red, white, blue

 Independence, freedom, red, white & blue... Happy 4th of July!

When do I feel the most free these days? When I am in a yoga class - even more specifically, doing a handstand. It seems a bit odd to say that when I feel the most free is when I'm stuck in a room full of sweaty people trying to get their bodies to bend and reach... but the thing is that most of all we're trying to get our bodies to open and to know our own beauty and connect with the universe, to let our hearts lead the way... in this room with all these people you are both totally independent yet at the same time connected. Since today is Wednesday I got to kick off Independence Day in a yoga class.

Then I tried to experiment with the timer on my camera and since I can't get up into a handstand without assistance captured a headstand instead.

This pose that used to just seem like childhood play now has deeper meaning and in the connection with the whole a piece of that is the 'inner child' and playful, joyfulness that often gets lost as we get older and stop allowing ourselves the freedom to play and be silly.

I spent the afternoon enjoying the garden, looking for some festive red, white & blue offerings...

and we had a few friends over for burgers, slaw, brussels sprouts & fruit salad

Then headed off to watch the fireworks on the river. Boston does a spectacular display every year which has grown dramatically since I've been here. I used to be able to go not long before the fireworks would start, find a seat on the salt & pepper bridge and if I was lucky be next to someone with a radio listening to the Pops performance at the Hatch Shell... now it's a huge production, crowds all along the river, giant speakers broadcasting the performance, food vendors, people selling glowing toys  and the very important port-o-lets (the worst part used to be trying to find a bathroom close by)... 

the moon rising was beautiful 

This year had a few little glitches, from a delay due to a lightening scare and then a few minutes in to the fireworks display the rain came... 

so we headed for the train beating the crowds and not getting too drenched. I feel like rain is always a beautiful cleansing and felt really refreshing in the heat so it was a nice way to end the evening, feeling the droplets on my skin, thinking about watering my garden so plants can drink deep to stretch and grow.