Gaia Community: muirpal's Blog

this little girl georgie

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 19:50:09 -0000

purred her way into my life 15 years ago today.

when I go off to work every day, she patiently awaits my safe arrival home every night.

when I run off into the hills in the early morning, she awaits my return.

when I go out carousing late into the evening with friends, she is there at the door to greet me no matter the time I make it home.

when I disappear with a boyfriend for a couple days, she doesn't ask questions.

when I went to Italy for a month, she was waiting in the window when I arrived back in san francisco.

when I traveled to machu picchu to celebrate my 40th, she went with me in spirit.

when the dogs get fed before she does, she only mildy complains.

when I wake from a bad dream, she is there next to me on the pillow to remind me it was only a dream.

many jobs, apartments, boyfriends, and even some friends have come & gone in my life ever since I moved to san francisco 15 years ago. my loyal and furry friend georgie has been the one constant. I love her dearly.

Gotta, gotta, gotta - explained

Sun, 06 Jul 2008 19:07:08 -0000

This mala came to me when I was driving to work one morning. Driving through San Francisco on a weekday morning is amazing. Stressful, energetic, overwhelming, stimulating, and sometimes downright deperessing. One is surrounded by so many people - ambitious people, in-a-hurry people, guerilla green people, distracted people, 20-somethings in their Hondas & Jettas, 30-somethings in their Saabs and Subarus, 40-somethings in their BMWs, SUVs, and hybrids', over-educated people...and it all just reminded me of all the DOING we're doing. All the "doing" we're aspiring to. And are we truly doing for ourselves? Are we doing because we're suppose to, other people are expecting us to? Are we doing to keep up with the Jones? That is a question I ask myself every day. And when I feel blissful and energized, I know I am doing it for myself. When I feel achy and anxious, I know I am not.

About a month ago I was reading the magazine BUST - great magazine by the way - the issue with Amy Sedaris on the cover celebrating the magazine's 15th anniversary. There was a perfect quote in the magazine by one of its readers. I don't recall her name but I am attributing this quote to her wherever she is right now. The quote is:

"I am not a failed attempt at being you"

Was this directed to her parents? Her "friends"? Her teachers? Society in general? Not sure who, but it's so true. People just need to be reminded sometimes that we are all unique beings and just because we're not going after what you have, or doing the things you're doing, doesn't mean we're not happy, doesn't mean we have failed at life. It just means we're taking a different path.

That's the beauty of America. So, 2 days late - Happy Birthday America! You're one hot chick!

Peace and good things,
Muir

gotta, gotta, gotta (105)

Wed, 25 Jun 2008 20:15:26 -0000

gotta run 5 marathons this year
gotta move up the corporate ladder
gotta fall off the grid, travel the globe, meditate under the bodhi tree
gotta make lots of money
gotta find myself
gotta get my masters then my phD
gotta unload the SUV, buy a hybrid and "go green"
gotta cleanse
gotta back away from the cell phone/iPod/Blackberry/PDA and realize this is why
I AM SO ALONE

gotta, gotta, gotta

ruby

Mon, 23 Jun 2008 20:44:09 -0000

Bring your dog to work day...

What was the last major transformation you went through? (106)

Mon, 23 Jun 2008 13:35:52 -0000

What about last night?

I've been working with my animal and ancestorial angels
Calling in my team
Connecting to my higher self
Giving gifts to the mountain devas
Writing in my journal
Meditating
Soaking in the essential oils - filling my lungs, cellular body and higher self
Walking amongst the trees, spring blossoms, summer heat, dirt underneath my feet
And God all around me

And something happened last night.

107

Mon, 23 Jun 2008 06:39:44 -0000

2 cups of coffee and 1 piece of dark chocolate
2 sandwiches and 1 bag of Kettle chips
Low balance on the Fast Trak
Parking devas on our team today
African drum beat and funky funk horns
Pulsating through Stern Grove
Get your dance move on
Still have a little bit of energy left in me
How about a loop around Golden Gate Park in our roller blades?

I forgot

Mon, 23 Jun 2008 01:34:16 -0000

your heart broke up with my heart
long before I left you.
I left you,
but you stuck around
because you didn't want to leave me.
but then time & distance finally broke the umbilical cord.

and you're still in my heart.
you're still with me everywhere I go.
you're still part of why I do this
and maybe why I don't do that.
and it's because I forgot to break up with you.
I was so busy
processing the pain of leaving you
that I forgot to break up with you.

108

Mon, 23 Jun 2008 06:14:47 -0000

A drive up the 1
A birthday in Bolinas
Cold beer on a hot beach
Continue through Olema
Pitstop at home to drop off and feed the dogs
Change of costume - swap the flip flops & bikini for the mascara & flowy skirt
Across the bridge to Berkeley and a Summer Solstice party
Vic, Laura, Emmet, Charlotte, Magda, Margo and more
Bring an instrument and gather around the chimenea

When have you felt most in balance?

Fri, 20 Jun 2008 14:40:02 -0000

When I have 7-8 hours of sleep in my back pocket.
When I am drinking a lot of water
When I don't have any over-the-counter or prescription drugs in my body
When I am eating clean, simple, whole food
When I am moving my body and not sitting all day
When I turn off the noise and soak up the silence
When consumption of caffeine & sugar is in moderation
When I turn the TV off
When I listen to my animals

animal medicine - my nine

Wed, 11 Jun 2008 05:55:45 -0000

Horse - Power
Contrary - I am struggling with others who are abusing their power.
I need to balance my shields.

Coyote - The Trickster
It will hurt so good! I witness my own foolishness
The cosmic joke is not just on ourselves...
What a lesson to learn.

Lynx - Secrets
There is something I don't know about myself or others
The lynx helps me to see what is hidden - the fears, the lies, the self-deceptions...and the treasure.

Squirrel - Gathering
Teaching me to plan ahead before winter arrives.
Teaching me how to gather and store my energy for times of need.

Crow - Law
Masters of Illusion. Omen of Change.
Shape shift the old reality and become my future self.

Raven - Magic
Enter the darkness of the void, which is the home of all that is not yet in form.
I have earned the right to see and experience a little more of life's magic.

Hummingbird - Joy
I love life and am ready to laugh.
I feel a renewal in life.

Owl - Deception
Night eagle sitting in a place of illumination.
I am being asked to use my powers of keen, silent observation to intuit some life situation.

Antelope - Action
A message of higher purpose.
Time to take action on behalf of self, family, clan, nation & Mother Earth.
The time is now. The Power is me.

All this knowledge is possible because of Jamie Sams and David Carson and their book Medicine Cards.

Thank you.

Keeping it simple today, people

Sun, 08 Jun 2008 21:28:26 -0000

After a 6-month hibernation, I am happy to say, with gratitude, the Nine is back!!

1. Finn, Ruby's new friend (in the pic)
2. The warm sunshine
3. Re-usable shopping bags
4. Finally making the choice to get rid of all my chemical, toxic house cleaners (bye, bye!)
5. The fairies who I am now just learning so much about.
6. My new, temporary roommate - Colleen (Finn's mom) - it's so fun to have a roommate again!
7. Running again!!!!!!!!!!! Started training for a half-marathon today. Only 8 weeks to go - August 3rd.
8. People who make traffic bearable
9. You, my community here at Gaia. I miss you. I am back. Stick around for more...

: )

9 at midnight

Wed, 19 Dec 2007 08:13:29 -0000

No sluggish servers
No back-ups at the printer
No clients calling
No new email
No patience
No more coffee - please
No energy
No traffic on the roads if/when I ever leave
No rush coming back into the office tomorrow morning (or should I say in a few hours) !!

Tag, Your It!

Fri, 14 Dec 2007 00:33:00 -0000

Andy,
I dedicate this to you. I love how you're my zaady friend and how you call me 'Sunshine'. And I love your #3 - "I can back a semi trailer like backing a car." So sexy! : )

7 random facts about me:
1. Macaroni & cheese is my absolute favorite Sunday night comfort food.

2. I skied a cross-country marathon in Alaska earlier this year.

3. When I was a kid, I had an imaginary friend name Bee. I wonder where she is these days.

4. I have a memory like a steel trap - once you tell me something, it never escapes my memory - ever. My friends have me on their payrolls for some of their confessions and stories they have told me (thinking I would never remember after 3 martinis, 2 beers and a joint ; ) But I won't remember what I ate for lunch yesterday or what I wore to work on Monday.

5. I love music from the 70s and early 80s - Boston, Foghat, Styx, Led Zeppelin, Foreigner, Journey, Queen.

6. I love driving incredibly fast with all the windows and sun roof open. Especially when it's night time and a full moon and I am driving up 101 over the Golden Gate Bridge.

7. I never depart for Lake Tahoe when every one else does. I've been known to drive up there in the middle of the night in the middle of a snowstorm. Just me and the 18-wheelers. Don't tell my mother. I'll depart Tahoe for San Francisco at midnight after dinner with my friends. I hate traffic so I do the simple thing - avoid it. Icy roads don't scare me. Dumb drivers who are multi-tasking when they're driving do.

8. One more for good measure - but I won't do my usual 9 - and this is a confession. When I was really young and hopefully too stupid to know the consequences - I dumped my barely eaten ice cream cone in a mailbox. I just think of all those paid bills and possible wedding invitations that didn't make it to their destination. Karma Gods, please forgive me - it's been haunting me FOREVER. I've never been great with money and I'm still not married - so is that my karma in return? Let's make a truce and forgive and move on. Please.

Here are my 7 tagged friends:

Esse
Thomas
Lil
Tess
Angie
Shirley
C.C.

And now it's your turn:

THE RULES:
1. Link to the person's blog who tagged you.

2. Post these rules on your blog.

3. List seven random and/or weird facts about yourself.

4. Tag seven random [?] people at the end of your post and include links to their blogs.

5. Let each person know that they have been tagged by posting a comment on their blog.

The mountains beckon...

Fri, 07 Dec 2007 21:16:11 -0000

This photo needs no introduction...

Taken off Ski Slope Drive in Tahoe Donner above Truckee, CA. at 7:00am PST.

I was such a summer girl growing up. Still love my sunshine as you all know. But who can say no to this...

Friday 9

Fri, 07 Dec 2007 20:07:48 -0000

- Chloe
- Sho
- Virginia
- Laura
- Emmet
- Betsy
- Tattie
- Everyone at SweetRush
- My zaady friends!

9 on Thanksgiving

Thu, 22 Nov 2007 17:25:17 -0000

I am grateful for the ability to feel sad - that I can honestly feel the physicality of it in my soul.
I am grateful for a clean, silent house.
I am grateful for my animals keeping me company and always loving me.
I am grateful for family traditions and that my family is always there for me.
I am grateful for my san francisco friends who are my "family".
I am grateful for the freedom to do anything I want this Thanksgiving morning.
I am grateful for this morning cup of coffee that fills me with ideas, inspiration, hope.
I am grateful for all my life experience that makes me the person I am today.
I am grateful that I have the ability to transform myself & still embrace the essence of me.

And one more for good measure:

I am grateful for these guys - they are lovely creatures. Maybe pass on Pedro this year and just have an extra serving or two of buttery mashed potatoes.

What are you doing to do after you answer this?

Thu, 22 Nov 2007 17:06:19 -0000

Say good morning and happy Thanksgiving to my zaady friends. Write my Thanksgiving 9. Check in with my working friends in Costa Rica. Go on a hike with the dogs. Maybe some yoga & meditation. And then go to my very good friends', Laura & John, house for food & drink.

What is creativity?

Thu, 15 Nov 2007 17:59:44 -0000

9 on creativity

movement
personal expression
each point of view
individual contribution
collective work
offerings
sharing
teaching
being

nine in the dark

Tue, 13 Nov 2007 01:53:16 -0000

- recognizing gremlins are just gremlins and that I am bigger than them.
- realizing actions that come from anger & rage could really screw up my and someone else's day.
- when all else fails, pay attention and listen to my breath.
- that I can breathe deeper and release so much that doesn't want to let go.
- how wonderful is the scent of autumn air - especially in the evening.
- getting closer to the winter solstice
- breaking out the cashmere - even in california
- the brilliant golden color that comes from the sun reflecting off the orangy yellow red autumn leaves.
- comfort food

In 9 ways, what does the word 'natural' mean to you?

Wed, 07 Nov 2007 16:45:15 -0000

Clean.
Simple.
Uncluttered.
In it's original state - nothing added.
Raw.
Real.
Honest.
No hidden agenda.
Crystal clear.