Where Have I Been?

     It's been a while since I've written on the blog. I was consumed for three months by my annual tax prep job plus my regular yoga teaching schedule. I have also been working on a book... more to come on that later this year.
     I do the tax prep job to earn travel money, so let the traveling begin. Colorado, Minnesota, Pacific Northwest, Chicago (Cubs baseball!!!), upstate New York and parts in between. These travels include working on my bucket list item of seeing a baseball game in every major league city. It's going to be a great year of exploring, both our beautiful country and my vast inner world.
     What adventures do you have planned for this great year?
             Leta

More on "I can't..."

     I'm a yoga teacher. For years I told myself, "I can't do side plank." One day as I evolved, I said to myself, "Maybe I can." So I tried it. I can do side plank. I had never tried it because for years I told myself I couldn't do it. Big lesson learned! Now I am very wary of those times when I hear myself saying, "I can't..."
     My brother (he's in Ohio, I'm in Kansas) has a medical condition that affects his ability to walk longer distances. It's extremely distressing for him, as he has always been very active. I believe I have some techniques and equipment that can significantly help him, plus he said, unprovoked by me, "I am going to beat this." I sent the equipment to him, and I'm making him videos (posted on youtube) to teach him how to use the techniques and equipment. Right away he started with "this is too complicated for me to learn." That's just another form of "I can't," and I called him on that bullshit immediately, encouraging him to not eliminate something that could vastly improve his condition just because he has to learn something new. I'm not letting him get away with any form of "I can't."
     Listen to yourself. What joy, adventures, empowerment, creativity and learning are you denying yourself with "I can't"???
          Leta

Highly-Recommended Fun

     Some friends invited me this past week to Paint the Town, a place in Wichita where groups can go and paint a picture, no painting talent needed. Since I have no painting talent (or so I thought), this was perfect for me.
     It was a blast. My friends and I brought snacks and wine and beer for the pre-painting gathering time. Then Mary, our painting instructor extraordinaire and extremely patient person, led us through the steps to create our flower painting. You can choose from many different pictures and all the canvas, paints, brushes, etc. are all laid out ready to go. It's a two-hour process.

                          

The photo on the right is my painting. I'm no Monet, but at least you can tell they are flowers. It was a super-fun learning experience. Even though everyone is painting the same thing, the pictures all turned out quite different. It was great to see and experience how a painting really goes together--all I ever see is the finished product. It was interesting and creative and fun, totally worth the $25 fee. Best of all, it turned a whole lot of "I can't" into "look what I did!" I'm sure this opportunity is not unique to Wichita, google it. Go do it, you'll love it!          Leta

Two Suggestions for Huge Improvement

This is what I am posting this morning at obama.org, the Obama Foundation, in reply to Mr. & Mrs. Obama's request for suggestions for projects for the Foundation:
      I live in Kansas, where it is often said that the majority would vote for Satan if they put an "R" behind his name. In my opinion, this "joke" was proven 100% true in the 2016 presidential election. These same voters keep electing the same people to Congress. The only hope for change in our congressional delegation is if someone resigns (extremely unlikely) or dies.
      This situation, along with the Electoral College, are extreme disincentives to vote. This disincentive is a tragedy, in my opinion. I am dedicated to our Constitution and exercise my voting rights. However, in the November 2016 election, aside from one state issue, my vote was completely meaningless. No wonder folks say "why bother?" on voting.
      I've heard the suggestion that I can move if I don't like how Kansas is, but we all know moving is no solution.
      My suggestions for projects for the Obama Foundation are two: 1) Eliminate the Electoral College, so that the President is truly chosen by the actual popular vote count; and 2) establish term limits for both houses of Congress, the shorter the better.
      Thank you for asking for input!
           Leta Miller
           Wichita, Kansas

Huh?!?!

Mark Twain: The more you explain it, the more I don’t understand it.

     What words of wisdom! Just this week I returned to my 3-month intensive job doing tax preparation. I walked in the door and immediately said to the accountant and my co-worker, “I forgot everything from last year!” My co-worker laughed and agreed. The accountant, however, just started explaining new tax stuff to me. I truly experienced Twain’s quote above in my first year’s tax work last year, and I can feel round two coming up. Fortunately we all have a good sense of humor about it all, and we have a great system of checks and balances to make sure everything comes out right in the end.

     This morning my co-worker and I were reacquainting ourselves with the new electronic phone system. We were using our personal cell phones to call the office phone and practice transferring calls and so on. Being in the same room doing all that makes for great silliness. To our credit, after a multitude of assorted trials, we finally figured out that one function was not working on our office phones. The person taking the fake calls to help us was very patient, but alas, it all deteriorated into more explaining and less understanding. Oh, and lots of laughter.

     I can think of multiple situations in which Twain’s quote is so very applicable, especially in parenting. Ponder his thought for a while and see where it leads you.

     Done explaining,

          Leta

Be Kind

"Be the reason someone believes in the goodness of people." Karen Salmansohn

     I do believe strongly in the goodness of people, but trust me, that belief is tested frequently. I waver constantly between "love is the only solution" and, for example, despising every person who is responsible for electing Trump.
     Realizing I can't do much now about the election, my choice is to practice kindness. Kindness toward myself for ugly thoughts. Smiling and being friendly. Knowing that we are really all doing our best, no matter how I may evaluate that. Knowing that I don't know another's story, so who am I to judge? Doing the next right thing with love. Live and let live. Bless all those whose path I cross.
     Kindness feels a lot better.
            Blessings!
                     Leta

2016 was a helluva year!

     2016 was a great year for me. I realize there are many out there who think the year sucked, and I hold you in love and sincerely hope 2017 is a much better year for you.
     I went through my daily Win List and came up with these highlights:

• Completed first season of tax prep, very enlightening, learned a lot
• Dennis & I celebrated our 30-year anniversary with a lovely trip exploring Colorado
• Completed book study classes on Big Magic and Slow Medicine
• Led two retreats at Timber Creek (yoga, Slow Medicine)
• My baby rocker was restored and refinished
• Went to Ana Forrest workshops in Houston
• My hip healed via year-long Slow Medicine journey (see earlier blog post)
• Completed a Whole 30 program, with weight loss inspiring new clothing purchases (dropped the "X" from my size!)
• Attended Symphony in the Flint Hills
• Enjoyed a fabulous trip to Scotland, Northern Ireland and Ireland with my excellent travel partner, Lanie
• Attended a Royals game with galpals
• Enjoyed Derek at home for a friend's wedding in August
• Treated Derek, Eliot and Alissa to a Cubs/Rockies game in Denver, adding another stadium to my "see all the MLB ball parks" life goal (& Cubs won!)
• Survived a physical, which confirmed my excellent health
• Spent a great long weekend in Chicago with my dear friend Cricket, including a Cubs game at Wrigley Field
• Dennis' Eagle job ended after nearly 26 years--yes, this is a good thing
• I dug deeply into the MELT Method, working with friends to explore the techniques and heal connective tissue; this is another healing modality I plan to explore much more
• Golfed w sons in FOCO in October, and discovered a great place for us to stay when visiting, The Solarium
• Spent a lovely Thanksgiving holiday with Dennis' family
• Made a huge life change and purchased an artificial Christmas tree (jury is still out)
• Enjoyed a trip with galpals to Kansas City for a concert, Christmas lights on the Plaza & KCCSL
• Enjoyed a super family Christmas in FOCO, made personalized stockings for Alissa & Paisley
• Swam 126 miles (over 100 miles for the 19th year in a row)
• And the most stellar event of 2016... THE CUBS WON THE WORLD SERIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

When we focus on the good, the good expands. I'm excited for 2017!
      Happy New Year!
            Leta