Horse magic.

Over the weekend I ended up taking a leisurely drive, alone, through upstate New York. Beside bright green hills and under tree branches laden with leaves the rough worn road snaked its way.

For a moment I was lost among the glittering light as it spotlighted my path and the clouds formed hands of mist that rapped at my windows. At some point I wasn’t even sure I knew where I was headed.

None of this mattered when I rounded a curve and saw a few horses grazing on a pasture.

I could have driven on but I had no where to be so instead I pulled over to enjoy the view, the horses and the beautiful afternoon.

This would have been enough. I could feel my body relaxing, my mind resting. Peace with a capital P enveloped me.

But there was one more horse. A white mare.

She noticed me then went back to grazing, seemingly uninterested in her visitor. I watched her. Time floated and was effortless. And slowly, she grazed her way towards me…

I saw again–as if for the first time–the magnificence of horses. It made me think of my mother–she has a passion for horses and has always loved to ride. It was her enthusiasm that had encouraged me to seek out horse-back riding lessons as a kid. Memories I adore.

While the white one pretended she didn’t care whether I was there (and inched her way closer still) I enjoyed watching the black and brown horses in the distance nuzzle and groom one another. I’ve never seen horses do this before but it wasn’t surprising. It reminded me of that story of the dinner tables in Heaven and Hell. In both places each person must use a fork so long that they cannot feed themselves from the bounty. In Hell, they starve for their selfishness. In Heaven, they feed one another and feast.

And then with a whisper, the mare approached me!

First she inspected my shoes and helped her self to a lick. Blue shoe lollipop anyone?

Then, I did the first thing that came to mind and grabbed some grass to feed the lady. Only as her lips were baring down on my flesh did I think of how quickly she could have bitten off my hand like a dandelion head! But those riding lessons came back quick and I remembered “feed palm flat!” And so I did.

She seemed to like her “treat.” Or rather, maybe she was hoping she could taste my iPhone next?

We spent some time together until it seemed I had fed her enough of what she could get on her own. And with that she turned and left. But not before flashing a grin goodbye.

Quite an afternoon! I’m so grateful for the inspiration to stop and enjoy what was so clearly a gifted moment. It was nothing short of magic.

[Photos edited with the new #ABeautifulMess app!]

This day. A blessing.

Today is the day.

This one.

This dawn, this sunlight, this bird song.

This one.

What have you been waiting for? My dear, it is today that you have been waiting for. Arise, awaken, delight – the day is here.

Greet your morning with the fresh possibilities of your imagination.

Give thanks for your memories. Send love to the lessons that live in your history.

Treasure the promise that a new day brings – that yet another and another and another new dawn will beckon you from your slumber.

Each awakening a remembrance. Each bright light of dawn a call to come closer to your Source.

You are made of star dust and sunshine, this we know. So treasure your humble connection to this place and time. This is the one chance you’ve been waiting for.

This day. Praise it, be glorified in it, fill yourself with the Love of it’s magnificence. For a new day starts tomorrow.

Don’t wait any longer.

 

 

Best Practices for Working From Home

I’ve now been working (almost) full time from home for three full months. And it’s taken just as long to get into a groove. Yes, work is work is work. It takes focus and discipline and passion plus some skill and maybe even some talent and you’ve got yourself a fine job. But working from an office and working from home are two different beasts entirely.

It took me a couple months to find the right space in the house to work from. I’ve used two “desks” and three different desk spaces. I’ve worked varying hours, trying to find the new rhythm that suits my needs and my company’s needs best.

Recently, I had an illuminating conversation with a team member about this topic. She’s been a work-from-home professional for more than 20 years. In our conversation, I shared with her how surprisingly difficult it was to find a satisfying routine in my new work life and that I’d only recently discovered some best practices. Her reply was encouraging and reassuring as many of the insights I’d gleaned over the recent months matched her tips. And I thought perhaps others of you out there working from home might find the same tips likewise useful.

1. Designate a workspace. This is tip number one for a reason. If you don’t have a proper working space, the job will be that much harder. Not only do you need the right tools around you for convenience, you also need the right set-up for your physical well-being. I had to stop  using the desk in our living room because it was too tall for me I was beginning to experience back pain. Now that I’m working on the dining room table instead, the back pain has disappeared.

If you can, try to designate a location in the house as the workspace. Just like you have a dining room for eating and a bedroom for sleeping find a location that is reserved for work. When you enter that space your mind will become accustomed to focusing on work tasks. And on the flip side, when you leave that work center, your mind can leave work behind as well.

2. Don’t sit all day! I can’t emphasize this enough. Sitting for 7+ hours is not only plain unpleasant, it can also be harmful to your wellbeing over the longterm. I do my best to plan breaks throughout the day where I make tea or go for a walk or simply stretch. Not only does this feel good for my muscles, it also helps my clear my mind. When I take a quick break from staring at my computer screen filled with spreadsheets and emails it’s as if I’ve hit reset on my brain and creativity can flow.

3. Be done when you’re done. I set strict hours with myself and do my best to keep them. If I didn’t it would be too easy to “just finish this one last email” and “clear the inbox.” But in a business like the one I’m in, the inbox is never clear for long. By the time I’d finish that last crop another few would come in. Suddenly, a couple minutes could turn into hours! Be mindful of your time and this goes for taking breaks too.

A friend who also works from home relayed to me that last year she had gotten into a bad habit of working straight through her lunch hour. It gave her more time at the end of the day but she wound up starving and grouchy from low blood sugar. Breaks are important not just for you personally, but they also affect your productivity and performance. Work when you work and break when you break. For this reason I try to take my breaks outside. And with the weather warming up it’s all the more enticing to do so! I walk around my neighborhood,or get a snack from the bakery up the street or a coffee at a local cafe.

4. Find ways to be social. It’s easy when working from home to suddenly find yourself living the hermit life. Often I don’t have to leave the house for days at a time. Usually, I enjoy a bit of solitude, but not being social for long periods can be downright lonely! I make an effort to first just get in the company of other people – going for walks or to the coffee shop. Planning to meet a friend for lunch is good too, though I don’t have too many friends to have lunch with out here, so I try to plan dates for the weekend when I have time to make it to the Berkshires or they can come here. This past weekend a few friends came out for a late brunch and to window shop. If your time allows it, joining social or networking clubs can be great for you and your business. I’m an active member of a Toastmasters club and I’ve come to enjoy our bi-monthly meetings for the social aspect as much as for the personal growth.

5. Reflect on the good stuff. Life can get busy and overwhelming for all of us no matter where we work or what we do for a living. The best tip I can offer is to frequently make lists of what you love about working from home or what feeds you about working from home. Consider what inspires you… Anything that brings good feelings is worth writing down. Reminding ourselves about the benefits of where we are right now will help us appreciate the blessings of our situation. Gratitude expands the good. Always.

Things I Love Thursday: Straight Cooking, Snow, and Southwest Airlines

Spring Flowers (via)

It’s been a whirlwind friends. How is it already March?! The winter months are slowly fading away and spring is just around the bend. Ok, so it looks like a snow globe world outside my window as I type this but it will pass. And at least it’s snowing. The drab drizzle of rain is what gets me down. Snow, on other hand, is magical and miraculous.

Other magic from this week…

Reading Simeon’s new blog posts over at Straight Cooking. It warms my heart to have a blogger boyfriend! And his posts are really good. Check ‘em out! ♥ Lots of long phone calls with old friends ♥ And rather scandalous updates!  ♥ Making fun plans for my California visit ♥ A loooong over-due hair cut ♥ Receiving surprise airline reservation emails from Jen ♥ Baking. Always baking. ♥ Brewery tour with new friends ♥ Jeff’s home brew ♥ Emails from blog admirers ♥ Going gluten-free (yet again) and feeling much more focused at work ♥ “Except for being a 5’2 Jewish white girl, I totally look like Beyonce!” ♥ Dreaming of a spring garden… ♥ Birthday plans ♥ Trading riddles with an 8-year old ♥ Enjoying a new loose leaf tea ♥ Simeon’s 3-minute whining rule (I am allotted 3 minutes to whine about whatever is bothering me and then I have to relax). It totally works! ♥ Everything Leah posts on her Facebook page. ♥ #mileaday ♥ RadioLab ♥ It’s almost the weekend! What’s not to love about that? Have a good one…

xo

Friendsgiving

Over the weekend I attended (what I shall deem) the first annual Friendsgiving of a sweet (also renegade, uproarious, gorgeous) group of freinds from the Berkshires. Everyone brought something yummy to share, the wine was flowing, and the laughter was contagious. Even some non-human family members were in attendance. Im so grateful this year so many profound moments, small moments, blessings, lessons and more. But especially, for the community of people I have come to know and love in this little corner of the world.

Thanks again for being the hostess with the most-ess Becca

Dinner theater?

Getting our greens on!

“Now where did I put that dog?”

It took many hands to make this a memorable meal…

Sideshow antics

Full house

So much deliciousness right there.

Hi, George!!

Cheers!

xo

Natanya

Notes from the Universe

If you’ve watched the movie The Secret, as millions of people have, then you’ve probably heard of Mr. Mike Dooley. For over a decade Mike has been sending out daily emails (about 2,000!) to a growing following with reminders of life’s abundance and blessings. I’ve been receiving these daily emails  since 2008 and they always make me smile or giggle–especially seeing a note from “The Universe” in my inbox every morning. And that really is the best part–Mike writes these notes from the perspective of the Universe making each reminder especially soothing, funny, and memorable. Here’s an example of the kinds of notes he sends:

Before this odyssey ever began, Natanya, there was you, your best friends,
and wide-eyed curiosity among you about who would be the first to leap,
the first to forget, the first to kiss, the first to tell, the first to fall,
the first to get back up, and the first to remember that
it all began with a dare: to love in spite of it all.

Is that you, Mergatroid?
The Universe

I remember the glint in your eyes, Natanya… all three of them.

As you can see, Mike’s got a terrific sense of humor, which is why I was absolutely delighted when I was asked to assist his workshop at Kripalu last weekend. His material on Playing The Matrix, as he calls it, was phenomenal and definitely put many aspects of manifesting into new light.

I appreciated most his personal story of triumph and his long list of tools for change. Mike’s a real professional, an awesome speaker and so, so charming. It was a pleasure getting to know him just a little bit better and being among over 100 other like minded folks for the weekend. Such fun.

Me and Mike Dooley at Kripalu

If you’re inclined, visit his website at www.tut.com to sign up for the notes. Best part is they are totally free!

As Mike would say, “Woo hoo!”

Natanya