So Much to Be Thankful For...

Hello again everyone!

I knew it was time for an update when I got a text message from my sister that said, "Where in the world is Amanda? Inquiring minds want to know!" And later that same day I got a message from my parents asking how Nevada City was; not only have I never been to Nevada City, but it was about 600 miles away from where I actually was.

In San Diego. In shorts and sandals. In January.

One of my goals this year was to be warm. Check!

I last wrote about the birth of Ray. There's a lot to fill in, and I know I won't fit it all here, but here's a little taste:

Right after Ray was born, I hopped on a bus back to the Sierra Nevadas to serve on a vipassana meditation course. I loved baking cornbread and sweeping the floors for the meditators, trying to make their experience as comfortable as my first sit (10 day course) was. Here's a few of us who served and sat together on our magical day off in Yosemite. 

My next plane ride took me to Colorado. Here's a different kind of plane ride:

Acro-yoga with my nephew Demitri. 

And my nephew Johannes. 

Not quite an airplane, but pretty good considering I weigh more than twice what he does!

These two boys were another big part of leaving Maine -- I wanted to spend time with them! And I got it, lots of good boy time. I witnessed only one bloody nose in my month with them, which is apparently below average. 

Of course, hanging out with my sister and her husband wasn't half bad, either!

Heather ran her first half-marathan while I was there. It was -8 degrees when she left the house, but it never crossed her mind to drop out. Yes, that's NEGATIVE 8 degrees.

(Do you see me whooping it up in the background?)

I can't say enough about my month with the Wiegands. If you ever want to feel welcome, go spend time with Heather and Chris! From borrowing their neighbor's car for me, to driving me to a hard-to-find soccer game, to finding a guitar for me to use for the month... and on and on. Thank you so much, Heather, Chris, Johannes, and Demitri! 

It's hard to find a photo with Chris *in* it, as he usually takes the photos. Thanks, Chris, for taking me snowshoeing and for all the millions of other gestures, small and large!

I don't have many photos from the next leg of my trip. I spent New Year's with my friend Christian in the neat little town of Troy, New York.  We welcomed the New Year at dawn at the snowy Grafton Peace Pagoda. Check it out if you're ever in the area. I met lots of folks doing great work to build sustainable communities there -- keeping fracking out of NY, growing healthy food, protecting the watersheds of the Hudson Valley, and much more. Thanks, Christian!

I popped in to East Coast winter just long enough to get really chilly and rush back to California!

The next phase of my journey was a long time coming: the year-long Leadership Program run by Bay NonViolent Communication. Another reason I left my job -- I have wanted to do this program for years, but the retreats fall during the school year.

Our first retreat was in Calistoga, CA, in the beginning of January. Folks came from all over the world: Japan, Turkey, Canada, all parts of the US. All of us have the intention to share nonviolent communication (NVC) in some way. NVC has been a huge support to me in the work I do as a teacher, as a dialogue facilitator, as a friend and family member...  pretty much every part of my life has been enriched by NVC. I'm still figuring out how to explain it. For me, it's the "how" of living compassion and peace; it's both a strategy and a philosophical framework.  Read here if you'd like to learn more.

I didn't take any pictures from our week together, but my new friend Slam did. Here's Slam in our beautiful home for the week:

 

And Slam, Go, and Yuko.

Thanks, Slam!

I was blown away by the quality of the teaching and programming. I returned to the outside world inspired, refreshed, and a little disoriented. Thankfully, my new global community of fellow NVC-ers is a huge support. We connect every week on a tele class and we'll see each other at our next retreat in June. In the meantime, I'm putting my focus on integrating what I'm learning and letting it influence my inner and outer life.

What's most exciting: seeing more and more clearly how I can contribute to peace-building and helping people (and all other creatures) live well together. I'm grateful to NVC for helping me develop this in myself!

Since the retreat, I've been in the Bay Area and in Southern California. A few pictures:

Hiking in Point Reyes with Liza. 

In San Diego with Chaz:

Exploring tide pools.

The Ocean Beach Farmers Market. Just like Maine, only with palm trees. And shorts. And a lot of other differences.

Hiking among the madrones and live oaks. (Thanks, Chaz!)

Meeting Jen and Fred's adorable little one, Alina. I wish I had a photo of her adorable parents, too!

Now I'm back in the Bay Area for a day before heading to the Sierras again. My next adventure: a month in a yoga ashram! 

I miss you and love you all!

**Many thanks for all the photos! Thanks to Chris and Heather, Jen and Fred, Chaz, Mercy, Liza, and Slam, and I'm sorry if I missed anyone else!