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Dear Friends, Remember several weeks ago, when I said I didn’t normally walk in the park in the evening? So, that particular evening I was walking along, enjoying the way the trees looked different and noticing the different sounds of the park in the evening, when it happened. Fireflies began popping up all around. My friends, fireflies are, in my opinion, the most magical part of this area. Growing up in California we didn’t have this magnificent bug, but here, what magic we have all around us. Oh, it brings me so much joy to be around fireflies. As I was walking along, enjoying the fireflies that were beginning to light up the world around me, I realized that this particular moment was the first moment I had seen the fireflies the whole summer. When I lived in Silver Spring, I would just have to look out my front window to see them light up the world around me, but now that I’m in DC and there’s a bit more concrete around me, and a bit less lawn to be had, I need to walk during twilight to enjoy them. I’m usually really good at doing that during the summer, but in all honesty it just hadn’t happened yet this summer. Sometimes the magic just happens my friends, but sometimes, sometimes we have to seek out the magic. Sometimes we have to look for it. Sometimes we have to see the world around us in new and different ways to see the magic that is waiting for us. My dear friends, can you see a little more of the magic in your life today? Can you seek it out? I hope you have a magical week my friends. Love Krista 
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Dear Friends, There’s this collection of trees I used to walk by on the regular. I don’t see them much anymore, as I don’t walk that way very often these days. When I used to walk by it, it would inevitably make me smile, as it’s five trees merged together, five trees growing out of one root system, separate entities rooted into the earth together. The reason that particular set of trees would make me smile is it always reminded me of myself and my siblings. There are five of us also, separate entities, growing different directions, but rooted in the same original system. I was walking by those trees the other day, the same day I happened to get an estimate for some work I needed done on my home. If you’ve ever done renovations on a house, you might have heard of the concept of “sistering”. When you “sister” something in home renovations, you take something that is weak, and instead of taking it out and replacing it, you shimmy something strong right next to it and attach the two of them. So, if you’re talking floor joists, you’d allow the weak joist to be strengthened by the strong piece of wood without removing the original joist. As I walked by that stand of trees, thinking about my siblings, I starting thinking about those “sisters” in our lives. Our family, our friends…people who walk with us, who stand by us, who shimmy next to us when we’re weak and help us to be stronger. People we allow to speak into our lives, who might ask the hard questions and offer perspectives that are different from our own...who might help us think differently about the hardships in our lives. My dear friends, can we be a little more open to the “sisters” in our lives? Can we allow others to shimmy alongside us and to help make us stronger? This life isn’t meant to be lived alone, we are stronger, we are more stable when we have others around us. While we might sometimes see that as weakness, in reality it serves to make us stronger. I hope you have an amazing week my friends. Love Krista  Dear Friends, I was walking in the park the other day, thinking about the past couple of posts, and the physical and the mental aspects of our lives. As I walked, I went past these two trees I hadn’t walked by in years. These particular trees are deeply intertwined as they share the same roots, you couldn’t separate the two of them if you tried. As I looked at those trees, I was struck by the thought: just like those two trees are so interconnected, in the same way the physical and mental aspects of our lives are also so deeply interconnected. I was noticing how the physical and mental parts of our lives might look different, might feel different, might manifest themselves in different ways, but even so, the work on one area inevitably affects the other. Our physical and mental lives are inseparably intertwined. We couldn’t separate them if we tried, they are interconnected. My dear friends, may we see the work we’re doing in various parts of our lives, and may we celebrate the fact that the work we do in one area of our life inevitably spills into other areas. May we care for our physical and mental selves a little deeper this week, may we see the way the care in one area spills into the other, and may we celebrate the ways we care for ourselves. May we celebrate our interconnected lives a little more this week. I hope you have an amazing week dear friends. Love Krista  Dear Friends, I was walking in the woods the other day. It was a different time of day than I’m normally in the woods. It was near twilight, and I was noticing how the trees looked different in this light, even though they were the same trees I normally walk past. As I walked, I was thinking about last week’s blog post and how frustrating it sometimes feels to know that the work never stops. Last year for a little less than 5 months I was working with a wonderful therapist on some issues that I had going on in my life. I wrote about her I think back in November. I wrote about the way she made me feel heard and seen...the way she listened in a genuine way, the way she showed up in our sessions. Here’s the thing, I haven’t been working with her for the past 8 months, quite a bit longer than I worked with her now...but you know, the tools she taught me, the lessons I learned from those sessions, I use them on a daily basis. I have noticed how I pay more attention to how I am feeling, and how those feelings are manifesting themselves in my body. I have noticed that I am able to speak more clearly and more confidently on the issues I care about, and how I have found my voice in a clearer way. I used to hold pain and tension in my throat, and that pain is no longer there even when I’m having hard conversations. I have noticed how I am able to think more clearly about what I need and want, instead of just going along with others for their benefit. Our weekly sessions have stopped, but the work on my heart and mind continues on. The work never stops my friends...not just in the physical aspects of our life, but also in our minds and hearts. We’ll never get to the place where we say “well, that’s enough, I’ve grown all I’ll grow, I’ve learned all I’ll learn.” The work never stops. The learning and growing never stops...and it shouldn’t. As I walked, I was thinking about those trees, how they were the same but looked different...and about myself, how I am both the same and different. The work in either aspect of our lives isn’t easy, but I think when we show up for it, it can be so deeply rewarding. I hope you have an amazing week dear friends, I am so deeply grateful for you. Love Krista  Dear Friends, I have this keychain. It has an adorable little turtle, and inscribed on the keychain says “It does not matter how slowly you go, as long as you do not stop.” I was running in the park one afternoon a few weeks ago. It was a hot, muggy day, and frankly, pretty miserable. Why I made the choice to run in the afternoon, well, I’m not quite sure. It sure was gross outside. The day prior, after 15 months of slow as a turtle pace, I finally made a goal I had set for myself those 15 months prior. I was really proud of the work that I did to make that goal, and how I had to show up for myself during those 15 months. I was also really proud of being able to let go of a certain timeline while trying to reach that goal. So here I was, miserably running through the park, doing my best to see the beauty around me while recognizing that I was an exhausted, sweaty, gross mess, when I was suddenly struck with the thought: the work never stops. Yes, I reached my goal, and I’m really proud of the work I’ve done and the way I’ve persisted even in hard times. And even at that goal, I will constantly have to show up for myself. I will have to continue to do the work. Even at goal, the work doesn’t stop. Sometimes I wish the work would stop...we all do, right? That’s not life though. My dear friends, can we see the work that needs to be done and show up for it. Can we recognize that the work doesn’t stop? Can we breathe into that work when we inevitably get discouraged about the constant and never-ending nature of it. Can we show up for what needs to be done. I hope you have an amazing week my dear friends. 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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