I think this is the longest I have gone without a post since I began this little blog back in June!  It’s been a mad few days, and I’ve only turned my laptop on for a total of 65 minutes – to play a yoga podcast [necessary] and to check the time Home Depot [...]]]> Hello!  

I think this is the longest I have gone without a post since I began this little blog back in June!  It’s been a mad few days, and I’ve only turned my laptop on for a total of 65 minutes – to play a yoga podcast [necessary] and to check the time Home Depot opens [7 AM; painful].  But my sister and I have successfully completed the exhausting task of packing our many items, wheeling them down the uneven street in bell carts, putting together furniture without a power drill, and unpacking…about half our stuff.  

Disorganization aside, we are happily settling in our new apartment.  I’m currently eating banana oatmeal with almond butter [part of a Chanukkah present!], hoping I have enough time amidst the unpacking to get in some yoga before a dear friend comes in to celebrate this evening, and blogging from my kitchen table.  Yes, you read that correctly: we have enough space for a kitchen table.  I love this place!

I’ll begin blogging regularly again when the new year gets underway, but I wanted to stop in for a short little post to end 2009.  As the holiday season comes to a close tonight, I’ve got the last edition of the “Staying Balanced” series.  A final reintroduction:

The holidays are underway – one of the busiest and often most stressful times of year.  Everyone will be faced with traveling, office parties, family gatherings, friendly affairs.  Gifts need to be found and bestowed, elaborate meals planned and cooked.  I know I can always use some reminders to keep myself balanced this time of year, not necessarily in terms of food, but in body and in mind.  This series aims to do just that.

I notice that a lot of people treat New Year’s Eve as the last hurrah – the one final day of holiday insanity, the last chance for acceptable gluttony and debauchery.  It shouldn’t come as a surprise that I don’t support that all or nothing approach: we don’t need a new year to tell us when to indulge or when to make a fresh start; we can do that any day – even any hour – that we choose.

I see the flipping of the calendar at midnight as just another relatively trivial number.  December 31st is a nice excuse for extravagant behavior – but it isn’t my permission.  I can, and I will, be just as over-the-top on other nights [or hey, afternoons: hello brunch] all throughout the year.  

However, I am appreciative of the New Year’s reminder that perfect balance is not necessary every single day.  Tonight, I plan to drink too much, wear too many sequins, and stay out too late.  I feel no pressure to get all that out of my system, though, because I can do it all again any day, anytime.

This coming year, part of the balance I always strive for includes truly letting go, allowing myself to dive into every celebration with freedom and excitement, not scheduling and anxiety.  I may go over the edge, because I trust my intuition, and I know I am more than capable of pulling myself back.  Give and take: that is balance defined.

Whatever you do tonight, I hope you are able to let yourself go.  And if you’d like, I hope you can take the evening to an appropriate level of excess.  Tell me, what are your plans?

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Nonetheless, I’ve got another entry in the Staying Balanced series today, because I should always remind myself to quit moaning.  Even at seventeen degrees.

In case you missed what these posts are all about, here’s an intro:

The holidays [...]]]> I just have to mention: this morning, it was seventeen degrees outside.  I am not ready for this.  

Nonetheless, I’ve got another entry in the Staying Balanced series today, because I should always remind myself to quit moaning.  Even at seventeen degrees.

In case you missed what these posts are all about, here’s an intro:

The holidays are underway – one of the busiest and often most stressful times of year.  Everyone will be faced with traveling, office parties, family gatherings, friendly affairs.  Gifts need to be found and bestowed, elaborate meals planned and cooked.  I know I can always use some reminders to keep myself balanced this time of year, not necessarily in terms of food, but in body and in mind.  This series aims to do just that.

People seem to complain a lot in the wintertime.  The air is cold.  The sun is down more often than up.  Some people are cranky from resisting holiday treat after treat.  Some are overwhelmed by holiday travel.  Some are stressed by family.  In general, everything seems pretty grey.

homemade vegan sushi: half an avocado and a rainbow of vegetables

It’s easy to act grumpily, scoffing at the gaudiness this time of year.  There are countless red velvet ribbons, men dressed as Santa, blow-up reindeer in neighbors’ front yards.  In my hometown, one family actually puts up an elf-inhabited ferris wheel in their yard, amongst an overwhelming amount of other characters and lights.  [In recent years, they've actually coordinated a light show with music on their own radio station.  I don't kid.]

Beyond the decorative excess, many of us have worked to take all emphasis off of the visual in our lives.  It keeps us from focusing on numbers, reflections, or anyone’s perception of beauty, and that can be useful throughout an intense, gingerbread-cookie filled season.  

But the truth is, I still love visuals.  I adore fashion; it’s one of my favorite art forms.  While I try and appreciate music, I find much more stimulation from the images of live performance, such as theater and dance, than I do listening to sounds [however beautiful they may be] with my eyes closed.  I’ve always loved being behind a camera lens, capturing both still and moving images.

parsnip and beet mash

Lately, I’ve been trying to embrace that piece of myself, giving the images around me the clout they deserve.  Maybe it’s “healthier” to believe that all that matters is inside us.  But zeroing in on all the vibrant color that surrounds me has made me realize just how beautiful my life really is.  

If I look past the over-the-top decór, the grey skies, the early sunsets, and the sugar comas, there is so much holiday-infused beauty to be found.  It begins on kitchen plates, of course, overflowing with hues of every shade.

It goes further, to classically decorated trees and modern gold menorahs.  To burgundy and gold in the clinks of red- and white-filled wine glasses.  To toothy whites and reds in the smiles at family reunions.  To the rainbows of wintertime vegetables.

My head might often brim with nerves, but all I have to do is take a look around.  Right in front of my eyes, I see colorful proof that life is rich and full.  Why stress about that?

Look around.  What is bright and beautiful around you?

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The holidays are underway – one of the busiest and often most stressful times of year.  Everyone will be faced with traveling, office parties, family gatherings, friendly [...]]]> Happy Friday and Happy Chanukkah!  I’ve got another reminder today to stay balanced – I’ve needed this one in particular this week.  An intro in case you’ve missed it:

The holidays are underway – one of the busiest and often most stressful times of year.  Everyone will be faced with traveling, office parties, family gatherings, friendly affairs.  Gifts need to be found and bestowed, elaborate meals planned and cooked.  I know I can always use some reminders to keep myself balanced this time of year, not necessarily in terms of food, but in body and in mind.  This series aims to do just that.

When I was growing up, my dad and I used to have conversations about facing your fears.  It came up several times – when I was five years old, for instance, waiting to be wheeled into the operating room to correct my lazy right eye.  Or, again a few years later, when I was about to get the four teeth pulled that have allowed me to keep my wisdom teeth later in life.

Our talk always had a mantra.  ”Fear of the unknown” was the term, which I like to think of as my dad’s own spin on the famous FDR quote.  Whether it was a medical procedure, the eve before I sang in the public eye at my Bat Mitzvah, or simply the long wait for the acceptance letter from the only university I wanted to attend, he reminded me that any anxiety was simply caused by what I didn’t know.

some routines are necessary.  case in point: morning coffee.

A lot of us thrive on routine.  Grocery shop with a plan for meals, schedule exercise around work, make social plans according to a calendar.  Uncertainty might seem like an inconvenience, but that annoyance is very often laced with fear.  It can be irrational, wondering what will happen if we miss a workout or can’t eat the food we planned for.  It can be quite reasonable as well, dwelling as we wait to hear a potential job offer or from a school we hope to attend.  

The thing is, the future is unknown.  That’s its nature.  We might have ideas and plans; we might do our best to create a map for ourselves.  But we can’t control everything.  One of the best lessons I’ve ever learned is to embrace the unknown just as much as I embrace my plans.

some routines are comforting, like cinnamon-infused breakfasts.

When I’m busy, as I have been lately, my routine is always shaken.  I might envision how a week will go, and that will aid me in seeing how I’ll survive a seemingly overwhelming schedule.  But when there are so many commitments and so much work to do, it is rare that everything unfolds as intended.  One project might take longer than anticipated.  More sleep might be required to handle the following day.  All of a sudden, the scheduling seems to disappear, and nerves set in.

I’ve learned [and continue to learn] to accept that nervousness.  I don’t know what the next year will bring, how the packed final weeks of December will go, if everything will work out as I hope.  Life is always a question mark, and all I know is that it will continue.  I can approach it with fear.  Or, I can welcome the uncertainty as a fact of life.  

Life will go on, and we are all well-equipped with the strength and intuition to figure it out not ahead of time, but as it comes.  A little routine, such as a few moments with a familiar breakfast, certainly never hurts.  But when that routine disappears?  Just embrace the unknown.  We can handle it.

How do you embrace the unknown?

Missed the rest? Part 1 [Just Be] and Part 2 [Procrastinate]

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The holidays are underway – one of the busiest and often most stressful times of year.  Everyone will be faced with traveling, office parties, family gatherings, friendly affairs.  Gifts need to be found and bestowed, elaborate meals planned and cooked.  I know I can [...]]]> Happy Friday!  Today is another installment in the “Staying Balanced” series.  

The holidays are underway – one of the busiest and often most stressful times of year.  Everyone will be faced with traveling, office parties, family gatherings, friendly affairs.  Gifts need to be found and bestowed, elaborate meals planned and cooked.  I know I can always use some reminders to keep myself balanced this time of year, not necessarily in terms of food, but in body and in mind.  This series aims to do just that.

The title of this post might seem a bit counterintuitive.  This blog is all about balance [as am I]; this series is all about relieving stress and maintaining calm.  And yet, I am supporting procrastination.  Makes little sense, right?

I have been going almost entirely nonstop since I boarded the train to Connecticut the day before Thanksgiving.  The week was full of back-to-back social commitments, which, while wonderful, didn’t leave much of the “me-time” that I require.  I arrived back in the city on Sunday without a moment to spare, and in the midst of this week, I’ve been working, writing, blogging, negotiating and signing a lease for a new apartment, preparing for and going on several interviews, attending multiple networking events, and even attempting to maintain a little social interaction.  I’ve continued to wake up for long yoga sessions and cook myself homemade, though quick, dinners.  

Basically, it’s been madness that will only continue straight through my move at the end of the month [we're moving down the block, so that's slightly less stressful].  It’ll all be worth it when I finally have some structure and professional progress in January, but for now: the madness reigns.

a little breakfast procrastinating

With a schedule like that, there really isn’t time for procrastination.  If I lay in bed too long, my yoga time gets cut short.  If I chat on the phone, I might not be able to tackle the professional emails I need to get out [I'm already behind on the friend and family ones - sorry, guys].

Yesterday, however, as I was eating breakfast and sorting through my inbox, my fingers clicked open a tab for my Google Reader.  I spent the next ten minutes reading a couple blogs.  I left a comment on one.  I glanced through my neglected Twitter.

For ten minutes, I ignored responsibility.  I clicked and scrolled; I read about food and fashion, performance and pictures.  For ten minutes, I procrastinated.

When I x-ed the window, knowing full well my time had long past run out, my mind was clear.  I needed those ten minutes – not to talk, not to deep breathe, not to think, but instead, to let someone else do the thinking for me.  I read other people’s thoughts, and I was able to briefly escape the intensity of my own.

Of course, the key with procrastination is to keep it short.  Open a blog, scour YouTube, read a piece of a magazine.  Whatever your method, just allow yourself to be imperfect, to not maintain your focus one hundred percent of the time.  And then, get back to work.

For me, those ten minutes were not a waste of time, but a worthwhile use of a tool.  My short moments of procrastination may have meant my breakfast dishes spent the day in the sink, but they also ensured my concentration and conviction were renewed.  I let myself be momentarily mindless, and afterward, I jumped back into my life, efficient as ever.

How do you procrastinate?

Missed Part 1?  Staying Balanced: Just Be

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The holidays start next week – one of the busiest and often most stressful times of year.  Everyone will be faced with traveling, office parties, family gatherings, friendly affairs.  Gifts need to be found and bestowed, elaborate [...]]]> Happy Friday, everyone!  I’d like to introduce a new feature I’ll be posting once every week or two.  

The holidays start next week – one of the busiest and often most stressful times of year.  Everyone will be faced with traveling, office parties, family gatherings, friendly affairs.  Gifts need to be found and bestowed, elaborate meals planned and cooked.  I know I can always use some reminders to keep myself balanced this time of year, not necessarily in terms of food, but in body and in mind.  This series aims to do just that.

I was looking through some old photographs a few days ago, and I stumbled upon one a friend of mine took while we were traveling in Croatia.

I remember when she took it well: it was our first real night there [we arrived late the evening before and didn’t accomplish much other than dinner].  But this night, we had a plan.  Classy as ever [read the sarcasm], we picked up individual-sized bottles of red wine, then searched for an entrance to the tiny beach near our hotel.  Later we would be moved to an apartment just outside the city’s walls, a short ten minute stroll to a much larger sandscape; but for one night, that private beach suited us just fine. 

With the sun going down, it was pleasant weather for jeans and bare feet.  We settled ourselves on the sand, and, separated from the noise of other tourists, we were faced with the realization that we were without a corkscrew to open our bottles.  Ingenuity made a sharp rock very useful, and eventually, we were able to sip, staring ahead at the waning orange sunlight and the blue of the sea. 

We talked some and we watched some.  There was no agenda, no plan.  We simple were.

Society tends to pressure us to always do.  Those five minutes while we wait for water to boil can be spent banging out crunches and planks.  Dinner can be eaten while we educate ourselves on the day’s news.  Every day, there seem to be fifty new suggestions in magazines and on blogs, teaching us how to be better multitaskers.

I always ponder over what I should be doing – the scope might be as wide as what I want to do with my life, or it might be basic, such as what I will do on Saturday night.  Rarely, however, do I think of just being.  

My mantra this holiday season is simply to remember the peace of that sunset, and let myself be.  No matter where I am, I can wake up early in the morning and lay in bed for five minutes in the darkness.  I can take five minutes and step outside for fresh air, even when it chills my bones.  I can sit with a family member or a friend, two forks, and a slice of leftover pumpkin pie, and I can just be.

balancing meal:  spaghetti squash, chickpeas, brussels sprouts, mushrooms, pepitas, lemon, paprika, tahini

Goals are wonderful things, but now and then, it’s important to step back and lock away all thoughts of exercise, food, friends, work, and the future.  It’s never wrong to take a short five minutes and do nothing at all.  With the quiet weekend I have ahead, I might just take an entire afternoon.

How do you let go and just be?

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