I have dreamed/day-dreamed/fantasized/set intentions to write a book, create a podcast, be a healer (teacher/speaker/many shapes or forms), travel the world, farm, live with nature, learn to surf on the beach, own a healing center/yoga studio/bed &breakfast/hostel, learn to dance flamenco and refine my salsa dancing skills... and I know it's all happening. I'm not sure how or where or when but these little things all fall into place. And maybe not in this life or at this moment, but I feel it, I'm drawn to it, it's drawn to me. The people I find myself surrounded by remind me of this everyday. The situations I find myself in also remind me.
This morning I was at home doing some work on the computer and there were heavy clinks, clanks and drilling noises right beneath my feet. This could definitely have been cause for alarm or annoyance but I found myself shifting to seeing the blessing in this moment; at least they're getting this done. Then, the music fires up, the speaker appears to be hanging from the ceiling right beneath the floorboards in the hallway, and I hear the beat of a familiar song. Then the voices of men singing along to the salsa music. Now this, too, could have gotten me super irritated, but again, I chose to see the gift in the moment. I LOVE latin music, I LOVE to dance to latin music. I sat and worked and decided to enjoy this and see the reminder for me to get back at my Spanish. Sometimes I fall out of my practice (I've never thought of it like that, a practice, just as yoga or art or anything, a language could also be considered a practice), and I feel the disconnect. Spanish has been such a huge part of my life and my journey.
I began at a very young age, I had Cuban grandparents, the sound of the language, the smell of the coffee, and the sound of dominoes shuffling at the kitchen table. I remember a lot, mostly sensory memories from that time. My grandfather bought us books to help us learn, we were not interested.
Then in middle school I began to study the language. It made me uncomfortable and frustrated. I didn't like it at all and stopped studying for a year before going to college. That summer I traveled to Mexico with our church and realized the gift of a language is the ability to communicate, it had nothing to do with me or how I felt, but this connection between people. I started to feel more comfortable and recognize that I really did know something of the language. In university, I continued to study and one summer went with a student group to the Dominican Republic where I volunteered and traveled around the country. Then did a semester in Quito, Ecuador, where I took classes in Spanish and lived with a family there. Eventually I end up in Spain several years later and completely fell in love with the country. I was swept up into the magic of the culture, the food, the language, the music, the smells, the people, the pace, all of it. I always had a feeling I would, that's why I kept it for a while and did some exploring before setting foot there. I became so enamored with the language that I created my own personal dictionaries of every word I didn't know. I would ask friends and strangers what words meant, I would have them write them down in my notebook (that I ALWAYS had with me), I would review the words daily and try to use them in my day-to-day conversations. Every moment was learning. This was not planned. This was natural. This was after years and years of exploring, falling out, coming back to, and immersing myself in many ways into the world of Spanish. And so it happened and continues to happen. Every day.
Then in middle school I began to study the language. It made me uncomfortable and frustrated. I didn't like it at all and stopped studying for a year before going to college. That summer I traveled to Mexico with our church and realized the gift of a language is the ability to communicate, it had nothing to do with me or how I felt, but this connection between people. I started to feel more comfortable and recognize that I really did know something of the language. In university, I continued to study and one summer went with a student group to the Dominican Republic where I volunteered and traveled around the country. Then did a semester in Quito, Ecuador, where I took classes in Spanish and lived with a family there. Eventually I end up in Spain several years later and completely fell in love with the country. I was swept up into the magic of the culture, the food, the language, the music, the smells, the people, the pace, all of it. I always had a feeling I would, that's why I kept it for a while and did some exploring before setting foot there. I became so enamored with the language that I created my own personal dictionaries of every word I didn't know. I would ask friends and strangers what words meant, I would have them write them down in my notebook (that I ALWAYS had with me), I would review the words daily and try to use them in my day-to-day conversations. Every moment was learning. This was not planned. This was natural. This was after years and years of exploring, falling out, coming back to, and immersing myself in many ways into the world of Spanish. And so it happened and continues to happen. Every day.
I have also been wanting to bring more dancing back into my life. About a month ago I created a facebook group for some friends and I and I wanted to make it a weekly ritual to go out downtown and go dancing. It didn't happen. Thanksgiving came and went and now it's almost the New Year and not one dance night. BUT... tonight in the studio, I saw these two women talking enthusiastically, the one swirling around and striking a pose, it looked like salsa dancing imitation. I didn't want to speak to loudly or get to excited so I walked over to them and asked, "What type of dance are you talking about?" "Salsa" they responded. I knew it! Here they were, right in front of me, what I'd been hoping to bring back into my life for a while now. Turns out the one woman is a salsa dance instructor and invited us to the socials (get togethers for dancers) that are held every Sunday evening. She is starting up beginners classes and also invited us to come. Perfectly perfect. I had been waiting for this! Knowing it was going to come and preparing myself for the opportunity. Thank goodness I was paying attention.
I remember, too, when my boss said that to me. "Thank goodness I was paying attention" in reference to when she met me and saw me and began her search for a studio manager. Tonight one of the teachers at the studio asked how I found MindBodySoul, I told her my whole journey of yoga studio exploration before landing here. She commented, "She was looking for you, she put that out into the universe, and she found you. She told us about it at a teacher meeting, that she was looking for a new manager, someone young, bilingual... it was you. I'm glad you're here." And I know that, too. I was looking for her, I was looking for this place, this opportunity. I didn't know how, why, when or what, but here it is. Thank goodness I was paying attention.
#itsallhere #wakeup #connect #magiceverywhere #itsallhappening
P.S. If you don't know Joseph Campbell yet, you need to listen to/read him! This was what I had on during my walk home:
P.S. If you don't know Joseph Campbell yet, you need to listen to/read him! This was what I had on during my walk home:
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