Grace

Went to our once a month restorative yoga class at work. The whole practice, especially the guided meditation, was sweet and it was precisely what I needed as it was one of those days.

Last night, I went swimming after a two or three week hiatus. I've shaved 13 minutes off of my time. It wasn't a goal but I guess that I've become a more efficient swimmer and that's nice. I still have swimming goals like learning how to do a flip turn and possibly bilateral breathing but I'm not in a rush.

I have a book on swimming but every time I think about reading it for tips, I also think about the Big Bang Theory when Leonard is giving Sheldon the business about learning how to swim on land.

I love this picture.

Putting the fly in #flyfishing. Brown bear demonstrating proper technique. It worked, "Plunger" caught several salmon McNeil River #Alaska pic.twitter.com/GTanYV20Nf

— Declan Troy (@TroyDeclan) January 8, 2018

And this one: My authenticity is my rebellion.

My authenticity is my rebellion!❤ #GoldenGlobes #WhyWeWearBlack #TimesUp 📷@ramona_rosales

A post shared by Viola Davis (@violadavis) on Jan 8, 2018 at 3:24pm PST

When  I was on Instagram last night, found out that yogi Heidi Zoltak had died at the age of 45. She was diagnosed with Mucosal Melanoma last year and the way she shared her journey was grace in action.

I felt so sad and overwhelmed, preparing myself to write the following, but had to catch myself remembering who this post was all about. Heidi would be pissed if i took the "feel sorry for me" approach to all of this. My beautiful wife and best friend moved on tonight. She no longer suffers from this disease anymore. Our wonderful social worker, Cece, noticed a smile on her face just before she left us. I would do Heidi injustice by saying the world is worse off without her and this is only because she left it such a better place than before she got here. As one of our friends recently posted, "Heidi was the miracle given to us". Although she was taken early, her impact on each of us goes far beyond a lifetime. She will always have a place in our hearts. She will always be looking over our shoulders during those tough times, telling us that it's all going to be ok. She was the most selfless and giving human being i have ever met in my life and i thank god i had the oppotunity to be a part of that. Not to mention, her sassy self could put anyone in their place if and when she deemed it necessary. I leave you with this sunset picture i took tonight. The night my best friend moved on. She always loved the sunsets. I know she's up there now, in that beautiful sky, looking down on us. I know i'll see my soulmate once again, but until that day, i'll send a kiss to her every time i see that sun drop below the horizon. She loved all of you, i love all of you.

A post shared by Heidi Zoltak (@heidiyogi) on Jan 9, 2018 at 7:36pm PST

How To Say Goodbye

I don't do Weight Watchers -- never have -- for some reason but, of course, I saw quite a few posts about the new points system.

This title caught my attention recently:

Outrage: Weight Watchers forces us to eat fruit!

The company rolls out a smart new diet plan with more emphasis on health -- and a furor ensues

I really dug the ending of the "outrage" article by Mary Elizabeth Williams, a Salon magazine writer.

We have a lifelong relationship with our bodies, and like love, that relationship is healthier when we put good things into it. And like love, sometimes that takes thought and effort. Yet the basic notions of more apples, fewer cookies and stopping when you're full that Weight Watchers are embracing makes a lot of common sense. Common sense is still there in all of us -- right there in our guts next to the Sabor de Soledad -- and if we take the time to respect and listen that wisdom, it will reward us in ways that, unlike a weekly points system, are incalculable.

And speaking of Mary Elizabeth Williams, she really hit the ball out of the park with her article Elizabeth Edwards: Don't call it "losing" to cancer which she wrote yesterday morning before Edwards died and I thought Edwards' last epistle to the world was profound and I was deeply moved:

I have been sustained throughout my life by three saving graces – my family, my friends, and a faith in the power of resilience and hope. These graces have carried me through difficult times and they have brought more joy to the good times than I ever could have imagined. The days of our lives, for all of us, are numbered. We know that...

What a gracious way to say goodbye; so glad that she had time...