The Upside of Unemployment: Can you consider Zumba a part of Serenity?

The Upside of Unemployment: Can you consider Zumba a part of Serenity?: "Last Thursday a couple of friends talked me into going with them to a Zumba class, being that I hadn't had any real intense physical activit..."

Can you consider Zumba a part of Serenity?

Last Thursday a couple of friends talked me into going with them to a Zumba class, being that I hadn't had any real intense physical activity in a month and half, I figured why not.  It actually was a lot of fun and physically very demanding, but I wondered if it fit into my summer of serenity.

Would I be better off getting a "workout" through a yoga class - the studio that offers the Zumba also has multiple yoga classes?

There is a part of me that thinks jumping and moving around to loud hip/hop and Latin music is not really serene and since this is the summer of my serenity I am checking out the yoga classes this week.  The yoga studio has a restorative yoga session that uses props and is slightly more physical that the normal yoga class, I am thinking that this might work better in the summer scheme.

In the past couple of weeks I ventured away from serenity by traveling to New York City for a day and Philly for the weekend and while it was wonderful to see my family and have my son fix my Mac issue I found that I truly missed my greenery and waterfall and being alone in the house in the country.  It was wonderful to wake up this morning having slept under a ceiling fan listening to the sounds of water rushing and absolute darkness (the home I stayed in Philly had an unusually large number of people so I slept on a couch in the basement with the sounds of compressors and people walking over my head).  I feel refreshed and ready to begin July.  Although I am very sad that this summer is moving so quickly.  I wonder how hard it will be to leave here in August and return to the "chaos" of the real world.

That was a fleeting moment and it's gone as quickly as it popped into my mind, the waterfall and Hercules purring have brought me back to serenity.

Ebb & Flow of Waterfalls and Life in General

The serenity of life by a waterfall has been upset in several ways.  First and foremost the waterfall is no longer a peaceful flow.  We have had several inches of rain in the last 24 hours causing a flood watch for the river and intense flow over the waterfall.  (Look at my pics on Facebook).

The second is this morning I received an email telling me that I wasn't chosen for a position (I had 3 separate interviews and references checked) for one reason only  I didn't have the disease or a close connection to it.  I can't argue with that logic but if that was a consideration from the get go shouldn't it have been stated earlier in the process?

I know in my heart that I will eventually find a position that suits my talents, maybe it will even locate talents yet undiscovered, but I still feel disappointed.

It is hard to be a happy camper on a dreary day, but still I am sitting at my desk gazing out the window at the steady rain, incredibly powerful gushing waterfall and lush green gardens wondering if this is just a part of the natural ebb and flow of life.

A query that needs advice

This weekend my serenity was added to by the addition of my husband and kids.  It was a lovely evening, filled with a fire in fireplace, music and s'mores along with many interesting topics of conversation.  I love that my kids are adults and that the conversations can swing to multiple topics usually simultaneously.  But this morning the serenity was interrupted by the instance of my kids that I am allowing my fear of moving water to infer with fun family time.  

Perhaps I am and perhaps I have allowed my fears to take hold, but I also have no real desire to kayak down the Delaware River on a day that is very sunny and in the 80s.  I know my limits, I know that just an hour in the sun without water reflection will cause me to burn and why should I get into a kayak going down a river when I don't swim very well and I burn at the drop of a hat?  

I am currently sitting on my porch enjoying the sunny day, writing my blog, reading my Kindle and listening to the waterfall.  In spite of what my family thinks I am very happy, very content and filled with inner peace with the day and looking forward to the evening.

Isn't that what counts or should I listen to my kids and find a way to over come the fear of kayaks, canoes and sailboats?  By the way, I do go in the ocean, have been on powerboats, ocean-liners and party boats as well as walking into and floating in the ocean.

Locating my inner peace

Well on Sunday I turned 54 as birthdays go it was filled with inner peace.  The day itself was cloudy and drizzly but inside it was quiet and peaceful.  Strawberries bought at the Barryville farmers market provided the best Strawberry pancakes with fresh maple syrup to start the day - prepared and served by Scott (breakfast is definitely his meal), then came the Sunday New York Times and a lite lunch.  Being 54 is pretty good so far.

As I have written in other posts my backyard fills me with serenity, today we had so much rain that the waterfall is flowing full force the sound is mesmerizing.

On Thursday I will be leaving the serenity for the pulse of the big city - I will be in NYC for the entire day for a meeting.  This will be the first time I will have left peace, quiet and serenity for an entire day.  I am very interested in seeing my reactions and looking forward to both a day in the city and returning to serenity.

The Upside of Unemployment: Passion vs Inner Peace

The Upside of Unemployment: Passion vs Inner Peace: "In the past couple of weeks since arriving in Barryville I have wondered about finding my passion and how to accomplish this endeavor, but a..."

Passion vs Inner Peace

In the past couple of weeks since arriving in Barryville I have wondered about finding my passion and how to accomplish this endeavor, but as the heat of day worn on yesterday and I spent my time wondering at a local mall and seeing a movie I wondered if I was missing the point.

Maybe it's not "passion" I am searching for but inner peace.  Don't get me wrong - I am not tormented inside, but I wonder if I am truly joyful.

Last night I quietly ate my dinner on the screened-in porch watching the sunset, the waterfall slowly beginning to lose steam (no rain in the past week and half) and the lightening bugs filling the air outside and wondered if there was anything more beautiful?  This is the whole point of my being in a cabin by a waterfall for the next couple of months, but then the world intruded and serenity was disturbed by a horde of motorcycles passing at high speed in the front of my cabin a road that is well traveled during the day but usually quiet at night.

If I work at locating my inner peace and my serenity will it be possible to block out the "noise" of the world around me and maintain tranquility?

Near by Barryville is a Buddhist Meditation Center that offers instruction on finding inner peace.  I am wondering if it is something that can be taught or if it is something that must be found within.

How do you find your Passion?

When I first became unemployed everyone said to me - "Use the time to find your passion"  But here it is 9 months later and I am still searching.

So the question is - What exactly is passion and I don't mean romantic.  I mean life's passion?  And more importantly can somebody actually help me locate mine?

I love to cook, I love to watch the waterfall out my office window and the peacefulness of the water now trickling over the rocks, but I am pretty sure this isn't my passion.

Can anyone out there give me the directions to locating my passion?

Serenity or Insanity

I am now temporarily residing in a beautiful cabin with a waterfall and pool in my backyard, but for the past few months instead of serenity it has been chaos and insanity.

For just under a year I have been unemployed - the way isn' t important, but how I reacted is-first I was angry and relieved, then I became anxious and concerned especially when my spouse also became unemployed, but luckily he is in a field where there are few experts and a lot of positions, so his unemployment was short-lived.  Mine on the other hand is far more difficult - I worked in nonprofit mostly doing fund raising and special events-there are a lot of us out there.

So in March I/we made a life changing decision, since our children are grown and live else where we would put the house up for sale figuring that it would take a couple of months to sell and hopefully we would have a more definitive idea as to our future, but life sometimes throws things into your path.  12 days after listing our home we had a buyer and 1 1/2 months later we planned a move into storage.

We downsized, we eliminated and we moved temporarily into a beautiful cabin in the mountains.  The way I figured it my time has come to be serene, calm and uncluttered.

Imagine my surprise when the very first 3 days were spent without electricity due to a massive power failure in the area.  I was totally disconnected and in my opinion it was the best thing that every happened to me.

Serenity it is wonderful.