What’s Today?

I've been busy this weekend. It was nice to see the sun again and get outside. I ended up going into the Loop twice over the weekend and I wasn't even running in the marathon!

I did stop in the Art Institute briefly - we were on our way to a Chicago Symphony Orchestra concert across the street. There is a new Barbara Kruger exhibit in the museum and all over Chicago as well. It's bold, it's quite loud and there's bound to be some piece of it that speaks to you.

This one was talking to me.

As I said, I was only in the museum briefly, but her work certainly caught my eye. I haven't done my research on what she meant by all of that - I just let the words and the visuals play in my head.

Words are powerful. They are big and bold and playful and formidable. Maybe that's what Kruger is trying to portray in her artwork. I have lots of options for today. I have a choice. How do I want to spend my day?

For me, it starts with baby steps. I'm sometimes afraid to try something new and big - to work on the edges of what I already know. I always want perfection, so it becomes easy to get stuck in the rut of everyday pandemic living and not even try. However, maybe I should dip my toe in and try something new. If that works, perhaps I go a little deeper next time? Yeah, it's scary and a lot of work but it's also invigorating and exciting. What would happen if I took the risk to do something that wasn't perfect but was headed in that general direction?

Big words...

The emojis at the bottom of the display all make me smile. Face it (pun intended), I go through that whole range of emotions every day. I think we all do. I want to spend more time as the happy face in sunglasses and less time as the face with the sticking-out tongue.

And those are the choices that we make every day. How can I approach today and make a difference? What can I do to start something new, to create something better, to let go of the fear, to explore all of the possibilities available to me? And when it's all over, at the end of the day, have I spent more time as the happy face in sunglasses emoji or the sticking-out tongue emoji?

On our mats, it starts in silence. No words. We listen to the body, to the mind, to the spirit, and then we can learn about our day.

What's today for you?