Enjoy ;-)

Paying it forward, Karma, Yoga and Peace

So, today I am anxiously awaiting the delivery of the mail. I got a phonecall on Thursday from a photographer named Michael Crane, who I met at Party in the Park. He called to let me know that he would be sending me the CD's of the photos he took from the Michael Franti & Spearhead show on 7/16/09. These are the photos that I have been waiting for, not only because I really enjoy (and have enjoyed for years) Spearhead, but because Lanie was up on stage that night (as I mentioned in my previous blog entry) and I didn't have my camera with me to take photos. Never again, let me tell you! It was pure luck that I was able to get in touch with Michael (Crane) who was kind enough to not ony offer up the photos, but also went back up, erased some of his previous photos because his memory card was full, and took more photos of Lanie and the other kids on stage! Did I mention, that when he refused to take money for the photos? When I asked how much I should send for the CD's, his response was: "The concert was free, the photos are already taken, and I want to keep this free for you too", or something along those lines. Free? FREE? Nobody does anything for free anymore... or do they? Well, let me just tell you - within 5 minutes of entering the concert grounds, a man came up to me and asked if I needed earplugs for Lanie (which I did). They were not selling them on site (which would be a great idea, by the way... maybe I should ask to be a vendor... a cheap one though), so he told me to go and talk to his wife, pointed her out, and said that she had brought extras for kids who needed them. She too would not accept money from me, gave me the earplugs, hugged me, and sayd "Here you go, mama!". Thank you Lisa (I believe that was her name)! Overall, just a really nice party, great music, lots of giving, lots of good juju all around that evening.

What is sad is this - I am always taken aback by such kind acts. People giving without expectation of receiving back. Is this just a New York thing, or is this a normal feeling everywhere? Should that be a normal feeling? I sure hope not - I don't want to feel normal about expecting things in return for kind acts. The whole experience has helped me open my eyes a bit. I know that will of course take time, but hopefully, I have a lot of time! Lots of good karma I hope for all.

So, yoga - this is something I have wanted to do for years. I have been to yoga classes here and there, have loved it every time (except when I went to a class at my former gym - I don't know that the instructor knew what she was doing - I know I didn't know what I was doing!). My favorite team building day when working at Nazareth College was when they had us go to the chapel and take a yoga class for an hour - it was unreal, exhausting, relaxing and refreshing. I don't know why I didn't seek out classes then - probably because I could not afford it. Now that I am home for the summer, dealing with the pains of pregnancy, and working through emotions and life in general, it is time to get off my butt and find yoga. I have been asking around, both duing different Dr. appointments as well as on facebook, and the most suggested yoga venue has been a place called Breathe Yoga and Juice Bar in Pittsford, so I am going to give it a shot. Price is right, place looks nice, and many people have said it is great there. I can't wait!

Links below will take you to the websites of the photographer I spoke of earlier as well as the yoga studio.


http://www.moontroll.com/

http://www.breathe-yoga.com

Lanie on stage

Lanie and her "new friend" Cherine Anderson after the concert

That little person wearing white on the left of the stage is Lanie dancing

Lanie and Michael Franti after the show

Well, seems like we have adventure around every turn lately. As you may have read on my Facebook page, we went to see Michael Franti & Spearhead last Thursday in concert. I took Lanie with me since I knew his music was not aggressive and was so much fun to listen and dance to. At the end of the show, he invited some of the children from the audience up to dance with him for the last song(s) of the night. Lanie was brought up as well and danced her little brains out! She had a blast (as did we watching!). Cherine Anderson (the Jamaican reggae singer who is featured on some of Spearhead's more well known tracks) came over and brought Lanie up on stage, so when you look at the video (it was done by someone in the audience, so no perfect quality, but hey, whatever!), look for the woman in the orange shirt carrying a little girl in a white shirt - that little girl is Lanie!

There were thousands of people in attendance at this show. How cool!

By the way, after the show, Lanie got to meet Cherine Anderson and Michael Franti again and got CD's and Tee shirts. She wore her Cherine shirt every day and night until finally yesterday we got her to take it off - what a riot!




Here is the link to the video (or you can click the title of this blog entry - either way works)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELDB80LDyeg