Showing posts with label Willie Nelson. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Willie Nelson. Show all posts

Thursday, July 29, 2010

It's Always Something...


Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world goes on.
Mary Oliver

It's been rough and rocky travelin', but I'm finally standin' upright on the ground.
After takin' several readings, I'm surprised to find my mind`s still fairly sound...
Willie Nelson

...the bike had been feeling a little strange...I figured something must be loose, but couldn't tell exactly what it was, so thought I’d take it to the bike shop the next day....then, suddenly, while crossing Broad Street, everything kinda lurched...I stopped and saw the frame looked like it had been run over by a truck...broken nearly in half...

...a week and a half later, was riding a different bike...borrowed from a kind and generous friend...through the park, and my wallet fell out of my pocket...though I didn't realize that 'til a couple miles later...turned around to ride up and down that stretch searching under every leaf, but couldn't find it anywhere...

...as if that wasn't enough, the very next day, a car sideswiped me from behind as I rode along the Spruce Street bike lane...

...the frame, as it turned out, was covered by a manufacturer’s warranty...and, since the company didn’t have that model, or an equivalent one, in stock...and, though I rode that bike hard for two years...(seriously...I’m the kinda person bikes’ parents warn them about)...the always helpful guy who runs my local bike shop got them to send me a brand new one...

...and, after riding up and down that two mile stretch of dirt road three or four times, my cell phone rang...I thought please be an unfamiliar number...and it was...turned out the caller was biking along and saw cash all over the ground...picking everything up, he tried to give it to a cop nearby, who said he’d have to put it into evidence and most likely it’d never be seen again...so, the guy went home and googled me for my number...even returned my change...

...the next day, I was pissed off but unhurt picking myself up from the sidewalk...but the woman in the car was crying, saying I’m so sorry over and over to the point that I ended up consoling her....I got a couple scratches, she’s probably gonna need therapy...(though, considering she hit a cyclist in a bike lane, she can be thankful no cops or personal injury lawyers got involved)...

It’s always something—if it’s not one thing, it’s another...
Roseanne Roseannadanna

You can’t stop the waves, but you can learn to surf.
attributed to Swami Satchidinanda

...in a blog with yoga in the title, this is where you might expect words like karma, grace, or blessings...and wouldn’cha know it, there they are....but I believe in the great mystery of the universe in a very literal sense...i.e. have no idea what’s going on, and try not to pretend otherwise...(though, in the end, suspect it's best to try to be honest and kind)...

...hope you’re doin’ okay, too...

Monday, May 18, 2009

Yoga Unites and the Willie Nelson Autonomous Zone


...biked downtown in a cold light rain this morning to join hundreds of other people in a gigantic yoga class on the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art...known locally as The Art Museum...yeah, those are the steps Rocky ran up...which, on this occasion, were soaked...I put my yoga mat down in a puddle...in the cold...never done yoga wearing anywhere near that much clothing before, but it worked out...legendary yoga teacher and founder of Yoga Unites, Jennifer Schelter, kept us moving...doing sun salutations until the sun actually kinda came out...

...the event, Yoga Unites for Living Beyond Breast Cancer, happens on the third Sunday in May, and this year raised over $100,000 for the LBBC, an organization that provides services to women who have survived or are currently struggling with breast cancer....and, overall, it's a hell of a good time...whatever the weather's like...

It's been rough and rocky travelin', but I'm finally standin' upright on the ground.
After takin' several readings, I'm surprised to find my mind`s still fairly sound.
Willie Nelson

...after that was over, got back on the bike and headed into South Philly...yeah, Rocky ran through there, too...for brunch with friends...and somehow ended up spending much of the afternoon in a bar...it’s all about balance...discussing, among other things, the recent talk of Texas seceding from the Union....I asked what about Austin?...Varina didn’t seem to care....I pointed out that Willie Nelson lives near Austin, and anyone who’d wanna deny U.S. citizenship to Willie Nelson clearly hates America...which is when Marty suggested that a Willie Nelson Autonomous Zone might be created...I suspect pot will be legal there....obviously, there’s a lot that’s gonna need to be worked out...


...photo stolen from most excellent yogini Melissa...who I think’s probably gonna be cool with that....