Write Me a Letter: A Lost Art

What a lot we lost when we stopped writing letters. You can't reread a phone call.

*quote by Liz Carpenter*

In October 2010, the Carnegie Center celebrated the National Day on Writing by bringing back the lost art of letter-writing. Volunteers set up shop at bookstores, coffee shops, schools, libraries, and restaurants across Lexington, inviting patrons to write a letter then send it either to a Kentuckian serving abroad or to a friend/family member. With over 1,000 letters written and sent abroad, we were all reminded of the power of a real, thoughtful, tangible, pen-and-ink, handwritten LETTER.

Well, fast forward to Tuesday of this week. I opened my mailbox (my real mailbox - the one outside my front door) to find this...

It's a letter! For me! From a super wonderful out-of-state friend. I was so very excited :) I had a big smile on my face even though no one was around to see it. I almost didn't want to read the letter because I wanted to prolong that Christmas-morning feeling as long as possible. But of course I dove right in. My fingers tore open the envelope and felt the smoothness of the paper. And seeing my friend's very own handwriting allowed more of her awesome personality to shine through than would have in an email or text. Not to mention the content of the letter - part happy, part sad, part update, part curiosity, all honest and touching. Ahhh, the whole thing was just bliss. And if you think I'm exaggerating my excitement, think again. I truly was beyond happy (still am). In fact, the letter's still sitting - placed neatly back in its envelope - on the bar in my kitchen. It will probably stay there for weeks reliving the excitement, until one of you sends me another letter and I'll start all over again :)

inspire + explore : Write a letter. Now! It doesn't have to be long (but boy, that 3-pager was nice to read). And it doesn't have to be on fancy paper, either. Send it to someone who lives in another state. Or city. Or house. Bonus: Somewhere in the letter, perhaps as a footer, include your location (city, state, country). My friend did this, and in the case that someone in the next generation(s) runs across it - which is likely considering I tend to hold on to things like this - they'll be able to make a geographical connection. How cool is that? Now let's get to work bringing back this lost art! 

A Sunday Saunter to the Market

There's nothing I love more than delighting in food from local grocery stores, health food stores, co-ops, and farmers' markets. It truly tastes better than the other stuff. But here's the truth: I go to Kroger more often than not. I was raised in a home that valued the art of saving money just as Chinese tea houses value the art of drinking tea. When I can go to Kroger and spend $30 on a basketful of groceries, I find it hard to justify $50 on a similar basket of yummier groceries from Whole Foods. Sometimes I can - and I do - but it's something I am always struggling with. Every time I shop at Kroger, I feel like I'm killing a local farmer. And this guilt just doesn't mesh well with my non-homicidal lifestyle. Since my house is dangerously close to the co-op and the Sunday Farmers Market (5-minute walk), I'm trying to get better at frequenting those places that I actually want to support.

This morning, I enjoyed the short walk to the Lexington Farmers Market for the first time since the fall. I grabbed my Timbuk2 and my bike. Realized I needed air in a tire. Didn't feel like pumping it, so I took it as a sign to walk. Sauntered out the front door, down the street, through the greenspace at the end of the road. Then I trekked through a little bit of mud...

...through the chain-link gate that divides the greenspace from the back parking lot of a shopping center....

beautiful view, right?

...down the non-pedestrian friendly streets of Southland drive...

...through the parking lot reserved for the Oleika Temple Gun Show (what?!)...

 ...but then I arrived! Enjoyed the sights, smells, and sounds of the market. Fresh food. Smiling faces. Dogs, kids, and families. Young boy serenading the shoppers with a beautiful rendition of "Hallelujeh." And best of all - the beginning of farmers' market means spring is here and summer is approaching. Ahhh. Love it!

my bounty, all that would fit in the timbuk2
 (cheeses from good foods co-op, although LFM does carry kenny's cheese, too)

inspire + explore : Check out localharvest.org to find a Farmers' Market, CSA Farm, or local grocery near you. Frequent these places or buy a share of a CSA, and see if you notice how much better the food tastes. And it's NOT expensive, despite what the old wives tales tell you. 

One more thing! Lexingtonians... for an added adventure, check out the Homegrown Authors booth at the Saturday Farmers Market (downtown in the Cheapside Pavillion). Carnegie Center, Morris Book Shop, and Lexington Farmers Market are joining forces once again to bring you books by Kentucky's own "homegrown" writers! 

Time Tips for Busy Bees

We live longer than our forefathers; but we suffer more from a thousand artificial anxieties and cares. They fatigued only the muscles, we exhaust the finer strength of the nerves.

*quote by Edward George Bulwer-Lytton*

While I know people "back in the day" fatigued more than just their muscles, I must say I think this quote has a lot of truth. Today we seem to invite artificial stresses into our lives - rushing home to watch a particular TV show, eating too much fast food then feeling sick, working to the point of exhaustion (for many of us, this translates to sitting in front of a computer until our eyes are bloodshot) and leaving too little time to sit on the front porch and breathe. We don't really need these stresses. They aren't natural and very rarely, if ever, do they benefit us in the long run.

me hard at work on a sunny monday afternoon.

Working to exhaustion and staring at a computer screen - that's what's bringing me anxiety right now. I'm in the midst of a huge project at work that will likely keep me super-duper-uber busy for at least the next week. I brought some of it upon myself (procrastination), but alas, here I am. And because I must finish this brochure by a deadline for the thousands of patrons who will read it for months to come, I realized I should at least find some way to enjoy my life (or manage my time) while completing the project. So you can imagine how I tuned in when one of our VISTA members shared some valuable information at our meeting this week - adapted from a time management workshop she recently attended. Here are a few tips that resonated the most with me (working folks, listen up) :

*make a time map for the whole day (be realistic: if a project will likely take an hour, don't be ambitious and set aside 45 minutes...set aside the full hour)
*do the stuff you're not excited about first (this is tough for me)
*do not keep email open throughout the day (this is even tougher)
*follow the 40-20 rule (40 minutes of dedication to a project followed by 20 minutes of email/phone calls...brilliant)
*in juggling all of your duties/chaos/stress, do not forget to take care of yourself (visit my BFF Mary Catherine Starr's blog to see how she took care of herself with a mini-staycation!)
*my own addition to the list above: change your environment. if you've hit a wall and can't concentrate, stay on task, or think of ideas, move to another empty office nearby or even work outside. new surroundings help me re-energize and re-focus!

I think I'll try to spend this weekend consciously releasing some of these self-induced anxieties. I need to be on my A-game in front of my computer Monday morning to finish the task at hand!

inspire + explore : I totally think of myself as a multi-tasker (visit MC's blog again now:) ). But when I really step back and analyze my productivity, I acknowledge that I am much more productive when I complete a report without distractions. I stop what I'm doing every single time that outlook bubble pops up with a new piece of mail. I reply to the non-important, non-urgent email because "it will only take a minute." Then it takes me another few minutes to get back into the groove of my project. I'm going to try to apply the 40-20 rule to my work day, starting Monday morning. Depending on your work style, place, and needs, choose one (or several) of the above tips to apply to your own busy life. On which will you focus? Anyone have any other tips?

Raindrops Keep Falling on My Headstand

Lexingtonians: Can you believe the rainstorm last night/this morning? As much as I love sunshine, I must admit I totally adored that rain. Non-Lexingtonians: Feeling sad you weren't here to enjoy it? Imagine rain that pours down. And keeps pouring down. And doesn't stop. Now, it's like you were there, right?

breathtakingly amazing storm : tulum, mexico, 2010

Yes, it was tough to roll out of bed at 5 am when my warm+soft bed was calling my name, within earshot of the falling rain. But once I made it through the hazy getting-ready-phase and the eerie driving-downtown-phase, I felt comforted again as I arrived at my early morning yoga home. Nestled upstairs in the attic, we all helped each other greet the stormy day with breath, movement, and smiles. Since we took spring break week off last week, I eased the yoginis into their practice with a gentle sun salutation that my fabulous yoga-teaching sister introduced me to this weekend. (If you happen to live in Athens, take her classes at Rubber Soul Yoga Revolution and The Yoga Shala. She's amazing.) Mrs. D's cat even joined us for the practice with a few super impressive cat stretches and downward facing dogs cats. And the best part of all, I never even got around to pressing "play" on the CD player. The rain was our music. And its voice was better than Adele's, Elisa's, and Snatam Kaur's combined.

inspire + explore : During the next rainstorm/hailstorm/windstorm in your area, turn off all other noise (TV, radio, washing machine, voices) and soak it in. Let it be your music. Fall asleep to it. Just sit with nature's voice. Or if you're just craving it right now and can't control the weather (wait, you can't?!), settle for second best and listen to nature sounds on a CD or a YouTube video like this one. Cheesy, yes, but nature sounds are amazing no matter the source. Trust me. I listened to ocean sounds on my iPod all the way to Mexico; never once did it let me down, nor did it cheapen the power of the actual ocean waves. Ahh, music to my ears. :)

Read, Talk, Love : Building a Book Club

I'm très excited about joining a new book club next month! Talking about books with interesting gals who also love books... how fun is that? I can't wait to see what cool literary discussions come of the meetings. Not to mention the food, company, and inevitable off-topic conversation. Thanks to the lovely ladies who dreamt of this and are actually making it happen!

comic credit : toothpaste for dinner

In this book club, our first selection is The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery. While I don't want detailed reviews/opinions just yet (I don't like spoilers!), I invite you to grab the book and read along with me. Then, post-May 18, you're welcome to share your comments :)

inspire + explore : Interested in starting your own book club? My friend Oprah (you may have heard of her) has her own ridiculously popular "book club" of sorts. Check out her website for tips on initiating your own group. If you don't want to create your own club, just start asking around in your area to find out what already exists. Happy reading!

Lap Zebras + Bulldogs

Grrr.

Sorry, I took a little blogging hiatus. But I just returned last night from a few days visiting my sis in Athens (Georgia, not Greece). As always, the trip was so, so fun. We hung out with several Uga statues in downtown Athens (above), and our wild miniature schnauzer had his annual staring contest with the stone-cold pup. The mini schnauz took home the gold, of course. Here's a little more of what we did...

We walked through Dudley Park and stopped for a photo op by the train trestle featured on the rear cover of R.E.M.'s debut album Murmur.

eight belles (sarah's lap zebra)
licks her face

We took photos of Sarah with her petite lap zebra (our version of the petite lap giraffe). It doesn't take much to entertain the Whitakers!




We brunched with some of Sarah's super awesome friends. Dougie prepared omelets that featured spinach, bok choy, onions, and other yumminess. I sacrificed part of my thumb preparing waffles. After the burn incident, I handed the waffle-ironing over to Sarah who finished the job with grace and ease. Fabulous meeting my sister's very wonderful friends.

We made green smoothies. This batch contained:
*spinach                      
*mango  
*frozen bananas          
*plain soy milk

We "snuck" J.J. into the Botanical Gardens and he played dead in Dad's arms. He drew us a lot of unwanted attention, but it was well worth it because he got to enjoy the gardens with us!

at the State Botanical Gardens of Georgia

We took timer photos, thanks to my camera which allows 3-in-a-row timer pics. For some reason, I have very few photos of all 4 of us (sorry JJ, I mean 5 of us) together. Sarah and I are on a mission to change this.


All in all, a totally perfect trip with my family. I am so thankful to live so close to my parents, and to have a family that values visits to the faraway sister. Although I definitely wish she still lived closer to me, it made me so happy to meet some of her treasured friends and to see more of that cool town. I can certainly see why she loves her life as an Athenian. Thanks sister, mother, father, and dog/brother, for a wonderful long weekend!

inspire + explore : Make plans to spend time with your family & friends. Take silly photos together. Do ridiculous things (my family and I had an intense contest to decide which fabric we should use in recovering Sarah's folding chairs). Make memories. Enjoy the little moments with the people who matter. You won't regret it.

Binding Body & Mind

(Unrelated note: As I was typing that title, I realized "binding" is a cool blend of the words "mind" & "body." Coincidence? I think not. But that's beside the point.)

Anyway, transition to post topic. I've always loved one-legged king pigeon pose / eka pada rajakapotasana. I was recently looking through my journal from last year, and in April 2010, I pasted in a beautiful image, swirling with colors, depicting a woman in a variation similar to this. This piece of inspiration, simply clipped from an ad in Yoga Journal, was just exploding with openness through the chest, heart, body, and emotion. At the time of this journal entry, I could bend my back leg and hold it with my arm. I was struggling with a fear, however, of taking both hands off the mat to reach for a bind. It didn't take long for me to muster up the ability (courage, really) to bind my front hand to my back hand, continuing to cradle the bent leg in the comfort of my elbow. I stayed here for months and months and months. And it was a wonderful place to be. My mind was calm. My body was happy.

Within the past couple of months, however, my body began calling for something different. As my chest naturally opened more and more toward the front of the room, I could feel my body craving a deeper bind. So my mind checked in with my body, asking if it would be safe to try for the full bind (see below). My body gave me permission, so I tried. And binding my head with my foot (my mind to my body) - heart, chest, throat, and both arms opening toward the sky - felt *magical*.

not me, but beautiful / photo credit : david roth

In this case, my body was ready to try for something deeper. Mind and body collaborated to get me there safely and without strain. But there have been many instances in which my body was not ready. And it's even harder to listen to those requests, when my mind wants to try for the full pose, but I need a modification or prop to keep my body safe. I still continually have to tell myself, "slow down. it's okay to wait. allow things to come naturally." Let your body tell your mind: slow down. Let your mind tell your body: it's okay. The time will come when it comes - and wherever you are in the meantime, know that it's a wonderful place to be.

inspire + explore : This post does not just apply to yogis. If you lie, sit, stand, walk, run, or exercise in any way, then you have a need for the body-mind connection (yes, that's all of us). So the next time you're being active - or inactive, check in with your body. Your mind may tell you one thing - "you can lift more / run faster / sit longer" - but your body may be screaming for something else. Pay attention to the mind-body connection, and don't overdo (or underdo) yourself. Strive for balance. Both body and mind will thank you.