Wednesday Wisdom

It's midweek here in my term as novelist-in-residence in heaven (Rancho La Puerta spa in Tecate, Mexico)and I've had several bits of personal enlightenment.

*A few months ago I posted about having a contrarian tendency, so often wanting to play the wrong card for a situation, taking some perverse delight in that. Sometime yesterday, I got a sense that that is changing. And, for a change, that would be alright with me.

*I discovered in a yoga class yesterday how little I listen. Maybe I was feeling particularly foggy but I think I heard about a third of the directions. I did a shoulderstand with my shoulders in the wrong place in relation to the blanket and the teacher came over and hoisted me by the legs as if he were pulling a tree out of the ground and moved me (upside down) to a slightly new location. As you can imagine, this experience will probably stay with me.

*I find myself taking in compliments. This is, for me, a really nice change.

*I'm not pushing myself to work out as hard as usual and I'm not troubled by this.

*The thought has come to my mind: stop fighting. This feels like a good thing, not at all a backing down from my ambitions but more of a lighter touch maybe.

*I'm older than I was in 2007 when I last was here (at 58). I'm more wiped out from a morning with a mountain hike and two exercise classes than I was then--and more wrinkled in the unsparing light of this Mexican sun on my bathroom mirror. (But I can still do the intense morning! and there's a 91 year old woman in my writing classes who is lively and vital and setting me a good example here)

It has been an excellent first half of the week.

Also, I have shot some photos, as requested, but I forgot my camera and am struggling to figure out sending from a borrowed camera phone. I hope to get them here eventually. In the meantime, the link to Rancho above goes directly to a photo-tour of the place.

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