“Stand in the place where you live”

“Stand in the place where you live” – Stand by REM

It may have taken awhile, but I am firmly rooted in who I am, and who I am not. My parents raised me to speak my mind. It is good to have opinions…but not too many. How many of us, especially those cis-gendered females among us, feel like too much? “Extra,” as the kids say. (Side note: bf haaaayyytes when new slang comes home with me, but that’s what you get when you work with freshmen.) 

Even though many say we are spiritual beings having a human experience, we still need some place to “live.” Be kind to your body since it’s housing you. How can you stand in the place where you live? For some, it’s mantra. For some, it’s a chip in your pocket from x-days sober. For some, it’s scripture. For still others, it’s pop music, the sunroof open, and the open road. For still and away others, it’s writing, reading, their -ing of choice. 

The song goes on to say, 

“Think about direction, wonder why you haven’t before…/

If you are confused, check with the sun/Carry a compass to help you along

Your feet are going to be on the ground/Your head is there to move you around”. 

On direction/directions: 

Are we actually paying attention? I purchased this “year to clear” class well over a year ago & started this same “year to clear” course 3 times already, and am barely into the third week, but the daily emails say I should be in month three or so. Whoops! One of the things that really resonated with me so far is the Four Steps: intention, action, non-identification, and compassion. Intention is a hard one for me, because I tend to whip through tasks, trying to beat the clock, or I’m liable to do three things at once. My Mom gifted that to me: she used to watch the Yankees on TV with the sound off because she didn’t like the announcers. She had the radio on with the commentators she DID like. She also had a bodice-ripper* in her hands. She could tell you what was going on with any of them. I used to read novels in chorus while singing, following along with the plot while hitting the high notes. Irritated the dickens out of Mr. Gremli, the choral director. 

Bodice-rippers, for the uninitiated, are dime-store, ahem, rooooomance novels. The bodice is barely containing a heaving bosom, so heaving due to a swash-buckling ne’er do well pirate, playboy, bad boy-type smoldering over her. 

My action phase comes in fits and starts. It’s easy to set the timer and just plow through the piles…until a memory derails me and it’s hours of memory lane-ing. 

What direction I am going in depends on my current goal. I left most of my Master’s on a shelf because I was ill-prepared to be successful in early jobs, got frustrated, got po’d, and left. Eventually, retail got to me, my gf helped point me in the right direction, and here we are.

I also get lost a lot due to not paying attention. Oh, the symbolism! 

I was taking a Yoga class eons ago, and someone said, “ya know, you should be teaching.” So, a short (ha ha) year later, I signed up for YTT – Yoga Teacher Training. (This was not before dabbling in Yoga Therapy, but I’ma save *that* for the book!) 

On the sun:

What orients me is having a goal. Whether it’s saving money to take more yoga training, studying world language to pass yet another test, or run the Turkey Trot, my compass is that goal that’s been set. 

On feet and head:

Stand on your own two feet. You don’t have a leg to stand on. Keep your feet on the ground, and keep reaching for the stars. Do you follow your heart but take your brain with? Get those feet into the Earth – grass, dirt, sand, whatever’s not man-made. 

That compass…

While we may say some people’s moral compasses have been demagnetized, how do we find True North? I like to read, and have discussions with friends. I need to get back on my mat to attend to my practice. I re-started my gratitude journal. (Anal-retentive pitta-type Aries says I must “make up” the difference from when I wasn’t doing ot, so who’s got 108 things they’re grateful for and can list them….uh, now?)

Thanks for reading. Just a note: this is really, super, extra stream-of-conscious today, but a) it’s the 2nd one since I’m “behind,” and b) it’s nearly 9pm, and those who know me IRL know that after 8pm all bets are off & I’m pretty useless. To save you all, though, I didn’t say 2 instead of b to be funny…sometimes knowing the joke is there is enough…the bar is low enough. This was barely edited, although it was reread a few times. 

If this resonated with you, please feel free to comment below or drop me an email. Until our mats unfurl again, be well.

-M