ICHOOSETOMOVE

travel+people=poetry

[ichoosetomove]

What Really Gets Remembered When You Die

What Really Gets Remembered When You Die

When you die, what will people remember?

The funniest things remind me of my mom: lipstick on a cup, floss sticks, watching TV. When we leave this Earth, we expect to be remembered by these grand achievements: how we impacted our communities, how much we accomplished, all the ways we gave to our families and friends. The stuff we built and did.

But, when it comes down to it, memory is a peculiar…

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8 Things You Learn in South Korea

8 Things You Learn in South Korea

1. Flawless for Life

Korea don’t play when it comes to skin care! And virtually everyone here takes hella care of their skin. The skin care regimen is intense- but so effective.  Oh my…after 13 months here my face has been reborn. And it was worth every mysterious cream and watery solution.  Check out this article by a friend Lauren Han for the full get up on exactly what the 10 step routineentai…

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Transfrom Happiness to Joy

Transfrom Happiness to Joy

 I have been reading The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World.  The book is a conversation between the Dalai Lama XIV and Archbishop Desmond Tutu that takes place over a week they shared in Dharamsala. What made me choose this book? I, like so many others desire greater access to deep inner joy which I recognize is deeply connected to a rich spiritual life.  I know my heart is…

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Visions of a Hopemaker

Visions of a Hopemaker

I saw a woman I love,

Soma. I saw soap.

She handed me

Mustard, yellow soap.

50 ruppees rising

From the water.

I saw a pen.

Pamudini’s smile.

I saw a pen

In her hand,

Handing it to me.

I saw Darshan.

Runny nose. Shy.

Easing away from the

Home of his mother’s calf,

Running my way with

My favorite little legs.

I saw them rising,

From the water. The soap.

The pen. The boy.  The vision.

I wash away…

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The Gift of Sound

The Gift of Sound

Sound

Sound grounds us in the sensual experience of living. When I sat down to write tonight, I had something completely different in mind to write about (my secret addiction.. but, you will have to learn about that later…hehe).  It wasn’t until I heard the rusted squeak of a swing, steadily swaying back and forth that I felt moved to put pen to paper. Suddenly, I was alert and aware, suddenly, I…

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You Can Do Hard Things

You Can Do Hard Things

Hope

Within our hearts are treasure chests where ‘X marks the spot,’ may not be so clearly defined in the sand of our experience. In fact, beneath piles of fear, shame, pain, and other ‘hard things,’ the outlines of these Xs’ can appear hidden…as though, anything we hold shame or pain about makes us unworthy of that treasure.

In trying to burry the “bad stuff” in life, we also end up burying the…

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You Are Not Paper

You Are Not Paper

You are messy.

Spilling over

The edges…

You do not have

To suck yourself up

To fit into a collapsing

Version of yourself,

You made when you thought

You were folded paper.

Delicately creasing

Your existence with

A kind of

Careful precision

That was “measurable.”

And yet, minimal.

You are not going

To unfold in pretty,

Little boxes with bows

That make sense.

Because, you are not paper.

You are not…

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Flash: Memories

Flash:

It’s over. Click.

Prettika and

Auntie Sumadi

Sitting at my table.

My tea is tasteless. .

They graciously

Taste it. And smile.

They are honest.

“Ah, tikak hondai.”

A little good. I smile.

I hear the steps

Coming up the hallow

Stairs stretching from

The mango tree.

“Sudu Nona!”

White lady.

That’s me. Your white

Lady. Because you are

My Brown Mother.

And you bare fruit

That is life-giving:

Un…

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Bloody Hell

My breasts are Full and heavy, Sensitive to touch And to Life. Each month, They feel the Fullness of the Gift of one day Being a Mom. Of one day, Nurturing a life.

The time is not now. But, when it is now, The blood and the pain Will be worth it….

And if it’s not, I demand a sex change. ASAP. And some serious Perks for enduring the Feeling of a fire truck Running over my body Month after month.

T…

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Play Time

When was the last time you did something for fun? I mean really laughed, imagined, felt free, felt fully and wonderfully awake?  For me, it was this morning, running through a reservoir laughing and panting with no clue where I was going or why I was going there. I looked outside and really spoke out loud: I AM SO LUCKY.

I feel this joy sometimes. And it overpowers me. No phone. No headphones. No…

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Orgiami Shackles

Origami Shackles

Shackle me slyly,

So I do not see

That Precious time

Is slipping

These dreams are

Too painful, tugging

At me like a young child

Whispering secrets:

“Nobility is the natural state:

Slavery is learned.”

Shackle me so that I can feel safe-

Knowing I am connected to something

Even if that something is shackles

At least I know where I stand: stuck.

Fitting neatly and compactly into the

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Visualize: Fierce, Sweet, Wise

Visualize: Fierce, Sweet, Wise

This exercise invites you to visualize where you can be more fierce, more sweet and more wise in your life. It was introduced by David H. Wagner on yogaglo.com. It is this week’s Wednesday Wisdom because of how powerful a practice it is for examining the present moment and moving forward into the next with more awareness of all you are and all you can be.

I used to really struggle with…

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Stay Weird

Wednesday Wisdom.

Stay weird.

Why?

Because whatever is strange about you is wonderful.

Seriously. Unless your strangeness is harmful to others (meaning some real freaky hoodaddy), own it!

Here’s what the best of the best have to say about being weird!

“If you are always trying to be normal, you will never know how amazing you can be.” – Maya Angelou

Who are you when you don’t feel like you have…

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How Are You? Dealing with Illness

How Are You? Dealing with Illness

“How are you?” they ask

Where to begin…

How’s my swollen

Esophagus that keeps

Me from eating?

How’s my knee that keeps

Me from moving freely.

How’s my skin that rips

Whenever it’s willing.

“How are you?” they ask.

And I nod and I smile.

“Fine,” I say. “I’m okay.

The doctor said….”

You are not what the

Doctor says…

I remind myself.

You are not

Failing kidneys

Or fluid filled feet.

You are not

Your…

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5 Books That Are Magic

5 Books That Are Magic

I believe that books find me. They wiggle their way into my life for reasons unknown to me until after I read them….And then I’m like, really, thank you!  Through various encounters, no matter the brevity or longevity, these books have whispered their names into my soul….and listening to that whisper and starting the first page has forever changed my life.

I’m gonna be honest. I am shamefully…

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Reach For It

I saw a rainbow

Floating delicately

In the sky.

I wanted to follow it.

But, I didn’t know

What was on the

Other side.

Scared of uncertainty

Of possibility, of allowing

More unfolding.

Scared it would destroy me.

Rebirth me into something,

Bolder, freer, and fuller.

I held tight to the ground

That I knew firmly. Where

I could see rainbows and

Admire them as they faded.

I feared following the…

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[ichoosetomove]

Love Liberates

I love this beautiful soul! She speaks so much truth into my life. Today’s Wednesday wisdom is her own…

“I am grateful to have been loved and to be loved now and to be able to love, because that liberates. Love liberates. It doesn’t just hold—that’s ego. Love liberates. It doesn’t bind. Love says, ‘I love you. I love you if you’re…

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