Saturday, May 28, 2011

pilates on the path

Good morning, walkers!


Yesterday, I decided to Breathe just a little deeper and expand into a way for me to reach out to the health and fitness community specifically through my Pilates and Physical Therapy background. This will hopefully provide a pathway to introducing even more people to the health benefits of walking labyrinths. We'll see what happens...

So, take a stroll over to the new "Pilates on the Path" blog and tell me what you think, OK? I have also set up sites on Facebook and Twitter and a little mini website, too.

It's been a fun little trip so far! Can't wait to see where it will all lead. Just putting one foot in front of the other right now and remembering, of course, to B-R-E-A-T-H-E.

Love,
Robin

Monday, May 23, 2011

why write?


Because of this very reason:
"We write to taste life twice, in the moment, and in retrospection. We write, like Proust, to render all of it eternal, and to persuade ourselves that it is eternal. We write to be able to transcend our life, to reach beyond it." - Anais Nin

I saw the first phrase of this quote on the cover of a Journal today. I loved it this morning and finally just looked up the full reference.

I needed to read, hear, touch and breathe these words today. How about you?


Sunday, May 22, 2011

so proud of our Ben!

Meet the coolest cooking kid on the planet: Ben Ostertag (also my sweet godson)!

Thanks to Amy for always sharing the happenings of Ben's amazing life with me...I love you friend!

http://www.vcstar.com/news/2011/may/19/wine-and-wishes-fundraiser-to-benefit-make-a/

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

affirmation

"Let the beauty of what you love be what you do." - Rumi

Thanks Patti, Dave, Spencer and Sophia for this special reminder. These treasured words have draped across my heart all week, and I am so grateful...Love, Rob

Monday, May 16, 2011

more May flowers

(I sure do LOVE this month!)

Monday, May 9, 2011

Love Day

Mother's Day.

This Sunday in May always used to be a tough one for me. My husband and I longed for a child for many, many years before he finally arrived - our miracle. I know how hard Mother's Day can be for women who desperately desire to be moms or whose children or mothers are separated from them by distance or by death. My heart aches for each of you...

I pray love and peace to you on this bright Monday. You are Beloved. You are no less you because of what has or has not happened in your life. You are no less blessed, and I am no more blessed.

Life is just too mysterious for words.

Saturday, May 7, 2011

Happy WORLD LABYRINTH DAY to all walkers of the world!

Join your friends around the globe TODAY at 1pm (in your own time zone) as we "Walk as ONE at 1"!

Walk a labyrinth with your feet, trace a labyrinth with your fingers, draw a labyrinth, or even try an online labyrinth at your computer. Check out all the free downloadable resources and helpful links at The Labyrinth Society website!

Here's the link to share: http://www.labyrinthsociety.org/world-labyrinth-day

See you on the Path today at 1pm! Make sure and come back and share your WLD stories with me, OK? Share them here, on our Facebook page or on Twitter.

Peace for your Path,
Robin

Thursday, May 5, 2011

National Day of Prayer


One nation, under God....

Blessings to all on this day. Here is the link to our President's National Day of Prayer 2011 proclamation if you'd like to share it or just read it here:

presidential-seal

THE WHITE HOUSE


NATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER, 2011

- – – – – – -

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

A PROCLAMATION



2011 NATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER PROCLAMATION

From the President of the United States



2011 NATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER PROCLAMATION



Throughout our history, Americans have turned to prayer for strength, inspiration, and solidarity.





Prayer has played an important role in the American story and in shaping our Nation’s leaders. President Abraham Lincoln once said, “I have been driven many times upon my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go. My own wisdom and that of all about me seemed insufficient for the day.” The late Coretta Scott King recounted a particularly difficult night, during the Montgomery bus boycott, when her husband, the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., received a threatening phone call and prayed at the kitchen table, saying, “Lord, I have nothing left. I have nothing left. I have come to the point where I can’t face it alone.” Dr. King said, in that moment of prayer, he was filled with a sense of comfort and resolve, which his wife credited as a turning point in the civil rights movement.





It is thus fitting that, from the earliest years of our country’s history, Congress and Presidents have set aside days to recognize the role prayer has played in so many definitive moments in our history. On this National Day of Prayer, let us follow the example of President Lincoln and Dr. King. Let us be thankful for the liberty that allows people of all faiths to worship or not worship according to the dictates of their conscience, and let us be thankful for the many other freedoms and blessings that we often take for granted.





Let us pray for the men and women of our Armed Forces and the many selfless sacrifices they and their families make on behalf of our Nation. Let us pray for the police officers, firefighters, and other first responders who put themselves in harm’s way every day to protect their fellow citizens. And let us ask God for the sustenance and guidance for all of us to meet the great challenges we face as a Nation.





Let us remember in our thoughts and prayers those who have been affected by natural disasters at home and abroad in recent months, as well as those working tirelessly to render assistance. And, at a time when many around the world face uncertainty and unrest, but also hold resurgent hope for freedom and justice, let our prayers be with men and women everywhere who seek peace, human dignity, and the same rights we treasure here in America.





The Congress, by Public Law 100-307, as amended, has called on the President to issue each year a proclamation designating the first Thursday in May as a “National Day of Prayer.”





NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim May 5, 2011, as a National Day of Prayer. I invite all citizens of our Nation, as their own faith or conscience directs them, to join me in giving thanks for the many blessings we enjoy, and I ask all people of faith to join me in asking God for guidance, mercy, and protection for our Nation.





IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-ninth day of April, in the year of our Lord two thousand eleven, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-fifth.





BARACK OBAMA



Peace for your Path,
Robin

Monday, May 2, 2011

a tale of two cities, one saint and a couple of flops

These are the Reefs I told you about a couple of days ago.

First, read what I learned about St. Anthony online:

This prayer to St. Anthony asks for help in finding missing items:


"Saint Anthony, perfect imitator of Jesus, who received from God the special power of restoring lost things, grant that I may find (mention your petition) which has been lost. As least restore to me peace and tranquility of mind, the loss of which has afflicted me even more than my material loss.

To this favor I ask another of you: that I may always remain in possession of the true good that is God. Let me rather lose all things than lose God, my supreme good. Let me never suffer the loss of my greatest treasure, eternal life with God. Amen."
Here’s another good prayer:

"Wondrous Saint Anthony, glorious for the fame of your miracles, you had the happiness of receiving in your arms our blessed Lord as a little child. Obtain for me from His mercy this favor that I desire from the bottom of my heart: (mention your request)

Since you were so gracious to poor sinners, do not regard the lack of merit on the part of him who calls upon you, but consider the glory of God, which will by exalted once more through you, by the salvation of my soul and the granting of the petition that I now earnestly present to you.

As a pledge of my gratitude, I beg you to accept my promise to live henceforth more faithfully according to the teaching of the Gospel and to be devoted to the service of the poor whom you ever loved and still love so much. Bless this my resolution and obtain for me the grace to be faithful to it till death. Amen."
Now, here is the tale:

I spent this last weekend with my family across the state in St. Petersburg. I am super lucky to be the support crew for two fantastic triathletes: my son and my husband. Both were competing in events at The St. Anthony's Triathlon. It was an amazing weekend of time with friends, neighbors and teammates (which included not one but TWO flat bicycle tires in one day for my two guys) and lots and lots of prayers and Grace. In fact, the "Become Your Dream" chalk drawing pictured here on my blog was found on Saturday morning on the way to the swim venue for our son. It is now my new iPhone screen saver.

Shortly after I posted my "Shadow Walk" blog story about the black flip flops that I felt we needed to return, I found Scott preparing to pack the Reefs for our weekend away. When I started laughing at the sight of this, I learned from him that he had not yet read my blog post from that day. He said he thought he just might wear the Reefs to the swim start for the walk from the hotel on Sunday and just leave them for someone else to enjoy.

Hmmm.....

The next morning I was brushing my teeth when I thought I remembered learning many years ago from an old patient that St. Anthony was known as the Patron Saint of Lost Items. This sweet lady even went so far as to give me a prayer card because I seemed to be losing so many things at that point in my life.

I looked for that card, but unfortunately, I had lost it. So, I ran to the computer, Googled a bit and learned that I was actually correct about St. Anthony.

That's when I told Scott I thought it just might be OK to leave the shoes in St. Petersburg after all...

We prayed a lot this weekend as a family, but not anything specific like the prayers listed here. Extreme tests of mind, body and soul tend to force us to our knees. I have just included these prayers here today because I really like them, and I especially love their message of brokeness and surrender.

Anyway, Scott wound up having the most incredible race of his life, but that is his own story to tell when he is ready to share it.

The End.