red dot little duck

July:

Last four weeks at The Yoga Fitness Center in Missoula, MT, teaching people ashtanga. Hatha. Watching people grow. Grace. Cultivate space in their lives for their own practice. Patience and persistence. I surrounded myself with nature. Swam in the Flathead, Kootenai, and Blackfoot rivers. Drove through parts of MT I had never been. Mountains. Nothing like the smell of those pines. Family. Coffee on the back porch. Practice. Self-study. Quiet.

Revais Creek.

Yoga Fitness Center, Missoula.

Round Butte.

August:

See you later. Say goodbye to Missoula, family, friends. See you later. Say goodbye to Spokane, family, friends. Travel back to Durham, NC. Hello, Durham family, friends. Practice, teach, sleep, plan. Dream of MT. Dream of India. Give up dairy. Thank God I gave up dairy. Nutrition studies. Self-study. Not as quiet. Pranayama. Cuddles with Skeet and Littles.

Lars and his Bees.

Me and Mom.

Nevela and Blue.

September:

Fly to Florida. Cousin Rachel gets married, dream wedding. Beautiful. Family. Ocean love. Fly back and immediately drive to Outerbanks, NC for DG 2014. Yoga, asana, pranayama, practice, study. Intense. Beach time/rain time/coffee time with friends. Back to Durham. Mini workshops. Am I going to be a workshop teacher? Littleman calendar shoot. Photos, yoga and community. Clean house. More cuddles with Skeet and Littles.

After Savasana snuggles and chew toys.

Outerbanks, NC.

Cousin Rachel, Fiance Brican, Mom, Aunt Linda and Uncle John.

October:

Turned 35. My nephew died. My brother Jake’s life turned upside down. Fly to New Mexico. Hold my family. Hold myself together. Grace. Support and light. Heartbroken, our family moves through a horrific and tragic loss. My nephew loses his brother and my brother and his wife lose their son. Self-study. Practice. Pranayama. Let the connection of breath and movement hold and support me. The month disappears. Empty. Confusion around the state of this world, my existence, the business of being alive… multiplies. Nothing is promised. Time to face that part of myself. Again. How do I feel about all this? Unidentifiable. Back to Durham. It hits me. Reality can be so overwhelming. Drive to Philly for Primary intensive with David at Ashtanga Yoga School Philadelphia. That hits me. What is happening here? How do I fit in all this? What’s real, what’s not? The scheme of things. So. Fucked. Up. … Simplify. Morning light. Keep warm, stay connected. Breath finding rhythm, rhythm supporting awareness, awareness developing consciousness. Cuddle with Skeeter.

Harrison Tide Darlington

Practice. Morning Light.

Life is Brief, Time is a Thief.

November:

At the start of it now and beginning to pull it back together. Have tickets for India, tickets for Christmas visit to Albuquerque, a new pair of winter boots. Will see Atlanta, GA for the first time. Get to assist my teacher in DC. Thankful to enjoy the Thanksgiving holiday with Suzanne and Nikos and the AYCD community of yogis. Cuddle with Skeeter and Littleman.

Skeeter.

Littleman

Skeet and Littles. Sharing.

The Rainbow Connection:

One of Harrison’s favorite songs was “The Rainbow Connection” as sung by Kermit the Frog. Here is an excerpt of the lyrics that was shared with friends, family and community who came to support each other through this tragic time.

“… Who said that every wish
would be heard and answered
when wished on the morningstar?
Somebody thought of that
and someone believed it.

Look what it’s done so far.
What’s so amazing that keeps us stargazing and
what do we think we might see?

Someday we’ll find it,
the rainbow connection.
The lovers, the dreamers and me. …”

– The Rainbow Connection, Kermit the Frog