I love coyote tracks in the snow. They walk leaving a single track of prints; with no energy to waste their path is direct and purposeful.

My path for 2014 is clear. I want to feel peaceful, vibrant, connected and expressive. To manifest these feelings I'll write, sing, wear pretty clothes, hang with my family and friends, eat nourishing food, and move my body with yoga, tai chi, and long walks.

Here's a story of how walks help me find my path...

Perspective

I love walking at the beach during winter. Quiet and empty shores invite a sacred space where I can churn over the stuff of my mind with anonymity and nature’s healing embrace. Last week, my dog Ranger and I took a walk on the semi-frozen shores of Plymouth Harbor. My footsteps rhythmically crunched the sand, with my mind repetitively noticing sand, pebble, rock, shell, seaweed, snow, shell, sand, pebble, wave. My thoughts and movements were repetitive, my scope of vision narrowed to what was under my feet. Shell, sand, pebble, rock, ice, pebble. Suddenly Ranger froze and alerted me, breaking my monotonous state with his intense seaward gaze. Since he was a pup I’ve trained him to watch birds, and he’s become so adept that even among the water teeming with the usual shorebirds, he picked out a flock of Most Unusual Birds flying in tight formation. The tiny birds darted precise maneuvers of feathery fascination over the mild waves. As we watched, they passed acrobatically back and forth several times. Once they moved out of sight, Ranger touched his nose to my hand, and I rubbed his nose saying, “thanks, Little Buddy, for showing me those Most Unusual Birds”. He snorted a thank you and went back to nosing the seaweed.

As we moved on, my mind looped back into monotony: shells, sand, wave, ice, pebble, rock. I stopped again, craving the enhanced perspective I had a few moments before. The perspective that was much grander than my human experience. The perspective of sea meets wave meets fog meets sky. In these moments, I’m reminded of the grandeur of life, and my place within this larger scope. Where the monotony of my daily routine and thoughts takes a right relationship to my place within all things. During 2014, I pray that we may we all have a right relationship to our place, that we may all feel the peace, connection and grandness of the shore.

Happy New Year, dear friends, from my heart to yours.

Love,

Gita

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