Winter Solstice and Letting Go

Now, I'm usually not one for Astrological thinking, but given the lunear events of today, I couldn't help but follow some links. It's interesting that yesturday I felt the need to write my little post about letting go (in the context of work no less, in which I'm in transition) even though I thought it an insignifcant thing to do. Now I find out that with the rare full moon and total eclipse on Winter Solstice and it's implications for letting go and deep transformation, I wonder of there is something deeper at work here . . . or maybe not! As Astrodynamics writes, "We can choose to remain asleep, or we can awaken to a new level of awareness and conscious direction . . . This is a time to assemble all of the information that has been accumulated since the New Moon and use the power of Pluto to focus and transmute any difficulty or challenges into raw power and transformation." Really, this is what I've been doing for the past few months. In my bones I feel that 2011 will be a big year of change for me and I've been patiently waiting. Perhaps nothing will come of it and I'll look back and laugh at myself, but in any case, I feel prepared for any changes that come my way.

Lessons from Work in Letting Go

As a proofreader, I’ve learned the lesson of letting go. Now, I know what you’re thinking, She’s a proofreader? But her blog is full mistakes! To that, all I have to say is “anyone who edits their own copy has a fool for an editor.” In my former job, where I worked for five years, I would often get last minute jobs that needed to be done ASAP or COB (ah, corporate lingo). So I’d proof quickly and pray for the best. The worst part is, is that there were often more than one copy floating around and I had little control over it. Sometimes I would get a piece returned to me for another proof and none of my original proofs were made and there’d be a whole slew of new ones! I really got sick of “add comma” and “delete comma.” The worst was hyphens! Meh, I miss the security, but I don’t miss corporate editing.

How does this relate to letting go? Well, as I mentioned, I was often pressed for time, so I had to accept the fact that I did my best; it didn’t have to be perfect. It’s the same with putting any creative work out into the public—if you don’t just push it out the door you will fall in a viscous cycle of reworking (which is one reason I don’t spend a lot of time editing my posts). The problem with proofreading is that it’s one of those jobs that go unnoticed unless you make a mistake. And I have made my share of them. One client complained to a co-worker who in turn publicly (i.e. mass work email) berated me using the metaphor that my mistake was like when a passenger on an airplane folds down his seat tray only to discover that there is a coffee stain and immediately thinks the plane is going to crash. Anyone who thinks that is obviously a moron, but you can imagine how I felt receiving that email. My nerves were snip-snapping all day. The worst part was that the client was mad about an array of mistakes, many technical, but I bore all the blame. Another lesson in letting go—and forgiveness.

Where have you learned lessons in letting go?

Petite Christmas Tree

Full disclosure: this tree is a fake! It was given to me in college and I've been using it ever since; actually, all my Christmas decor has been given to me or handed down. I rarely open my wallet to buy "Christmas stuff"--just boxed cards and I bought 3 rolls of wrapping paper once a few Christmases ago and just now almost through my last roll. I save all gift wrapping, bags, bows and cards and reuse them. I cut up last year's cards to make gift tags. I do this partly out of frugalness (I suck at wrapping gifts anyway), partly because it's greener, and partly because I just too damn lazy to shop for it.

Sometimes I wish I felt more "Christmasey," but I get more excited over Halloween! Maybe if I had cable and got to watched all those classic Christmas shows from my childhood I'd be more excited . . . they don't make them like that anymore:( However, I do always enjoy having this little tree up with all my birds, mice, and horses (not that you can see them in the picture). This year I put my purple bejeweled butterfly on as the topper, so I'm calling it my Nature Tree, harking back to the holiday's pagan origin.

Sensual Bellydance ~ Learning New Choreography

I'm trying to learn this choreography on my own. It's a lot harder to learn a new dance using a DVD than in class. Here's a link to the notes. The video is demontrating the version with floorwork, but I'm teaching myself the non-floorwork version for now.



A look at the DVD:



When class starts up again in Janurary, we'll be learning this one, which I mostly know already but haven't used zills yet:



This is from Ansuya's Magic of Bellydance DVD.

Kejimkujik's Seaside Adjunct

Went for a hike here in November. It's probably one of the most beautiful spots in Nova Scotia. I hope go back in the summer.

Here's a summer photo to show you what the area is known for (not too many beaches in NS with this color water):

(Source)

P.S. the beach is also nesting grounds for Piping Plovers.

Irina - Tribal Fusion Bellydance improvisation - World Dance New York

I am in love with this performance. I would love to learn it.

Cornucopia of Whales

Wow, I've been really slow at posting my Quebec trip photos from August (it's not easy posting a lot of pictures at once on my little Acer laptop). Here are the rest of the highlights:

Parc national des Hautes-Gorges-de-la-Rivière-Malbaie.  The river was very low when we were there, but it was still a fun and easy hike. When walking along the trail, there were spots were you could feel a coldness on your bare legs--it was permafrost! There is a lot of camping at this parc, but no cars allowed beyond the main entrance; you have to take a bus to a number of different drop off points.

We spent one night in Tadoussac and got up in the morning to go on a whale watching zodiac ride. We donned our heavy, full-body orange suits (very flattering) and prayed we wouldn't have to pee during the three hour ride. I still can't believe how many whales we saw--it was a real cornucopia: ‎4 Fin Whales, 2 Humpbacks, a handful of Minkes, and countless Harbour Porpoises and Belugas. The Belugas are protected, so you can't get close to them--we just saw white bobs in the distance. The picture is a fin whale, and they look A LOT bigger in person!

Ending with views of the Saguenay River. After whale watching and lunch, we drove back to Quebec City for one more night before flying home.

Baring My Belly

I've been focused on belly dance this season. Still practicing yoga from home, but belly dance has moved up to the number one slot. I've been practicing off and on for the last few years and I love it. I love how I feel during  and after. I love the community of women in the class (it's much more lively than the yoga classes I used to attend were everyone showed up and then left after having barely spoken a word). Our class had a recital this week, my second time performing, and I'm getting less nervous dancing and baring my belly in public--I even started to enjoy performing! One of my life goals is to do a solo performance (and acquire a full costume that fits--darn my unusal bra size). After the recital, my teachers asked me if I would join the troupe--I said yes! Yikes. So now I have to find time to rehearse weekly with them. I'm very excited.

Downsizing

The car is packed and ready for when we groggily roll out of bed at 5 a.m. to get out the door at 6 to set up at the flea market an hour’s drive away. Years of the hubby's collectibles that I've always hated dusting are now in boxes, hoping for a new home. Books, DVDs, and other things we've accumulated are packed as well. We've already sold the big antiques at auction. But we still have lots of stuff; certainly all the necessary things to live more than comfortably.


I've often wondered about the lives of the people on the other side of the table selling their wares. Now I'm one of them--at least for the next two Saturdays.

I “googled” the term downsizing and a related search term that came up was “empowerment.” I like that. Unlike the hubby, I’ve never been much of a clutterbug and would grumble every time he brought new “treasures” home. He sure does like weird stuff. I hope there are a lot of people like him shopping at the flea market tomorrow.