exhale. return to center.

sunday still life :: perfect moments

by eringoodman on May 13, 2012

Sunday Still Life is an evolving mindfulness project; an weekly invitation to pause the busy of our days, to re-center and celebrate the beauty and depth of life. If you are inspired to join in, please leave a link or share your thoughts in the comments below.

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A wise friend once whispered something to me as we savored a (very) rare quiet moment with her colicky baby.

“Life will never be perfect but there will always be perfect moments.”

Over a decade later, I still hold her words in my heart.

There was chaos and crankiness before I took these photos. And I’m pretty sure there was chaos and crankiness shortly after.

But these moments — suspended in time as we took turns soaring through the air on our new tire swing — these were perfect moments.

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Wishing you little pockets of perfect moments. Today and always.

Happy Mother’s Day, friends.

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We’re ‘Planting the Seeds’ AGAIN!!!

by eringoodman on May 10, 2012

in announcements, events

I always thought that gardens were a one shot deal. Plant like crazy in the spring, do a little watering and weeding here and there and hope for the best with the harvest in the late summer and early fall.

It wasn’t until I began volunteering (and eventually working) at our CSA Farm that I was introduced to succession planting and how seeding, tending and harvesting can be a beautiful ongoing dance throughout the growing season.

Back in March, I launched my first Planting the Seeds eCourse and over 50 beautiful women joined me to plant the seeds of their dream gardens.

We did some serious decluttering in our homes and work spaces. We got clear on what is most important to us. We had a blast with glitter and sparkles and glue sticks. We celebrated the lives we are living now, while nurturing the seeds of our dreams.

We laughed. (And cried.)

And guess what we realized?

We want to do MORE planting!

We want to stay in this process and continue supporting each other and we want to invite more heart-centered, creative women to join us.

So we’re doing it again — starting this coming Monday (5/14).

Click the image below or RIGHT HERE for all the wonderful details and to read what some of the lovely women who joined in my first class have to say about the process.

We’d love for YOU to join us!

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sometimes in my kitchen

by eringoodman on May 8, 2012

in energy management, getting organized

Sometimes I shuffle into the kitchen late at night, doing my rounds, making sure animals are where they are supposed to be and doors are locked, and I see a sink that looks like this.

I know that if I rally for 20 minutes and clean it (and the counters around it) the morning will be so much smoother.

But sometimes I don’t.

Sometimes I take a deep breath — and a photo or two — and leave it be, trusting that it will get cleaned eventually and that going to bed is the best gift I can give to myself and my family.

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Other times, despite the fact that my body and my mind are exhausted and all I want to do is collapse on the couch and watch something mindless, I take a deep breath, turn on some music and push myself to clean the kitchen.

I set up a mise en place (thank you, Cynthia Lair) so that I can ease right into making breakfast the next morning with very little thought or effort.

I trust that there will be time for mindless TV-watching another day, that I will get caught up on sleep eventually, and that having a kitchen that is “breakfast ready” is the best gift I can give to myself and my family.

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No matter which path I choose, I do my best to meet myself with gentle compassion and a soft breath — and wish the same for you, my friends.

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sunday still life :: hanging out with lily

by eringoodman on May 6, 2012

in family fun, living our dreams, still life

Sunday Still Life is an evolving mindfulness project; an weekly invitation to pause the busy of our days, to re-center and celebrate the beauty and depth of life. If you are inspired to join in, please leave a link or share your thoughts in the comments below.

Photo: Lisa Flynn

It was a spontaneous road trip.

Planned between Wednesday evening and Friday morning.

Just Lily and Mama.

Twenty four hours away to visit our friends at ChildLight Yoga and experience a little taste of the amazing-ness that is Circus Yoga.

It was in this moment — relaxing, laughing and ‘hanging out’ with my sweet girl — that the floodgates of gratitude opened and I realized just how much I needed to be here.

This is my yoga.

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See more photos from the night over on the ChildLight Yoga Facebook page (including one of me “flying” with Circus Yoga Co-Founder Erin Maile O’Keefe).

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{ breathing space } What’s your oasis?

by eringoodman on May 4, 2012

in breathing space

“We’re an everyday oasis for people and we try to keep that in mind as we interact with customers,” she says as they stroll past my table.

I am in Panera Bread (where I do most of my writing) and she, the manager, is giving a new employee a tour of the restaurant.

Her words linger in the air like perfume as they disappear around the corner.

Everyday oasis.

What a lovely thing to be.

And what a lovely thing to find – or create – for ourselves and our families.

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In the coming days I find myself thinking back to some of the beautiful little spaces that I have tucked myself into for a few quiet moments over the years – chapels, galleries, libraries, greenhouses, sun-filled cars.

It’s not the big vacations (nice as they may be) that sustain me.

It’s the little moments woven into everyday life.

A comfortable chair. A cup of tea. A good book.

Quiet moments alone or with someone dear.

Single-tasking, taking slow breaths and soaking up the moment.

Enjoying an everyday oasis.

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And you, my friends?

Do you have an everyday oasis? If so, I’d love to hear about it. And if not, can you find (or create) one as a gift to yourself in the coming days?

Love + Light…

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