Julia

Fourteen years of unconditional love. A painful farewell filled with grief and tears. When I looked into her eyes I saw exceptional wisdom and kindness in a dog soul that is now released to something else. Her memory will always be in our hearts. I'm so grateful I could be with her when she left.

Lift spotting

One difference between St Anton and Lech: in Lech Chanel has clearly identified a target audience.

A sight for sore eyes

The power of mountains.

Pooh and Piglet

Birthday girl

Guess who?

Country weekend

Coming my way

I started my on line shopping this morning looking for a Burberry trench coat. Inspired by an article on the Burberry brand, how the (female) CEO turned a neglected UK brand into something desireable through a couple of well implemented strategies. All of a sudden I just felt that everybody should have at least one Burberry trench coat in their closet.

Although the sterling is favorable right now, I realised this is a bit of an investment that takes more consideration than a couple of clicks. So... to be continued.

But I still had a shopping urge to attend to. Chosing between the Burberry London fragrance and the coffee table book on Kate Moss (both within my clickable shopping boundaries) I went for the latter.

Nine out of ten

A manicure where nine out of ten nails look just fine and then there is one which is smudged. Can you enjoy the lovely nail polish on the nine nice looking nails? No. They all get contaminated by the smudge.

Just like life. Why is it so hard to enjoy everything that is good? The brain is wired to search for smudge, enlarge it and allow it to contaminate the rest.

Mission (with the risk of sounding like a saviour): see through the contamination and explore how fantastic life really is. Smudged nail polish is not the end of the world. It's just a distraction trying to pull your attention from what really matters.

What's in your iPhone?

The feeling of waking up on a Saturday morning, free to do anything you like. Almost. The morning run (if that was an option) has to wait as the temperature is now down to minus thirteen.

A well known fact is my pottering fetish. Nothing spectacular, but just a simple pleasure of moving things around in the flat... Or this morning I happened to go through my iPhone to find all sorts of random notes in the Notes feature. In no particular order, this is what I found:

E Guigal, Cote de Rhône, 2009
A tip from my partner in leadership development, also friend and previous coach. And wine expert. This is a red wine from a good year which also happens to be very affordable.

Marc Jacobs Bookmarc, 56 South Audley Street
A place to visit next time in London...

Airbnb.com
A tip from favourite hairdresser who always has a trip booked somewhere with his partner. This is where I will find the perfect accommodation for a trip to NY. When it happens.

Deuter, Garden of the Gods
An old note that has been executed. Still one of my favourite albums for yoga. Listening to this is like entering a place inside of you that is always there but sometimes difficult to find.

And then this:
"We were all created out of love but born into separation the moment the cord was cut. That's what it is to be human. Heartbreak is not the end of love. It's the beginning."
I can't remember where I got it from, but this morning I found it again and felt the need to capture it here. Whoever wrote it made it through; surrendered to the pain to experience love anew.

One day soon...

...this park will be green and filled with flowers. But first a weekend with a weather forecast of minus fourteen. We are approaching five months of winter. It must be worth it, otherwise all Swedes would emigrate.

Does it really work?

How does acupuncture work? Seemingly needles in the skin at random spots. Front goes first, back goes second. Fortyfive minutes later the system is balanced. So they say. I don't know, but I believe them. Or him. The man who I trust to know the points of focus, the man who carefully and with precision penetrates my skin with needles. Sometimes many, sometimes only a few.

It's a little bit like flying in an airplane. I happily enter the plane and trust it works, but I don't really understand how. 

It's never the same

Different room. Unfamiliar faces. Not knowing what they are used to. Pitching at a level without being able to read the reactions. Was this too difficult? Too hard? Too slow? Or just right?

Filling in for a fellow yoga instructor is never the same as teaching my own classes. In my classes I know that people are there by choice. They know what to expect, more or less, they know my style and they return. The feedback is immediate during the class as well as after. We have established rapport to the grade that one participant came to me after class one morning to say that she didn't appreciate having the soundtrack of Twin Peaks as part of the yoga playlist. The same participant expresses her wishes in terms of themes and she takes the opportunity to ask for advice in her practice. The same goes for a number of regulars.

That doesn't happen with a group who is somebody else's. And I realise how important the dialogue with the group is for my motivation to teach. Tomorrow I'm back in my room, with familiar faces who will inspire my continuous teaching.

Back

Yes, I'm back. From somewhere. On my way to somewhere else. In transit but still in the middle of something. Then you need a good breakfast to really enjoy and appreciate the moment.

Encouragement

A positive affirmation from a positive friend who has managed to reboot. From a very unhappy place, she is now in a happy place. That is in a new house and seemingly in love. So she is sending some of her positive energy my way.

A new friend?

Among the people Facebook suggests I may know I find Tara Palmer-Tomkinson. An English socialite and "it girl". Not sure who or what we may have in common, apart from being born in the same year. Facebook intelligence works in mysterious ways...

Sign of spring

The colour this spring according to Chanel is...