. And it's cold! I would much rather it be even colder and snowy or sunny instead of cold and rainy and gray. Ah, well...

This kind of weather makes me want to stay in and read and eat chocolate chip cookies under the "fairy lights" I have strung around my living room. I am reading The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton and enjoying it so much. I finished The Distant Hours by the same author and couldn't wait to use a Christmas gift card from Barnes and Noble to get another one of hers. So we're curled up with the pup spending the afternoon with books and feeling cozy.

Miles to Go Before I Sleep

"The woods are lovely, dark, and deep,

But I have promises to keep,

And miles to go before I sleep,

And miles to go before I sleep."

~Robert Frost

I love this poem and the imagery it conjures.

I have had the most wonderful Sunday imagineable. I got to run for a couple of hours - 12 miles or so - and enjoy the snow, the deer, the quiet, the beautiful bare woods, and yes, the stillness. Sunday mornings like this fill me to overflowing with peace and stillness to last me through the week. I ran on the road today since the trails were still very slushy, but my run was wonderful. I could tell I have been running more hills. The hills in the first half of the run are usually a bit difficult, but today I ran up them with hardly a second thought. My knees are a bit tired tonight since I've been running my longer runs on trails, but I feel really good.

The woods were still completely covered in snow. I saw more deer today than I did yesterday - several groups of mamas and younger deer and one gorgeous buck with a full head of antlers. I love to see them and watch as they see me and try to decide whether to stay or turn and run. I got quite close a couple of times today, but inevitably they turn and run and before I can blink they have literally melted into the forrest.

We got to ride horses this afternoon. A whole day spent outdoors enjoying the snow and the animals and the trees and the cold air!

Deepest Snow

"I frequently tramped 8 or 10 miles through the deepest snow to keep an appointment with a beech tree, or a yellow birch, or an old acquaintance among the pines." ~ Henry David Thoreau

Blue skies, soft white clouds drifting lazily across them, stark tree branches stretching into the heavens... and snow still covering the ground! The roads are mostly clear , but the ground is still lying under a blanket of white. So unusual for the South and so beautiful!

I took advantage of an unexpected free hour and, instead of running, I grabbed my camera and headed to one of my favorite places in the world. I LOVE trees, love them in all seasons, but there is something about the bare branches of a tree in winter that is particularly enticing to me. The sky was perfect today too, a gorgeous, washed-out blue with cottony clouds. The trees looked incredible. I tramped through the snow and took tons of pictures of my favorites and others that caught my eye.

Other than the trees, I had the great fortune to stumble upon six deer at the edge of the woods and was able to enjoy watching them for a long time as they grazed under the snow and walked about under the trees. I got some lovely pictures of them and as beautiful as the trees were, the deer shots would have to be my favorites.

Even though I didn't get to run today, that hour was so rejuvenating to me. The woods were so quiet and peaceful, the deer were beautiful, and air was crisp but not as cold as it has been. A sacred time and place.

Snowy Run!

"In the bleak midwinter Frosty wind made moan, Earth stood hard as iron, Water like a stone; Snow had fallen, snow on snow, Snow on snow on snow. In the bleak midwinter, Long ago..." ~Christina Rossetti

Yea!! I got to get out this morning. We've been in for 4 days and as lovely as it was, nothing compares to being outdoors! Being outside, running, taking some pictures, breathing the cold air - it's so exhilerating! The absolute best way to start a day! I always feel so much better when I get to do so many things that make me feel good first thing in the morning. If I don't start the day off with a run, I often don't feel as inspired during the day to do other things I love and that make me feel good- read, eat well, meditate, write, take pictures.

I ran today around 2 parks where they had the sidewalks cleared. The snow made the familiar setting look magical. I got to take lots of pictures and ran about 3 miles. Tons of birds were flying around searching for some early morning sustenance. I saw three ducks huddled by the water's edge. The pond in one of the parks was frozen solid.

My favorite part of the morning though was running on the walking bridge. The entire bridge was still completely covered with snow so it felt like I was running in winter wonderland. The sun was shining so brightly that the snow was glittering. It was absolutely beautiful! I took so many pictures. I was the only one on it this morning and wished I had spent my whole 45 minutes of time out today running back and forth across it soaking in the magic!

Do what you love!

"Go ahead and do what you love to do. Do nothing else! You have so little time. How can you think of wasting a single moment doing something for a living you don't like to do? That is not a living, that is dying!" ~ N. D. Walsch

I am blessed to have a job that pays me to do things that I love most of the time. I work at a children's museum and I get to be around kids, work with lots of other creative folks, and spend lots of time planning cool activities for children. I've worked there for 7 years so my daughter has had the museum for a second home for most of her life. She had 2 friends spend the day with her there today - since they were out of school for the snow - and they had so much fun playing in the museum and hanging out in the birthday party room on their own listening to music, playing games, coloring and drawing. It's such a great place to be!

I have had the dream since I was a child of writing books. Through the musuem, I was able to write my first children's book, Good For You: Adventures with Ginger and George. The whole experience was incredible, truly a dream come true. Then I was able to write a second book, Woodland Letters, with the knowledge I gained from doing the first book. I have several other books up my sleeve that I am going to get "out there" soon! Just thinking about them makes me so excited!

Photography is something else I have come to feel very passionate about in the last few years. I have had a great time developing different sets of "alphabet letters" found in Nature and other spots. I love the term "nature photography" and feel that is a calling of mine. I love carrying my camera along with me and spending time outside drinking in the beauty of the world and capturing it in a picture to share with others.

I have been able to do all three of these things I love "for a living" and I love how I spend my days "working" at the activities I love .

Snowy Day

"Out of the bosom of the Air, out of the cloud-folds of her garment shaken, over the woodlands brown and bare, over the harvest-fields forsaken, Silent, and soft, and slow descends the snow." ~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow


My sweet little dog was the only one doing any running today! We awoke to 8 or so inches of snow this morning and have had a marvelous day of sledding, snowball fights, snow cream eating, parcheesi playing, reading, and general laziness.

I am reading a wonderful book by Kate Morton, The Distant Hours. It is the last of my Christmas books, and I can't remember a time when I have had so many great books to read and the time in which to read them. Top favorites would have to be Eternal on the Water by Joseph Monninger, Half-Broke Horses by Jeannette Walls, and Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay. I love having time to read and having books to read that are so absorbing I don't want to put them down. These four would definitely qualify.

Ice Etchings

"No thought, no action, no movement, total stillness: only thus can one manifest the true nature and law of things from within and unconsciously, and at last, become one with heaven and earth." ~ Lao Tzu



A freezing morning run today. Everything was so quiet and still - except the birds and me! Little pools of water had frozen along the trail in these intricate patterns that were so delicate and lovely I wanted to stop and photograph each and every one. What a beautiful example of STILLNESS!

I have been thinking about the activities I incorporate into my life that bring me a sense of stillness, of peace, and I try to include these things in my days as often as I can. The main one is spending time outside - in all kinds of weather. I love the exhilerating winter cold, the wind that blasts past me and brings a rosy bloom to my cheeks. I love feeling the sunshine on my skin and the heat that makes me sweat. I love the first breath of a spring breeze, bringing with it a fresh newness, a promise of life. I love the colors of fall, the reds, golds, bronzes and the respite from the heat of summer. I love the woods and the beach, trees and water, hawks and herons, the sound of ocean waves rolling onto the shore and the rustle of leaves blowing in a
barely-there breeze.

Then there is conscious meditation time - when I am running and focusing on a mantra or feeling my body and my feet as they touch the ground and being truly in the moment or when I am sitting and quieting my mind and body and just being.

Another way I experience this stillness is through photography. Being able to capture, through the lens of my camera, a single moment that no one else is experiencing and then being able to share that moment with others. A rain drop clinging to a leaf, a bird perched on a branch for brief second in time, a glorious sunrise that takes my breath away, a deer pausing at the edge of the woods before turning and blending in with the trees. Being able to stop and truly see these moments is what stillness is to me.

Other ways of being in the moment, in the NOW are reading, writing in my journal, writing stories, being creative, spending time with my daughter. I love days when I can include most if not all of these things. On days like this, I feel such a balance, such a peace inside. Then I can bring that peace, that stillness to everything I do, every encounter I have, and hopefully that peace permeates the lives of others around me too.

Trail Runs

"Your innermost sense of self, who you are, is inseparable from stillness. This is the I Am that is deeper than name and form. " ~ Eckhart Tolle


Trail running is the best kind of running to me. I love being outside, surrounded by trees and sky. Today the sky was bright blue with patches of big puffy clouds drifting lazily across it. The silhouette of winter bare branches against that sky is one of my favorite things about this season. The weather today was in the mid-30s - just perfect! I ran about 12 miles or so, stopping occasionally to take a picture of something that caught my eye - vines wrapped around a tree, a small stream sliding over a pile of pebbles, a deer fleeing into the woods at my approach, the aforementioned dark branches framed so perfectly against the sky.


I can't imagine a better place to experience stillness than in the woods. I didn't see a single other soul for over 2 hours. I don't listen to music while I run so I can drink in all the sounds around me - the rustle of dry leaves left clinging to a branch, the groan of one tree rubbing again another in the wind, the occasional cry of a bird, the water gurgling by in a stream, my constant footsteps on the dirt path. I often repeat a mantra in my head to the rhythm of my feet - "I am divine peace" is a favorite. And I do feel that peace fill me in the woods. I can experience that innermost sense of self to which Eckhart Tolle refers. Then I bring home the stillness of the woods to draw on during my busy days, to remind me that I am the stillness.

Running into Stillness

Running into Stillness - kind of an oxymoron! And yet Stillness is my "word of the year" and running is often how I get there. So in my mind they are actually a perfect fit.

I like to choose a word that I can use throughout the year to remind me of how I want to spend my days. In the past I've chosen, Peace, Inspiration, Creativity. This year STILLNESS crept into my thoughts and remained there. My days are busy - I am a mom, a wife, a writer, a photographer, a runner. In addition to those titles, I also have a full time job. Moments of stillness can be hard to come by on a daily basis. So I would like to devote this year to cultivating STILLNESS in my days -to finding those quiet moments within myself, to creating more moments where I can just be.

I love the idea of meditating, but I often seem to have such a difficult time slowing down enough to sit and be and meditate. I saw a running shirt the other day that said, "Moving Meditation" and I thought - yes! That is often what running is and does for me. While my body is moving, my mind often experiences that stillness and quiet and peace that I crave.

In 2011, I plan to nurture my soul and spirit in many ways - spending time outside, savoring time with my daughter, reading, running, writing in my journal, taking photographs, cooking, growing a garden, playing games, talking with my husband, valuing friendships. I see all of these things as ways to create STILLNESS in my days, to be fully present in "the moment," to spend more time just being.

I'm looking forward to having a place to consolidate some of my ramblings. To place some photographs as I am exploring the art of seeing through a lens what I experience within. I want a place to keep track of my footsteps as I run, my words as I weave them together in ways that please my mind, and a spot to document my journey as I run towards that stillness and peacefulness I am cultivating in my everyday life.

I'm off and running...