more realizations about being present + bird's nests and braids :::

i realized something the other day, in ballet class.

i should probably start by mentioning that i haven't taken a ballet class in years.  probably not since i was twenty.  and now i'm fourty.  so it's been quite a while.

it was loads of fun and the reason i was doing it is because i've been sort of missing dance class lately and also i can't take yoga because i recently had a sinus surgery and i can't go upside down (yet), so i thought ballet instead.  perfect opportunity.

anyhow, i realized that the balances are still difficult.  rising up on one's toes does not come easy.  but more than that i realized that balancing won't just happen on its own, i have to participate in making it happen.  i have to not only try, but will it to happen.  expect it to.  be what i want with every ounce of my imagination.

i think i used to believe that eventually, those balances (and spins) would just magically take place.  on their own, somehow.  that if i went to enough classes and enough time went by, voila.  perfect turns.

apparently not.

i think i felt that way about cello too.  that playing in tune would just happen, eventually.  i'm still, years later (six, to be exact), struggling through simple scales (as do most people attempting a string instrument who practice as little as i do), trying to understand how to shift my hand into the right position without hitting a sharp or flat note.  i realized today that you really have to not only practice doing that but you have to be present.  you have to be aware in a very deep and present sense.  

you can not let your mind wander off elsewhere, you have to pay attention to what you're doing.  really pay attention.

yes, you have to work on the fundamentals.  yes you have to practice.  yes you have to build up strength.  but you also have to be very much in charge of what you're attempting to do.  you have to have resolve.  no one else is going to do it for you.  it isn't going to magically happen on its own.  it doesn't happen if you're thinking about what you're going to make for dinner or those pretty snowflake earrings you saw online.  you have to be in the moment.  you have to be here now making it happen with every single bit of who you are.

:::

nothing to do with that or maybe everything to do with it, just look at these bird nests.  aren't they lovely?  i'm smitten.

+

we've gotten so into hair-dos lately.  i've fallen in love with the "braids" search page on pinterest.  so many pretty things there.

Comments

[Brittany]

"be what i want with every ounce of my imagination."

and just like that, i am officially in love with you. the end!

[zoe krylova]

your daughter is gorgeous. such beautiful eyes.

[tifanie]

hi! sorry, I've been out of town. thank you for that comment. made my month. Xo

[tifanie]

thank you zoe, I think so too. she has her grandmother's eyes, I think. :::

[Drucilla Pettibone]

so much to love here... i've been playing with braids too. lotr-inspired ones especially. there are some great videos on youtube.

thanks for the linky too <3

[Cheryl Saban]

I love the braids - and your post is amazing too. It is so true that when you really want to do something, you must intend to do it - to will it, to focus, and be present. Love it that you're thinking and writing about all of these things. Xoxo