Nov26
Posted on Nov 26 by Ruth Davis
As I am typing, Cody, my new-to-me dog is sleeping in his bed under the dinette as if it’s been his bed for all of his seven years. Truth is, we haven’t even known each other a whole week yet. But already, we’re very comfortable with each other. He knows how to sit, stay and sit pretty on his hind legs. But he does not know how to walk on a leash. He wanders, sometimes crosses in front of me, and he pulls. All 63 solid pounds of him, yanking me faster than I can move, jolting my back and making me very cranky. I did the stop and wait thing every time he pulled, but I couldn’t stay with it, and it hurt my back. And then I got all freaked out that I’d never be able to walk with him. I cried. I pulled him. And then I calmed down and realized he just needs some training. And that, because he is so well behaved about everything else, this was just a surprise. But it’s handle-able. He...
Nov19
Posted on Nov 19 by Ruth Davis
I was brainstorming a new idea: a Heart Sparks Mastermind for next year…7 women, 7 months, exploring the 7 Practices For Loving Your Life. One component of the group dynamic will be partnering with another person, and that took me to questions I’d ask them about what they might need in a partner, (accountability, sharing, inspiration….) and, what about partnering they might be resisting. And then, BOOM, I was asking MYSELF the same questions about relationships in my personal life. And I realize how much I resist vulnerability, because the last few times I have opened my heart, I got hurt. Hard. I took out some paper and I asked, What happens when you are vulnerable? and I wrote, “you get hurt, you learn things about yourself, your heart tells the truth. And that can be a good thing too. It doesn’t always have to be hurt-full. Trust that!” And so on my beach walk that morning I finally walked to the right, to the end of the beach where Laddy and I always walked. I could hear...
Nov12
Posted on Nov 12 by Ruth Davis
I am back at the beach, slowly re-connecting with the rhythm of the tides and the change in the climate. The transition between being in AZ and being here takes a while, letting go of what was, allowing my tender heart to ache, and, at the same time, embracing that I am in this place that makes my body feel so damn good. Already I am walking more than I have in the last three months and breathing in so deeply that my exhales are audible. The air is damp and a little salty-sticky, cool but not cold. I am wearing cotton capris, a three-quarter-sleeved knit shirt with a camisole underneath for warmth and my body rejoices in this perfect temperature. I pulled in on Sunday around noon, exhausted after the two easy driving days and the emotions that go with them. I was grateful for the welcoming fog, the piercing call of the killdeer and the roll of the waves. But my RV had a dead battery when I tried to start it. I had imagined I’d...
Oct15
Posted on Oct 15 by Ruth Davis
I have a picture of me standing in the late afternoon sun in Marika’s backyard. The light is perfect on my face, illuminating me like a spotlight and I am smiling from the inside. I remember that day. That moment. Feeling so content and joyous and happy for everything in my life. It was in May of 2006, almost two years after I had moved out of Marika’s house. Earlier in the morning she and I had gone to Goodwill. We were trying to work through the anger and do more fun things together instead of just sitting across from each other in a restaurant, sharing a meal, hardly talking. We still liked to go yard sale-ing and thrifting for odd trinkets, bird feeders, potential art supplies. That day at Goodwill I found a pair of wings. They were pink and lacy, with a two-foot wingspan, obviously intended for a child. But they had adjustable straps. Instead of making fun of them, Marika helped me loosen the straps, slip my arms through the loops, and adjust the wings onto...
Oct08
Posted on Oct 8 by Ruth Davis
This is so exciting! My first book. A dream is actually happening. Right now! I am getting ready to not just write, but publish my first book! This means final content edits, choosing artwork, checking page breaks, figuring out how the new version of Word deals with page numbering for even and odd pages, and always, envisioning the finished product in the hands of my readers. I have my graphic designer on standby, so, as soon as I have the copy for the back of the book, and the official ISBN number, we’ll be ready to roll. Yes this is pretty darn exciting! I’m reading Guy Kawasaki’s book, APE: Author, Publisher, Entrepreneur and I’m still hovering between Author and Publisher, working my way through Amazon’s self-publishing website, createspace.com. Several friends have used the service and all give it high marks for ease of use and good results. I did consider submitting a book proposal to publishers, but right now, I like having all of the control. And in my vision for this book, I sell so many copies...
Oct01
Posted on Oct 1 by Ruth Davis
After four months away, I returned to my gentle yoga class last week. I knew it was time to get on my mat, to reconnect with my body, to stretch to my soft edges. But equally important, I was longing to reconnect with my community, to practice with my teacher and my regular classmates, and to be received with so many hugs and welcome backs. But my teacher was on vacation so the substitute didn’t know I had been absent for so long. And it was a smaller than usual class and I only knew four people. After some lovely hugging hellos, I found a spot at the back of the room. I unrolled my mat, arranged my gray and red striped blanket on top, positioned my bolster near one end and set my blocks and a belt on the floor. And I stepped onto my mat. I breathed in, slowly raising my arms over my head, open to the sky, I exhaled, lowering my arms, bringing my palms together at my heart. And I cried. Just to be back,...
