Dancing to the beat of your own drum

I participated in a drum circle at my yoga studio today. Drum circles are meditative, soothing,though a bit loud. As I was thumping along to the lead drummer, lost in the beat and the rhythm, it dawned on me how different each drum sounded. There were at least 20 of us. We all sounded different following our own cadence even though we had a similar groove going on. I starting thinking about how important it is to find your own pace, your own harmony, in life...to live according to your own beat. Life is a symphony filled with rich sounds, melodies and harmonies. It can be easy to get caught up in the noise of what other people are thinking or how they are living. With all the distractions we face on a daily basis and obligations we must attend to, it seems simpler to go along with what everyone else is doing. But we all have an internal beat, a voice that says follow your own heart, explore who you are and live from that truth. It can be scary because what if it goes against what you've always been taught, or what you've done for the last 30 years. But just like the constant steady pace of the drum leader, that internal beat just won't stop calling you to follow your own pulse, cadence, and flow. Quietly singing to you to live from who you really are. Someone once said, "Nothing pays like being yourself". In my opinion that's the best music of all.

Grocery Day

Well, today is Friday and it's grocery day in my world. I have two teen boys and if I am even a day late on groceries, I hear about it! So before I began to write out my meals for the week, I ran across an article on the Wasted Food blog. I was floored to read how much food is wasted in America. Apparently Americans waste 40% of their food supply; up from 28% in 1974. That's 96 billion pounds of food, 1400calories per day per person. Wow. And we all know about the hunger problem in American, let alone in other parts of the world. Light bulb moment. I went to the fridge. Not completely full, but plenty of leftovers. Freezer. Full. Freezer in the garage ( I know, but like I said I have two teen boys) Full. Full of random stuff, that I have not bothered to figure out what to do with. I bet I could make a two day menu just from what I have in my pantry. I throw away, or let rot, too much food, sad but true. But the first step in changing is awareness. I'm going to challenge myself to use everything in my fridge and make meals based on what I already have. The great side benefit to this challenge is it will save tons of money. It's good to try and be part of the solution rather than the problem.

You know how one good thing can lead to another? Recently I came across a blog called Zenhabits written by Leo Babauta. I spent hours reading it-fascinated and nodding my head as I read his words on simplicity, productivity, frugality and creativity, but it was the postings on minimalism that stopped me in my tracks. Leo writes that minimalism is "a way to escape the excesses of the world around us-the excess of consumerism, material possessions, clutter, having too much to do, too much debt, too many distractions, too much noise. But too little meaning." What a revolutionary concept-but not really. We all know money can't buy happiness, but we are surrounded and immersed in a media culture that does everything in its power to distract us from that truth. One thing I've decided to do is go on a media fast and spend that time instead on decluttering my home, reading, and meditating. The idea of minimalist living is very appealing to me because I am easily stressed by too much stuff and noise. I think better when there are clear open spaces-I feel more human. If you get a chance, check out Zenhabits and mmmlist.com. It could be life changing.