Hear Me Universe #61. Likes Cities

Really, there’s nothing like the aliveness of a city. Any time, day or night, life is happening. I love the vibrancy, the diversity, the noise, the choices that cities offer. No city ever started with the vision of what it was to become; it could not be known. No amount of planning or subdividing could have anticipated the Los Angeles or New York or Paris or Rome of today. Cities, at some point, grow with controlled spontaneity and what they become is grander, more spectacular and more surprising than imagined.I wrote “likes cities” on my list, because I wanted to attract a partner who got excited about being in a city. My husband, Craig, and I love simply walking along busy sidewalks together, dipping into cafes or shops that look intriguing, resting at a park, and feeling like a local resident. When my daughter was interning in Manhattan during law school, we cut her a deal: sublet a 2 bedroom apartment and we’d pay for the added cost—in exchange for a key. We spent a summer of weekends doing nothing a tourist would do in New York, walking miles through the borough that never sleeps.Do you have a favorite city?

Hear Me Universe #60. Loves Sports

Not fanatical, but a healthy enjoyment for sports, as a spectator and participant.Yes, has a love for great athletes and enjoys watching a match or quarter or playoff or tee shot. Yes, likes to play sports and is willing to try something new for fun.Sport has been a part of the human experience since recorded history and while it’s entertaining and enjoyable to watch, I value it for its display of human desire and will. To be a competitive athlete is to be dedicated, to push past fears, to work harder than you likely knew you could, to achieve personal and team triumphs, and to bounce back from difficultly and loss. While I’ve not been a competitive athlete, I have pushed myself physically to achieve beyond what I thought was possible, having ran two marathons before. There was a joy to me of setting the goal of running a marathon distance—so much longer than I’d ever run before—and systematically training so that the distance was achievable.How can you challenge yourself physically, finding new parts of you that you didn't know existed? 

Hear Me Universe #59. Loves Good Wine

Someone brilliantly coined, “life’s too short to drink cheap wine.” If I’m going to consume the sugars and calories from a glass of wine, it’s going to be worth it.  I enjoy everything about the experience of drinking a glass of wine: the bouquet of fruits, herbs, grass, tobacco, toast, vanilla, or chocolate; the crispness of a summer white glass; the aftertaste that, in a good wine, will persist in its fruitiness or spiciness; the tannins of reds, mild and firm. Drinking a glass of wine alone allows me to enjoy the richness and beauty of it, but drinking a good wine with someone shares the experience, making it all the more fun.

Hear Me Universe #58. Loves the Beach

I don’t know that I’ve ever met another human who doesn’t love the beach, but I wrote #58 to be intentional and damn clear: share walks along the sand with me, watch the sun rise and set over the ocean in my arms, marvel at the magical rhythm of the tides, and find joy in the beauty of a simple sea shell.I had not seen the ocean until I was in high school. Growing up in the land-locked Midwest was a factor in that, but growing up on a farm from which vacations were not taken was the real reason. From that first visit to the West coast of Florida, where I put my feet in the ocean for the first time, I knew I'd dwell by the sea for days of my life. Raising my own children, I took them to the ocean every, single year for over 20 years. I wanted them to witness the endlessness of the tides and find joy in the nothingness of a day by the sea.In 2010, Craig and I were married on the beach, early one morning, with the ocean as our backdrop and the sun as our beacon of what was possible. He sang "Green Eyes" during our wedding, perfect lyrics for the setting: Honey you are the seaUpon which I floatAnd I came here to talkI think you should knowThat green eyesYou're the one that I wanted to find...

Hear Me Universe #57. Is Disciplined

Maybe the word, “disciplined,” is a trigger for some, but for me, it’s a liberating term. I believe that being disciplined—yes, doing the work—is sowing the seeds of a greatness that I truly want and am willing to make effort in order to experience what I can visualize on the horizon. Being disciplined is a precursor to feeling accomplishment. Being disciplined sends a signal to the universe that says, “this is important to me and I’m giving it my time, my attention, my effort, and my focus.” I named my desire to be in partnership with someone who sees discipline as a tool that serves a purpose and loves the celebration that follows the effort.

Hear Me Universe #56. Spiritual

I left organized religion several years ago. I didn’t have a fallout. It wasn’t an overt rejection. I just stopped being a part of something that I felt no need for in my life. I let it go. I felt it wasn’t serving me and I wasn’t engaged in it—so religion and I just parted ways. I did feel like I’d lost something, but I wasn't quite sure what.What I began to practice was finding my own answers, defining my own beliefs, and living according to my own compass. I sought answers from many religious traditions, read more widely than every, and allowed my yoga practice to open the channel to within.  It felt hard at times, because anytime you’re creating something from nothing, you just don’t know what you don’t know. Going from not knowing, to experiencing, to learning, to defining my own beliefs has been my spiritual journey. And, what I know for sure, is the journey never ends, and that's the beauty of our divinity. For all the Truth I know today, I am still seeking a fuller connection to the Divine.I wrote #56 to invite a match to my open-hearted way of learning what this life is about, not through a narrow doctrine, but through living a life that is aligned to your own heart. I desired a deeper understanding of why we're here, who we are, and how I can live this life with unbridled passion. Sharing my life with another soul who is a seeker of All That Is is exactly what I called to me.