May it be

May it be the best and last semester (*and season spent in Chapel Hill)!

This morning, during coffee in bed with Rachel, I felt comforted and supported by the life I have lived here these past (*almost) four years. I’ve moved into a new place, I have paired down my life to the essentials, and I feel a new wave of energy.

I am ready to put in to practice being fully present. I am also ready to gone and away from here, but for now, I want to enjoy this. And all its simplicity.

“Limitation is the condition of our lives. What matters — what allows us to reach beyond ourselves, as we are, and push at the boundaries of our ability — is that we continue. But then everything depends on how we practice, what we practice.” – Glenn Kurtz

The weekend

|Three beaches | Fab homemade food | Loud midnight rain and a run | Playing in the ocean//pretending we were from the sea | Avoiding work for a day | Jordan ran long and far | Ate at a dining hall in Wilmington | Podcast-narrated driving |

That was this weekend, but now it’s back to another school week. I’m confident it should be a good one for the most part too. Today’s day involved some hot yoga, hw, time in the grass and in the sun, roller blades, class, photos, giving haircuts, making butter chicken, a walk, and even some sacred time at a garden.

[Photos: Emerald Isle beach with Jord + the trusty, though sandy, AE-1//Grace Farson]

At school

When we’re not playing in the mud or pulling weeds in the field, we spend a good deal of time here.

“Let us rise up and be thankful, for if we didn’t learn a lot at least we learned a little, and if we didn’t learn a little, at least we didn’t get sick, and if we got sick, at least we didn’t die; so, let us all be thankful.”- Gautama Buddha

[Photos: Shree Shiksha Vikas School//Grace Farson]

Still with hearts beating

One final paper and then this semester will be over. . . and summer will officially begin!

Plans for now and the next few days of life:

+ About to hit the road –> Boone for tonight + tomorrow

+ Two more days of work

+ A handful of meetings

+ A trip to Pennsylvania with them!

+ A day back in Chapel Hill to move and celebrate dear ones graduating!

+ A half day back home

+ Two days in D.C. with Mom, Kelsey, AND Abby!

+ And then, then I’m flying across this big world to this beautiful city!

These plans are the plans that make me excited to be alive these days. These are the thoughts that make my heart beat a little faster. Big transitions, big changes, but good things all around . . .

[Photos: 1.) BBQ love, 2.) Blair at 100 Shelton St, & 3.) A day in the life of Tiger House/100 Shelton St. residents//Grace Farson]

What life looks like these days

Lots//lots//and lots happening.

Last day of classes = tomorrow! Exams start up soon, I’m going back to Nepal [!!!] and most exciting of all, we have a kitteh!

The Tiger House has somewhat adopted Avocado cat. She is here whenever we are and even has her own food and water now.

We love her more than words (*and thankfully my allergies have been under control).

She’s beautiful, curious, and affectionate and she is the source of endless adoration. She appeared one day and has no home, so she lives with us now.

These days are remarkably weird, tired, and exhausting. Lots of work in beds, on tables, under tables, in cars, on streets, all with very little sleep in between! All said, things are good, really good. I think the overall vibe in life for everyone I am in close contact with is one of great enthusiasm.

Nearing the end of something great, but also nearing the start of something new. . .

[Photos: What life looks like these days//Grace Farson]

Brand new week

Here’s to a brand new week and all the:

+ Saturated Nepal dreams

+ Working hard hours [2 jobs + full time student = good life]

+ Staying up late

+ Studying food

+ 8 a.m. yoga

+ Memorizing scripts and acting a part

+ Finding flexibility

+ Meetings//interviews . . . meetings//interviews

+ Active moments

+ Dreaming bigger than I should

+ Teeth stained by too much coffee

+ Rediscovering the magic of twitter

+ Looking back at this photo for inspiration//motivation in dull moments

Happy last week of the first month of the new year! Make it count.

[Photos: Durbar Square. Kathmandu, Nepal//Grace Farson]

Today’s best and worst list:

BEST: 

*Dress weather

*It’s the LAST DAY OF CLASS y’all! One more project and I’ve only got two finals left. . .

* The cute little girl on the bus getting her lollipop stuck on my felt blazer and then shoving it back in her mouth

* Two cups of the world’s greatest homemade coffee

* Getting back to teaching yoga again (*Yesterday, I taught for the first time all semester and I have forgotten just how much I’ve missed teaching. Still thinking about it in fact. . . )

*The reminder that everything is going to be okay!

WORST: 

*Dress weather when it gets cold as the day goes on. . . These hot afternoons get me worried about the planet too. . .

* HW up to the last day of classes

* Two finals due in one day AND on LDOC

*The scary little sleep I’ve been working on these past few days. . .

C’est tout for now. . .

[Photo: Carrboro//Grace Farson]