Author: Ki McGraw

With my rental car for one last day I set off on my old familiar route to my junior high. I’m sure I could’ve walked it directly, but with the road construction and road blocks, I got lost.

I started back over and found my way. In between, I witnessed fear arise in me. It gave me a chance to love that part of me that in the cold dark wet, driving on country roads feels afraid.

When’s the last time you tried to drive past your junior high? Could you find your way or did you get lost? Ki to Happiness loves the lost scared parts within.

We learned yesterday that my dad‘s excessive itching is a symptom of kidney failure. Together with heart failure, one by one his organs are letting us know that he is shutting down. As he’s 96, we all take it in stride.

Helping him find comfort, we let go of any efforts to run from this truth. There will not be any heroics. No dialysis or looking for organ replacements. Instead, some otc remedies as the steroids kick in.

Have you appreciated your organs lately? Can you take a moment to recognize them and their contribution to your comfort? Ki to Happiness appreciates each body part.

The road on which my parents live is closed to through traffic. Wildlife has had a chance to make a strong come back without large semi trucks on this rural route. A herd of 10 deer freely roam out my yurt window. A pair of black squirrels have been identified.

Unloading my car I saw the couple of black bushy tails so I repeatedly called out “squirrelly!”This morning I learned that there was a squirrel in our building in Seattle! I’m feeling a strong connection between me here and my world there.

What helps you feel connected when you are traveling? What connects you to travelers when you stay home? Ki to Happiness feels squirrelly.

Thank you for reading my words. You are listening to me with your eyes as you read. Sometimes when I am working privately with someone at a distance, I write notes so my eyes are able to listen in addition to my ears.

Sometimes when I read, I do so aloud. Involving both capacities of seeing and hearing helps to anchor me in the present. Staying still, I open myself to the world.

Are you a good listener? Are you aware of the way that your eyes contribute to your listening? Ki to Happiness listens within stillness.

The huge weather cyclone on the West Coast reached all the way to the Midwest. In St. Louis the high temperature was just under 80 as the high at my next destination was only 54.

I drove the front with wind under my wings. I felt lifted and conveyed to safety, easily dodging thunderstorms and tornadoes. I arrived and learned of the monsoon force deluge that just passed. I rest, safely with my old dear friend. When the front becomes the back, I’ll travel onward.

How is this huge cyclone of weather affecting you? Do you feel it’s energy? Ki to Happiness says “big front, big back”.

Santosha is the Sanskrit word for contentment. In yoga practice we learn to choose it instead of other ways of being. Letting go of attachment to unmet desires releases us to choose well.

I like to think of it as putting on clothes. I could wear my old baggy pajamas and my stained and torn sweatshirt. Or I could put on something lovely that feels good and is uplifting to me and others who might see me.

To what unmet desires are you attached? Are you willing to release them? Ki to Happiness chooses to put on Contentment.

Driving from my yurt 4 hours south to check on my brother and his healing, I had a sudden urge to pull over. I didn’t need a bathroom stop, or anything to eat or drink. I tried to disregard the impulse. Instead, I followed guidance.

After a few minutes walking about in the sun on the grass at the edge of the woods of the rest stop I resumed my trip. A couple of minutes down the road, traffic came to a full stop. When we resumed a crawling pace the jack knifed semi truck in the meridian became visible. Emergency vehicles were heading toward the tragedy, requiring extraction of the driver. If I hadn’t pulled over at the exact moment I did, I would have been a part of the disaster, not just a witness.

Are you willing to follow guidance? What tragedies have you been saved from for doing so? Ki to Happiness thanks the Guides and Guardians.

Like the rental car angel who eased my travel stress, my dad’s new home health care aid is a cat person. So am I. Establishing this basic aspect of personalities allows us to communicate easily with one another.

When we share a deep value, that mutual love gives us an easy bond. We become team members. Here, our team joins on behalf of my dad‘s well-being. Breath coaching and stretching actively involved us all.

Who are your people? What is the value that bonds you together? Ki to Happiness is on your team if you are alive.

It may be a mistake flying around at this time. COVID stress, mechanical problems, long lines, all contribute to the feeling. Seeing my folks one more time will make it worthwhile.

Despite all of my efforts towards strength, flexibility and balance, I became stressed, anxious and impatient. I was not alone in that. So did the other 184 passengers. Talking with a couple of them in line helped diminished it a bit. Reaching out for greater assistance also helped a lot.

Have you been making mistakes lately? Are you getting better at making good ones? Ki to Happiness makes the best mistakes she can.

As I prepare to board my flight, I keep my commitments to the challenges I’ve been doing. Squatting with my 16pound cat, Padma is good for both of us as well as the cause of bringing attention and donations to National Breast Cancer Federation.

Squats go up and down. Just like life. Mountains and valleys. Like the breath. Inhale and exhale. Requires strength, flexibility and balance. Thank Goodness for yoga helping all these attributes stay at the ready.

Do you know squat? Are you good with the up or down? Ki to Happiness knows squat.