Some of the best advice I ever heard ……

...came from Elizabeth Gilbert, author of "Eat, Pray,Love." I devoured the book on audio, then bought it in print and have read it about 6 times. The section on India and her time at the ashram truly resonated with me (and made me want to go to India!). I loved the interaction with Richard from Texas, who seemed to be able, with all loving kindness, to call her on her stuff.

Then I caught her on Oprah and one of the pieces of advice she gave was to write down, every day, three things are grateful for, and three things we really really really want. Hmmmmm.... this could be interesting. And so I began on Winter Solstice 2007. Brand new journal, yummy gel pen. Three journals and three-and-a-half years later, I'm still at it.

Each night before I got to bed, I write down things for which I am truly grateful. Sometimes it's easy. A good day at work, connecting (really connecting) with a friend, hearing from my son, finding $5 in my jeans pocket, yoga classes, massages, that kind of things. Sometimes it's hard. When I'm not in a good place, it's difficult to find things to really feel grateful for, and often, on those nights, its' about a warm bed, a nice home, and a decent job. On those nights, it takes me a while to dig deep enough to find the genuine feeling of gratitude.

Over time, I've added other categories: things I've accomplished that day or my happiest moment of the day.

Under the really really really want heading, things have shifted. At first it was pretty mundane, and again, I had some periodic difficulty deciding what I wanted as opposed to what I needed. And then why. There's a big difference. I always want to get sleep (I can be an insomniac), lose weight, be successful at work. But I now find these entries are more in the form of supplication, expressing a desire for the health and welfare of our planet, my friends and family, or healing thoughts to those who need them.

Tonight my gratitude list will include the sensation of absolute joy I felt today while walking back to my office at lunch. I had walked to the campus library to participate in a presentation for freshman orientation with my department, and then headed off on some errands. My walk took me through a small wooded area on the edge of campus, into the shopping center and back along a wide sunny street. The sun was warm, the breeze was gentle. And bubbling came up a sense of deep seated joy and contentment. I'm feeling more and more of that now that I have my yoga brain back. I'm liking it!