Last Days in London

I spent my last week in London going to yoga, museums, dinners, and drinks. And here's what I know: I know I am ridiculously, stupidly, overwhelmingly lucky. I have managed to surround myself with incredible humans. Friends who will take you out for a dinner cooked by the queen's personal chef, friends who will stay up all night talking, just to catch up, even though they have to work the next day. I have friends who will open their home to me for three weeks, cook up incredible feasts, then complain of having empty nest syndrome an hour after I leave. And friends who will walk me to the subway, then ride all the way to the airport cause my bags are heavy and we get an extra hour together that way. 

I have friends who love me unconditionally, who make me feel more special than anyone ought to. I feel so humbled, so joyful, I miss them already. And no, you can't have them-they're all mine.

Here's what I've learned: 

"There's a lot of undoing that needs to be done."

A few days ago, while holding a sweaty yoga pose, the instructor said those words. While normally I ignore the touchy-feely, pseudo-guru babble that most instructors spout, this statement actually made sense. As she explained it, we spend our days "doing." We have things we need to do, we're always trying to do more, we go go go, do do do. Undoing what needs to be done is just the opposite- we have to take the time to not do, we owe it to ourselves to be in the moment, breathe, and enjoy. We have to take the time to appreciate where we are, what we've achieved, instead of going to do something else. 

Yes folks, I had a clichéd "ah ha" moment in a yoga class. My Eat Pray Love moment happened this week; it one statement this teacher crystallized what my entire trip is about: undoing what I've done. I want to undo 12 years of constant stress, deadlines, lofty goals, upward movement, bar-setting, tension, New York City, crowds, food eaten at my desk, checking boxes, never having enough time, hours spent indoors, trying to shed those "last 5 pounds", trying to impress, more better now, go go go.

So I'm off now to my next adventure. Eyes forward, but feet planted firmly in the present.