 I keep my dirt on the surface so you don't gotta dig
The people that make me nervous try to hide all their sins And I've got no reason to cover my tracks The best part of learning is just loving where you're at So love where you're at, yeah love where you're at And keep your dirt on the surface and just love where you're at Dear Friends, A few days ago a friend and I were at the 9:30 club seeing one of my favorite soul-filled artists, Allen Stone…he not only makes, in my opinion, amazing music, but he just seems like such a genuinely good guy with such a caring and friendly vibe about him. It was a fun, light-hearted and fantastic show. One of my favorite songs has the lyrics I’ve written above…these lyrics…simple, and yet profound…implore us to ”just love where you’re at” without shame, without hiding, simply loving ourselves right here and right now. Loving ourselves in the here and now doesn’t mean we’re not allowed to grow and change, it doesn’t mean we can’t ever shift from where we are and grow into something new. Even so, I think it does mean seeing the beauty and validity in ourselves in the here and now. I think it does mean accepting ourselves as we are, even if there are ways we might want to shift and change in the future. My dear friend, it is my deep hope that we can all love where we’re at in the here and now this week. I hope you have an amazing week. Love Krista
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 Dear Friends,
As many of you know, this past week I moved out of my house in DC, and moved into an apartment where I’ll be staying for the next few months while figuring out the next steps in life. The apartment I’m in has pretty thick carpet on the floor, and I didn’t want to move on the carpet for hours a day, so off I went to Home Depot to “create” a studio for myself. My first attempt failed…turns out, laminate planks over carpet simply doesn’t work when it comes to stability and staying together…so after a very unstable day of classes, back I went to Home Depot to return my first attempt and get my next. My next attempt was a sheet of plywood and a roll of wood-grain laminate…and let me tell you, I miss my boys, but I really missed my boys when carrying a sheet of plywood by myself. Even so, I was successful at this attempt, I was successful at getting the plywood on my car and ratcheting it down with compression straps with both gratitude for the guy who helped me put it on my car, and only mild annoyance about the same guy hovering around me to see if I could actually attach it to my car safely. I was successful at getting said plywood from my car into my apartment (and was so very grateful for my own strong and capable body while doing so). And, most importantly, I really like the way my studio turned out, it feels stable and good and I love the way it looks. As I’ve been in my studio the past couple of days though, I can’t help but think how my studio set-up parallels something that I think we all struggle with. We all live our own experiences, we all deeply see our own hardships…but sometimes, I think, we see others' lives from outsiders perspectives, and we assume their lives are better than our own, they’re happier, they’re more fulfilled, they have fewer problems. And granted, that might be the case…but oftentimes, like with my studio, there’s more than what we can see. I wonder how it might feel if, when we inevitably start assuming others’ lives are easier than our own, we take a step back and recognize that there might just be more than meets the eye. Have an amazing week, my friend. Love Krista  Dear Friends,
We are barreling towards that time of year, the time of year of life transitions. Transitions in season, in weather are coming soon to tangibly mark this change, but for many, transitions into a new grade, or a different time of life are imminent. Many of my peers, like me, are dropping their kids off at college either for the first time, or for a new year. This time of year is a time of change for many. Oftentimes transitions are hard. They can fill us with uncertainty, with an amount of insecurity, with a deep lack of grounding. Some transitions are filled with grief and sadness that we have to work through and process. And then there are many transitions that are lifegiving and full of excitement. But no matter the emotion surrounding said transition, all represent an amount of unavoidable change and a life that looks and feels different then it did before. I wonder how it might feel if, in the midst of those real, tangible transitions that we all inevitably have, if we’re really able to lean into the spaces in life that feel grounded, that feel secure, that feel stable. What might that grounded space look like to each of us, what might it feel like as we walk through those times of uncertainty and change? Each of us will have a different answer to what that grounding might look like and feel like, but I think there is deep benefit to be had by being willing to look at what that grounding, that stability, that steadiness might look like to us individually and being willing to find said grounding in our own lives and experiences. I hope you have an amazingly grounded week, my friends. Love Krista  The Peace of Wild Things
When despair for the world grows in me and I wake in the night at the least sound in fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be, I go and lie down where the wood drake rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds. I come into the peace of wild things who do not tax their lives with forethought of grief. I come into the presence of still water. And I feel above me the day-blind stars waiting with their light. For a time I rest in the grace of the world, and am free. Wendell Berry  Dear Friends,
I recall a day, several years ago now, when I was sitting by a creek. It was fall and the leaves on a tree across from me were falling from said tree and gently traveling to the water below. I recall I was struggling with some emotions that day, and I think I was feeling a bit stuck, but I’m honestly fuzzy on the specifics. As I sat there, I was mesmerized by the leaves as the tree released them and they swooped down, some fast, some slow…all traveling toward the water...all on some sort of new journey. The phrase “and intentional letting go” has yet again stuck with me this past week as I prepare both mentally and physically not only to move myself, but in that same weekend a few weekends from now, move both my boys to their respective colleges. I’ve been thinking about this new phase of life I am entering with regards to intentionally letting go. There are times throughout our lives, big and small situations, when the right thing to do in said situation is to hold on and walk through, and there are times in life when the right thing to do, or perhaps the only choice we have, is to let go, to find new, to start on a different journey. That new journey is not always easy, and sometimes is downright scary, but I think, with intention, purpose, kindness and understanding towards ourselves and those around us, we can strongly walk and forge our way through new paths and on new journeys, even if they might be scary. I hope, this week, you feel supported on whatever journey you might find yourself on. Have an amazing week, my friend. Love Krista  Dear Friends,
This past weekend I spent a few days with some dear friends at the beach. Saturday morning I took a long walk on the beach by myself, enjoying the smell of the ocean, the repetitive motion of the waves, and the sounds filling my ears. Last week I ended my post with the phrase “an intentional letting go”, and, turns out, that phrase has stuck with me personally and has continued to inform my life this past week. While I was chatting with a student last week, something she said gave me pause and allowed me to realize and internalize something. I realized that I had been taking sole ownership of some deep seated stress that doesn’t belong solely to me. It was a small, inconsequential turn of phrase she said, and yet it drastically changed how I was thinking and feeling about this space and time I am in. As a result of that conversation, I have been working on intentionally letting go of the ownership of said stress. Now, letting go of ownership doesn’t mean my responsibilities have suddenly gone away surrounding the stress…I still have to show up and work hard and fulfill my part, that hasn’t changed, but it’s not just on me. As I was walking along the beach last weekend, I was marveling at how a shift in my thought process could make such a difference in my body and my mind. Yes, I have the same amount of responsibilities, but the weight of the situation is so much less. I hope this week we can all spend a little more time intentionally letting go of those areas in life we need to let go of. Have an amazing week. Love Krista  Dear Friends,
One morning, earlier this week, I was sitting under the awning of our vacation cottage while my boys still slept, enjoying the view of the canal next to me, the rain that was singing to me as I sat, and the cup of coffee in my hand. As I watched the rain fall, a plant across from me caught my eye and entranced me for quite some time. The particular leaf on this plant that caught my eye was slightly bowl-shaped, and would collect the rain water as it fell. The rain water made a beautiful magnification of the star shape in the middle of the plant as it collected. The plant would gather the water, and then at a certain point when it got too heavy would lean over and let said water drop to the earth. The plant wasn’t crushed by the weight of the water, when it got to be too much, it simply leaned over and released the water's weight. As I watched the dance of the water and the plant, I was thinking about how it might feel if we all took a little lesson from this plant. Certainly, we will never be able to release all of our responsibilities when they get to be too much, but how might it feel if, when we inevitably gather too much in our lives, we simply let go of some of those responsibilities instead of allowing them to build until we are crushed under the weight of them. Perhaps we can turn that tipping point in our lives into an intentional letting go. I hope you have an amazing week, my friend. Love Krista  Dear Friends,
So, as I said last week, we are currently in the throes of fixeruppering in my house…it’s for sure not a fun space to live in, but it is what it is. It’s a time and space, with an expiration date. For months leading up to this time and space I’ve been in a place of deep anxiety where my house is concerned…I live in my house day to day, I see all the things we still need to fixerupper on a daily basis, I know the massive list I need to get done…that list looms in front of my face…and yet, for months I have been feeling stuck, lonely, and helpless to get said things done on my own. But a couple of weeks ago my ex, my kids and I really dove deep into fixeruppering together…seeing as, like I said, we have an expiration date that is looming before us. And let me tell you, this massive list of things that I need to get done is still massive, at times it still feels insurmountable, but the anxiety, well, that anxiety is significantly lower because we’ve been working as a team to get things done. Yes, I was tired from working long days and nights, but even with a physical exhaustion, that anxiety was just not at the forefront because I didn’t feel so alone in the work. I didn’t feel so alone. We are not meant to go it alone, my friends. We are meant to have support and help, to have people who have our back when we’re feeling vulnerable and weak. We are meant to have people we can reach out to when we just need that little boost of support. My dear friend, if you are in need of support this week, I hope you can reach out to the people in your life…because we are not meant to walk through this life alone. Have an amazing week. Love Krista  Dear Friends,
A couple of evenings ago the light became a particularly foreboding color of orangish-yellow. The clouds smoothed over and looked like water, and for a while it looked like a big storm was brewing…said storm never really came to pass where I was, but it sure did look threatening. In the midst of the threat, there appeared a huge rainbow across the sky…beauty and calm in the midst of what was threatening to be chaos. Currently, in my own house, we’re doing some significant work to get it ready to put on the market…and let me tell you, it looks like a bomb went off in my house. Every surface is covered with things and dust, whole areas of my house are torn up, the whole of my kitchen is currently in my dining room…it is not my happy environment to live in. But a few things I keep coming back to during this time of chaos in my own life are, for one, this chaos is just for a limited time. Yes, this is a time and space of chaos in my life, but it has an expiration date. The other big thing I work on is how can I find calm in the midst of a chaos even when the chaos is hard to get away from. These days one of those methods of calm in the midst of chaos is avoidance...I’ll avoid going downstairs when I’m not working on the house so I don’t have to spend more time than necessary in said chaos. Another is daily reminders that this time and space has an expiration date. The other thing I am really looking forward to is a vacation with my boys this coming week, where I am really hoping I can put this fixeruppering to the side, recognizing that it will be there for me when I get home, but I can spend this time away without it weighing me down…here’s hoping I can do that! Sometimes the chaos is unavoidable, but there are spaces where we can find a little more calm in the midst of them. I hope you have an amazing week, my friend. Love Krista  The Summer Day
Who made the world? Who made the swan, and the black bear? Who made the grasshopper? This grasshopper, I mean-- the one who has flung herself out of the grass, the one who is eating sugar out of my hand, who is moving her jaws back and forth instead of up and down-- who is gazing around with her enormous and complicated eyes. Now she lifts her pale forearms and thoroughly washes her face. Now she snaps her wings open, and floats away. I don't know exactly what a prayer is. I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down into the grass, how to kneel down in the grass, how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields, which is what I have been doing all day. Tell me, what else should I have done? Doesn't everything die at last, and too soon? Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life? —Mary Oliver  Dear Friends,
We always hope that life will slow down, calm down, be a little easier in the summer, right? And for some, I think it does…but for many life inevitably becomes a little more frenetic, a little more chaotic, a little less predictable. How can we find calm in the chaos, if life feels a little more like the second option than the first during this season? I’ve been thinking about and sitting with this particular dilemma a lot these past weeks, in the midst of a particularly chaotic time in my own life...spoiler alert, I don’t think I’ve had a flash of insight that will solve anyone's problems. However, these past several weeks I’ve carved out tiny little spaces in my life to spend time alone, which always helps me recharge. These past several weeks I’ve focused on breathing deeply when life feels overwhelming. These past several weeks I’ve reached out to a few people for help…which, let’s be honest, is hard for me to do. These past several weeks I’ve thought about what I need during this time, and I’ve vocalized it and advocated for it even though that was uncomfortable for me. None of the above mentioned solve the underlying issue, they don’t fix the busyness and chaos, they don’t make the frenetic go away. But, my friend, they do help. I wonder how life might feel if we are a little more willing to sit in what we need, and to advocate for ourselves a little bit more. I hope you have an amazing week, with a little more breath and a little more calm in your life, even in the midst of chaos. Love Krista  Dear Friends,
A few weeks ago I hopped in my car to go to the park, as it had been a while due to busyness…but as I was driving down the street, I suddenly remembered an appointment I had forgotten about, and had to turn around, come home, and go for a quick walk in my neighborhood. It was no woods, and I was bummed that I didn’t get into the park, but as I walked I did pause to enjoy the beauty of the bounty of daylilies that had sprung up the week prior in my neighborhood. As you all know, I’ve been talking about change on a regular basis for the past several months. Of late I’ve been in a space where a jumble of emotions in various areas of life coupled with a busy life season have converged together, making it hard to suss out which emotion is which, and what belongs with what. There are times when the fullness of our lives makes it hard to sit and process the emotions that might be residing in our bodies and minds, and so sometimes we just have to set them to the side for a while…other times we end up feeling all of them at once. Tomorrow my youngest son graduates high school…well, technically today since you’re reading this after I write it…and I’ve been feeling for the past few weeks that, because of the confluence of emotions and fullness in many areas of life, I haven’t been able to sit in this particular area and digest it…but I’m taking a few moments tonight, glass of wine in hand, plumbers working downstairs in my house…to allow myself to sit and think and feel. I think there's a real benefit in allowing ourselves the space to revisit those emotions when the time and bandwidth comes available, even if we can't do so in the moment. I hope you have an amazing week, my friend. Love Krista  Start by doing what's necessary; then do what's possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible. -Francis of Assisi
Dear Friends, I’m sure I’m not the only person who, when thinking about something in my life that needs to get started…perhaps something that is large and important and overwhelming…gets overwhelmed and stuck with an inability to start said project. When it comes to movement practices specifically, I’ve always said that, in my personal opinion, I think folks should start by finding something they like and do it, and if they can’t find anything they like, find something they hate the least, and do that...and I think equally important, folks should start small, start short, start with 5 minutes, 10 minutes. Even so, even if we start with something we don’t hate, even if we start with something short, sometimes the hardest part is still simply starting…or starting again. I think for many of us, when we inevitably end up stuck because of the overwhelmingness of something big, our tendencies for negative self-talk suddenly rear their ugly heads…but I wonder how it might feel in our bodies if we choose to combat that negative self-talk, if we choose to build ourselves up instead of tearing ourselves down when we’re feeling stuck. I wonder if, instead of drawing us deeper into that place of stuck, it might give us the little push and motivation we need to start moving in the right direction. My dear friend, if you’re feeling a little stuck today, I hope you’re able to speak sweetly to yourself…and perhaps move a little further towards a place of unstuck. Have an amazing week, my friend. Love Krista  Dear Friends,
Several years ago I heard a talk about the liminal spaces in our lives, and that talk has stuck with me through so many years, transitions and changes in my own life. If you’ve never heard the phrase, liminal space talks about the place a person finds themselves in during a transition. There are physical liminal spaces, emotional spaces, and metaphorical spaces that manifest in our lives…but all liminal spaces are characterized by a level of uncertainty. Melissa Cohen, a transition expert, says "uncertainty can be very uncomfortable, lonely, overwhelming, paralyzing, emotionally demanding and mentally exhausting. But, it can also be transformative and valuable, providing creativity, strength and the opportunity to move forward, evolve, grow and develop a mindset that anything is possible." Liminal spaces can be transformative and valuable. Liminal spaces can bring about creativity, strength, and growth. Yes, liminal spaces often bring about periods of discomfort, and yet, when we are willing to shift and change when using those spaces, I think we then have the opportunity to become truer, more authentic versions of ourselves. I wonder how it might feel if we were willing to change the rhetoric around those uncomfortable liminal spaces in our lives. I wonder how it might feel if we were able to really lean into the good in the midst of the discomfort in those spaces. I wonder if that change in rhetoric might help us shift and find a little more ease in the midst of those spaces of discomfort. I hope you have a transformative week, my friend. Love Krista Dear Friends,
It’s hard to be in a space where we feel less than grounded, where we feel like we don’t have a sure footing in some or multiple areas of our lives, where we know change is coming, but we might not know what that change will look like on the other side. I’ve been thinking about my blog post from last week a lot, and specifically about my (surprising to me) disappointment in being unable to live in the place that I had built up in my mind to be my next home base when it was time to move. As I have reflected on it, I am convinced that disappointment has less to do with where I’m moving next, and more to do with the fact that there are several areas in life where I am simply less than grounded right now…spaces in life where change is imminent, but I’m not quite sure what life will look like on the other side of that change. I think that particular home base represented a little bit of sure footing in the midst of change, and so the disappointment was real when it was not able to come to fruition. It’s uncomfortable to be in this liminal space. Even so, I think, in the midst of that discomfort there is room to seek out and find grounding in our own selves and in our world around us. Perhaps that grounding comes in the form of the people in our lives, or in our movement practices, or finding spaces and places that feel familiar and good to focus on. We may not be able to find grounding in all areas in our lives, and there are times when life might feel downright shaky, but I think if we’re willing to pay attention to those areas where we can find that sure footing, it might just help us in our inevitable periods of transitions. I hope you have an amazing week, my friend. Love Krista  Dear Friends,
As some of you know, I’m moving out of my house this summer. There’s this rental place I wanted to move into when we first moved to this area 13 years ago…but at the time I was overruled by the majority, so we moved elsewhere. Then 7 years ago, when we moved back into an apartment prior to purchasing our house in DC, I again wanted to move into this place…but was, yet again, overruled by the majority. So, as you might imagine, I was pretty excited about the prospect of finally being able to live in the place I had wanted to live in the past, as I am now the majority of any of my life decisions. And, as you might also imagine, I was pretty sad when I found out earlier this week that I will not, in fact, be able to move into this particular place. There is temptation, at least for me, to dismiss those emotions, those unmet expectations as ridiculous, as petty, as unimportant. We do, at times, build expectations in life that are inevitably unmet...and, it’s true, we do need to see those unmet expectations and move past them, we do need to recognize their smallness in the greater picture. And also, I think simultaneously stopping, noticing and processing our emotions surrounding those expectations, even if seemingly unimportant in the grand scheme of things, instead of simply dismissing them as invalid, is a worthwhile practice. I hope you have an amazing week, my friends. Love Krista  Instructions for living a life. Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it. -Mary Oliver
Dear Friends, This past weekend many across the world were able to experience a bucket list item while staying in the comfort of their own homes. The Aurora Borealis took to the sky in areas that normally do not see this majestic sight, giving many the chance to experience this amazing wonder without traveling to do so. Unfortunately, because we had some pretty stellar thunder and lightning storms this past weekend in my area, I was not one of those someones who got to have this experience this past weekend…yes, yes I certainly was both excited for and jealous of all the pictures that popped up on my social media, of all the folks I know personally who got to experience this once in a lifetime event. And yet, as I sat by the creek on Sunday afternoon with my boys, enjoying the bright green of spring all around us, coupled with blue skies on a crisp spring day in a spot we frequented during their young childhood, the quote by Mary Oliver popped into my head. “Instructions for living a life. Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it.” Experiencing the Aurora Borealis in its fullness is still very much on my bucket list, that has not changed…but, my dear friend, we can be astonished every day, every single day, so long as we notice and pay attention. I hope you have an astonishing week, my friend. Love Krista  Dear Friends,
One of my friends reminded me, last week after I wrote the blog post about taking risks, about the risk some of our kids are about to embark on…this shift, this movement out of the house and into the world. This shift is not without risk, nerves, fear. It’s not just uncomfortable for them though, this new journey can be uncomfortable and scary for those in their lives also. Even so, we all have to be willing to take risks, to stretch ourselves, to find new pathways on this journey in order to learn and grow…and we all have to be willing to allow those whom we love in our lives to take risks, to stretch themselves, to find new pathways on this journey. It might not feel all that natural, as we’ve spent years trying our best to protect these kids in our lives, but that transition is an important one. This Sunday is Mother’s Day, a day I know is not always easy, it’s not without grief for some, and is a fraught day for many, and I see and acknowledge the hardship and sadness that this day holds for many. It’s also a day to celebrate those who nurture us in our lives, who help walk through life with us, who see us and help us grow…and perhaps, for us mamas or nurturers out there, it might be a day to hold our littles who might not be so little anymore a little more loosely, to allow them a little more freedom, and to recognize the importance of letting go a little more. I hope you have an amazing week, my friend. Love Krista  Dear Friends,
My niece, nephew and I were at the National Zoo last weekend. It was a spectacularly beautiful spring day to spend walking around the zoo…we rode the carousel, we ate some ice cream, we looked at the various animals. While we were there, we had the privilege of seeing one of the orangutans walking the o-line. If you haven’t been to this particular zoo, the o-line is two cables that connect towers between a couple of different ape enclosures. The orangutans can move freely between said enclosures with the help of the o-line far above the ground…it’s a rare treat for me to see an orangutan on the o-line, so it really did feel like a privilege. Now, this endeavor, moving between those two enclosures far above the earth, might feel perfectly safe to those orangutans, but it sure does feel risky to me the few times I’ve experienced them walking that o-line at the zoo. I talked, last week, about the spaces in life that feel easy to take risks, and those spaces that feel a little harder, a little more scary to take risks..perhaps to put ourselves out there when things might not feel like a sure bet. Those spaces are scary, when we don’t have that sure bet, but they are also spaces where, oftentimes, we learn and grow most rapidly. They might not always feel easy, they might not be a sure bet, but I think when we’re willing to step out and stretch ourselves, and perhaps do those things that feel a little harder, there’s real potential for growth. Just like those orangutans, taking a risk to move from one environment to another, sometimes we have to take a risk to bring about real and lasting change in our own lives…it might not be comfortable, it might be downright scary, but it gives us the potential for growth and change. Have an amazing week, my friend. Love Krista  Risk and opportunity are two sides of the same coin. -Yvan Byeajee
Dear Friends, A couple of weeks ago a dear friend and I met up at the Billy Goat Trail in Great Falls for a hike. I had been there the day before and had seen a sign that stated the Billy Goat trail was flooded, but that particular day, as we came in the opposite direction and I didn’t see a sign, I assumed the trail was fine. Turns out, it wasn’t…it definitely was not fine. The trail was flooded, with a couple of crossings that, while the water wasn’t running fast and was safe to cross, it was also definitely deep…way deeper than we expected…but on we went, perhaps ill-advised, but with joy and adventure in our spirits. It was a wonderful afternoon, full of laughter and connection and unexpected surprises on the trail…and was a wonderful risk to take. Now, had that water been unsafe to wade through, we should not have taken that risk, but seeing as it was slow moving and gentle, it made for just a fabulous and surprising afternoon. I’ve been thinking a lot about “risky and wonderful” since our blog post a few weeks ago, and about ways in my own life where, if I want something wonderful to happen, I have to be willing to take a risk. There are spaces in my own life where it feels easy, even if anxiety-producing, taking that risk. There are other spaces in my life where the thought of taking a risk feels really hard and scary, where opening myself up and taking a risk for the chance of something wonderful on the other side feels daunting to me. I hope, this week, you are able to see clearly the spaces where you should take a little more risk for the chance of something wonderful, even if that risk feels scary and hard. Have an amazing week, my friend. Love Krista |
Hi, I'm Krista!Krista Mason is a movement instructor based in Washington DC. She founded an online strength, yoga and movement studio, teaches group classes, hosts both local and overseas retreats, hangs out with private clients, and absolutely loves the work she gets to do. Archives
September 2024
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