"Like anybody I would like to live a long life.
Longevity has its place." -MLK Jr.
Mid-way through my meditation session this evening, the earth began to move. My living room was dark, illuminated only by a slight glow of dusk from the south facing window that looks out over Greece behind the rickety old loveseat I was sitting cross-legged on, eyes closed, hands resting on my knees, palms up. My new little kitty Lui, who had been napping all day, decided that my meditation time was the perfect opportunity to be hyper-active. In the midst of his running circles around the living room, and while I was gently letting go of all thoughts and distractions (uh huh), the rickety ol' loveseat ever so slightly began to tremble, along with the tv stand next to me. I thought perhaps the trembling was a result of Lui's flying leap off the back of the couch and subsequent landing on the floor next to me, but the trembling continued ever so eerily. Turns out there was an earthquake (4.5) in a Greek village 16 miles south of me. And here I thought my meditation was moving mountains. ;)
This past week I turned 30. I rung in the new year with a focus on body, mind and soul activities that I hope to sustain in this life ahead.
- BODY. I kicked off my birthday morning with day #23 of Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred workout series, and it appears I am indeed "shredding" weight with all the compliments I've been getting from colleagues. Both a coworker and my Peace Corps doctor asked me this week to send them my workout regimine. Feels good to feel fit as I ring in 30.
- MIND. I thrive on new experiences - through exploring, learning and being challenged - so I commemorated the day with 3 countries. For breakfast, I sat out on my terrace and looked out across the border into Greece. I had bought rice-stuffed grape leaves imported from Greece and imagined I was eating them in my neighbor country. For lunch, I was in Albania for delicious fish at a restaurant in a small village on the shore of Lake Prespa. For dinner, I came back into Macedonia for a night out in Bitola with Macedonian drinks and cuisine.
- SOUL. I've committed myself to 30 writing challenges in the year ahead to nourish the deep ache inside of me to be a writer. As I discovered this revelation of writing as my passion these past few months, I took a few first steps:
- I started my first book (details to be revealed if and when it's ever finished)
- I applied for and am now Managing Editor of Pauza Magazine, Peace Corps Macedonia's quarterly publication featuring the life and times of Peace Corps Volunteers here in Macedonia. My staff and I published our first issue on Valentine's day. <3 a="" for="" h="" peek="" sneak="" span="" style="font-size: 13.333333969116211px;">ere's the link:
BIRTHDAY FESTIVITIES
ORBIS TV: "MOST POPULAR" AWARDS NIGHT
The Mayor of Novaci receiving the award for "Most Popular Municipality"
on behalf of the Municipality of Novaci :)
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