Winter of Wellness - Free Telesummit

For the past few days I have been listening to presentations by a variety of speakers on the Winter of Wellness Telesummit of The Shift Network. I've found it very interesting and, best of all, it's free! I highly recommend checking it out.

Today I listened to Master Mingtong Gu speak on Qigong, a practice that has interested me for many years, but that for some reason or another I have never been able to begin. This time I think I will accept the special discounted offer for Winter of Wellness listeners and sign up for a four class series online in February - and to think that I lived in San Francisco for 33 years and in person classes are held at his Chi Center in San Rafael! I guess it wasn't the right time.

One of the first things Master Mingtong said today resonated for me. He said, more or less, that the message of the year of the Water Dragon, which began on the 23rd, is about letting go of resistance and going with the flow. For me this means to quit resisting being here, thinking constantly whether I should have done this or not, and fantasizing about where I will go next or where I would rather be. I need to just be here until I am here... sink in, settle in.

I definitely have the time to practice something while I'm here, like Qigong. I would also like to get organized, drag out all my supplies and start making art again, but I think that all these dogs and the fire tending activities are using up my energy. In the meanwhile I spend a lot of time gazing out the window at the wind, rain, hail and snow that take quick turns putting on their show.

Still fireplaces and dogs - Ancora camini e cani

Nearly a month has passed since my last post and all I can say is that everything is pretty mellow around here at the moment. Particularly when the dogs are very tired and not tearing plants out of the ground or shredding their bed or barking incessantly at wandering dogs and chirping birds. Yesterday afternoon was such a moment because they had all run off and disappeared for 4 hours and returned exhausted, of course. Actually Luna (the black and tan one) returned after 2 hours looking like she had seen a ghost, or the Italian version: "sorci verdi", that is: green rats. Cirillo was so tired that he let the two sisters lie on his bed, but only after scolding them a few times.
E` passato quasi un mese da quando ho scritto l'ultima volta e posso solo dire che per il momento qui e` tutto molto tranquillo. Particolarmente quando i cani sono molto stanchi e non stanno estirpando piante dalla terra o facendo a pezzetti il loro letto o abbaiando senza sosta a cani randagi o a uccellini che cinquettano. Ieri pomeriggio e` stato cosi` perche erano tutti e tre scappati e spariti per 4 ore e, naturalmente, sono tornati sfiniti. In realta` Luna, quella nero focato, e` tornata dopo due ore con lo sguardo di una che ha visto i sorci verdi! Cirillo era cosi` stanco che ha permesso alle due sorelle di sdraiarsi sul suo letto, ma solo dopo vari ammonimenti.


First only one and only half way, Prima solo una e sola a meta`,

while the other one had to be satisfied with a patch of sun, mentre l'altra si doveva accontentare di un rettangolo di sole.

Finally it was Luna's turn as well. Finalmente e` arrivato anche il turno di Luna. 

In the end, it was a cuddle fest, at least for the time being. Infine, tutti amici, almeno per il momento.  

A sister's love L'amore di una sorella 

and, always, a fire in the fireplace. e sempre un fuoco nel camino.