It’s getting cold in Salt Lake City.
It’s nice to come back to a place.
It’s made me notice things I perhaps never did before or perhaps took for granted.
I’m very aware of the quiet streets of our neighborhood. The closeness of the mountains. I’m aware of how much … space there is here.
Being the week of Thanksgiving, I’d be remiss if I didn’t offer my cornucopia of gratitudes. Gratitude is perhaps one of the greatest practices we may ever do, one that I believe will enrich our lives immeasurably.
Before I get to my gratitudes, if you’re near Salt Lake City, I’d be over the moon to see you in a live class.
My in-person teaching schedule THIS week:
I’ll be teaching 3 classes on November 24th, the Friday after Thanksgiving.
Mosaic Yoga 1991 South 1100 East, Salt Lake City, Utah.
By donation
6:00 am Power Hour
7:15 am Mindfulness
8:45 am Power 1
My new regularly scheduled classes.
7:30–8:30 am Yoga For Stiffer Bodies
Saturdays beginning November 25th
Mosaic Yoga 1991 South 1100 East, Salt Lake City, Utah.
By donation
12–1 pm Vinyasa Flow
Mondays beginning December 4th
Mosaic Yoga 1991 South 1100 East, Salt Lake City, Utah.
By donation
Also, I’ll be offering a monthly Restore Yoga and Yoga Nidra Workshop on the first Sunday of each month. The next workshop will be December 3rd.
12–2 pm Mosaic Yoga 1991 South 1100 East, Salt Lake City, Utah.
I teach a weekly, live, online Yoga Nidra class each Sunday at 9 am MT
Gratitudes
I’m grateful for many things, but in particular, I’m poignantly aware of my gratitude for family.
Last Saturday, my step-dad passed away. He was a kind man—smart, reserved. He loved WWII airplanes and John Wayne movies. He had suffered with poor health for many years so his passing was both difficult and a relief. He adored my mom and sorely grieved her passing almost exactly 3 years prior to his death.
It’s a beautiful thing for families to come together during the passing of a loved one. Our family was able to come together, siblings and step-siblings, to mourn together, to laugh together, and to eat fabuloso tacos.
One memory of my step-dad …
When my mom and step-dad got married, my twin brother and I needed a car and my step-dad ponied up and GAVE us his sweet, sweet, cherry 1978 Ford Ranchero (V-8).
We called it the Gator.
Don’t ask me how but somehow my buddy, Al, figured out how to record ONTO 8-track tapes.
We were the only kids rolling around town like bosses in a vintage, 30-ft. long car-truck rocking out to The Cranberries recorded over a BTO 8-track.
No joke.
Eventually, the Gator took its last breath and when it expired (no more Cranberries on 8-track!), my grandparents gave us a little 400 cc Yamaha motorcycle to scoot around on.
On my maiden voyage of that iron pony, having never ridden a motorcycle previously, I straddled the bike, flanked by my grandpa and step-dad. They instructed me about how to let out on the clutch while turning the throttle to make it go.
Understanding nothing of the essential finesse required for a soft start in first gear on a motorcycle, I fully released the clutch which jolted the bike forward causing me to hammer down on the throttle.
Suddenly I was speeding down the driveway and blasting across the street.
It was happening too fast. I didn’t have time to think.
But soon I realized something essential: we hadn't yet covered the lesson on how to stop.
I had to improvise.
I soon learned that at least one way to stop a motorcycle was to jump the curb of the neighbors yard, drive over their lawn, straight through a flower bed and blue spruce, and then crash the bike into a fence.
That did the job. That stopped the bike.
Fearing I’d just broken my neck, my grandpa and step-dad ran but luckily all that broke was the neighbors fence. After a few pounds with a hammer and some light gardening, everything was returned to normal and I could resume my lessons on my motorcycle.
But this time, I understood to aim myself down the street. This time, I understood how sensitive the clutch was. This time, I understood the other lever opposite of the clutch was in fact a brake.
More Gratitudes
I’m grateful for my step-dad, especially for how he loved my mom.
I’m grateful for my biological dad who is still alive and with whom I’m very close.
I’m grateful for all of my family and for the chance to be close to them again after living far away for a few years.
I’m grateful to be married to such a fantastic woman. She and I grow together in the best ways and it’s an honor to partner with her.
I’m grateful for my son Elio who explodes my heart with love and teaches me gentleness, wonder, and patience.
I’m grateful for my other son, my step-son, Liam whom I’m very proud of, who is kind, wicked-smart, and sensitive.
I’m grateful for my siblings, Chris and Lucy and my step-siblings.
I’m grateful to be a teacher. I really love it.
I’m grateful for you reading this. It truly means the world to me.
What are YOUR gratitudes? Drop me a line or leave a few in the comments on my blog.
If you celebrate Thanksgiving, have a wonderful holiday. If you don’t, I hope you find an opportunity to make every day special.
Thanks for being on my team. I’m glad to be on yours.
Let’s all make this world a more loving, peaceful place.
Let’s start with gratitude.
