This morning as I hurried myself out the door to get to my yoga class, I realized that I left my keys in my boyfriend’s man bag. SHIT. I called him up. We decided that I would leave the door unlocked and he would be home shortly to lock up. After my class, I found myself with some extra time as I had to wait for him to return home. So I went to a cafe and ordered a cup of tea and a slice of cherry cheesecake. What came out of it were my goals for May! I’ve always loosely set monthly goals but have never written them down. And, I already set 1, 2, 5 and 10 year personal, health and career goals and re-evaluate those goals twice a year, but many of those goals are long-term goals, some of them not coming to fruition for a year, where some of the monthly goals I’ve set are not as time-consuming and will be reached in the next week, even tomorrow if I want.

I find goal-setting extremely helpful. Yes, sometimes I don’t reach all my goals as life happens and things change but it’s important to work towards things that you value. I found this great blog  5 Reasons Why You Should Set Goals, have a read when you get a chance.

I thought I would share my goals for May with you and hopefully this will inspire you to set your own goals AND sharing my goals with you will make it more concrete for me.  Don’t make your goals complicated, but set a couple of goals that may take you out of your comfort zone.  Have fun!

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I found this image (see above) on the internet and thought it basically sums up what yoga is all about! It sits on my desktop as a daily reminder. I thought I’d share it with you!

This weekend I had the pleasure of spending some time alone. My boyfriend went away to visit a friend and without any plans except to teach my yoga classes, I was left with some time to be by myself. I can’t tell you how much I savor alone time, maybe too much. Prior to being in my current relationship, I spent a lot of time alone and for the first two years that my boyfriend and I dated, we spent it in a long distance relationship, where we maybe saw each other 3-5 days per month. So now that we’re living together, these short spans of alone time that I get, I really enjoy and make the most of it, even if that means just lying in bed reflecting on my day in complete quiet and stillness.

There was a period in my life when I didn’t like spending time by myself.  It was a very lonely time for me.  I felt like something was missing.  The thoughts, the silence, it all scared me.  I look back at that time now and realize how desperately I needed to get in touch with my true self.   Many things were missing….I wasn’t happy with my career, my long-term relationship and my friendships.  I made it worse by filling up my life with empty things such as hanging out with people who didn’t necessarily bring me up, coffee, alcohol and cigarettes.

I was scared to be alone with myself.  I didn’t like who I had become.  So, as challenging as it was, I knew something had to change and that change was me.  I felt like I was starting over again.  Filling in the missing pieces, creating myself anew and making myself whole again, the healing process began.

I began by doing things that warmed my heart, that made me feel good.  I journaled, I did yoga, I cooked, I took myself on movie dates, I read inspirational books, I walked and got to know my city, I danced in my living room, I hung out with people who made me laugh.  I also started to ask myself some tough questions that perhaps I was avoiding in the past.  What was I scared of?  What did I need to let go of?  Who did I need to forgive?  What did I want to do with my life?  What kind of person did I want to spend the rest of my life with?  And instead of running away from my fears, I moved towards them with trust and openness.

You can be alone without feeling lonely. And you can still feel lonely being amongst a group of people.  The difference is you and what you choose to do about it.  Move towards the people and things that you love, and that make you feel good.  Be honest with yourself.  Can you look yourself in the mirror and honestly say that you really like yourself, and to go even further, love yourself?  If you truly love yourself, you’ll have no problem spending time with yourself.

On that note, here’s a video that I really love that is on the subject of being alone.  It’s by singer/songwriter/poet Tanya Davis.  Enjoy!

One of my favorite things to make during the holidays is chocolate bark.  It’s sooooo easy to make and what a great xmas gift!

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I just got back from 5 days of walking, eating, shopping and loving New York City.  It is such a unique place filled with everything awesome!  Last week’s visit was my sixth time back and still, there is never a dull moment in that city.   I decided to visit the city throughout the week as opposed to the weekend and I’m so glad I did.  I feel that New York on the weekend is like a city on mega steroids, everywhere is packed, tourists abound and it makes me insane.  Even still, going out on a Monday night in the West Village, we still faced restaurants with waiting lists.  Can you believe that?  Monday night in New York City, restaurants are full!  YES, finally, people who go out on Monday nights!

I always come home from New York City like I just had a crazy whirlwind affair; its always passionate, intense, and I feel so alive!

I’m surprised how many people I meet who have not been to NYC.  Even if cities are not your thing, New York City is no ordinary city. Nuh uh.  For those of you planning on visiting, here are my Top 10 Things To Do In NYC (in no particular order).

Enjoy!  I sure did.

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Today, I’m not going to talk about the importance of giving.   We’ve all heard how important it is to give. Unconditional giving where we don’t expect anything in return is such a wonderful feeling and for many, comes more naturally and easily than receiving.  The act of receiving can be very challenging for many people.  But, receiving is just as important as giving.  You can’t have yin without the yang.  So, if you’re one of those people who is uncomfortable with receiving, it’s time to get used to it and here’s why.   More »

I recently created a video blog for 889 where I shared with viewers some of the items in my manifesto that I wrote.  The inspiration to do my own manifesto came from the Lululemon Manifesto which I came across many years ago.  If you haven’t seen it, it is a must-read (see the above image)!

I encourage you to write your own manifesto. What are words that you live by?  If you have no idea where to begin, I found this great website that explains what a manifesto is and it even gives samples on how to write one.  Remember, it’s your manifesto; it’s your life, do it your way.  Happy creating!

Here is my manifesto:

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According to the book The Life You Were Born To Live by Dan Millman, I am in my first-year of a nine-year cycle, the year of creation and confidence.   Here is what the book says,

“The first year of a cycle is the year of creativity, of planting the seeds, of newness, of opening to new opportunity with confidence.  The sprout is sown, but it hasn’t yet broken through the ground.  This may involve a time of planning as well as planting, of resolution as well as map-making.  It can also mean going back to school, retraining, or moving to a new location – beginning something new.”

How I find this so fitting for where I am at in my life.

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