It's been interesting to peruse social media and see the similarities of experiences for our global community in 2023. Challenge. Roller-coaster ride with ups and downs. Growth. Suprises. Those were key words for my year and, whether confirmation bias or otherwise, I think, for much of the world. As I look back and reflect on my experiences, I am affirmed in a conclusion pointed out to us in 2018 during my yoga teacher training on authenticity and intuition - when we are aligned to our highest selves - the selves we know we are when we are living authentically to the connected divine within us all - those moments are filled with ease. You can read all sorts of modern books on this concept around "flow" and I've found that 2023 was so riddled with ups and downs because I was not attuned with my inner voice. Moments when I was in flow happened by chance, not because I was truly listening to the quiet id instead of the mouthy ego. The best things in my year came easily. They fell into my lap. I love that phrase. My best relationships in life are like that too, being with my husband, my best friends, there is always a sense of "ease." There is a phrase in Spanish "me cae bien" - I fall with that person well. And that sums it up. It's a feeling that works with people and relationships, with my career, with my creative pursuits. What difficult things come easily for me? What comes as naturally as gravity acting on an object? This year, I painted 29 hand-painted watercolor pieces to send out with my holiday cards and when talking with others about it, I realized they assumed it was difficult. When in truth, it was one of the easiest things I've done all year - I spent much of those days of painting in flow, happily expressing myself and creating something for those I love. I also felt that sense of easy falling with my yoga teaching at Green Lotus in Lakeville, Minnesota. Creating the yin and vinyasa classes, easy. Holding space and guiding students through their own practice, flow. Making community and feeling love and appreciation every week, as natural as falling.
When I think back to how my decision-making in 2023 allowed me to "fall-into" things or where instead I pushed, teeth-bared to make something happen and later felt the pain of misalignment, I'm resolved to approach things differently in 2024. The yoga asanas, the actual postures in the ancient yoga texts are referred to in Sanskrit as "steady-ease filled postures," so, as I do in my yoga practice, quieting the need to "strive" and instead looking for the ease and steadiness in the simplest to most arduous postures, that's what I'm resolved to do in 2024. Wish me luck, friends, and may our 2024 be filled with great and wonderful accomplishments and relationships that come as easy as falling.
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This summer has burned hot and so has my poetry so I took a brief hiatus in August to let my creativity brew. For this first post of September, I've got my newest poems from this week for you and some of my highlights that I had originally posted on Patreon. Enjoy! September 1st: Relaxation by Amy Kay Czechowicz My friend Don’t forget to relax Let your body melt to the ocean floor Sink deeply and breathe Your breath is a bubble of resilience I’m which you can float September 2nd: Tie-dye Summer by Amy Kay Czechowicz Oh how we relish this tie-dye summer A final -hurrah before the world finishes burning Color patterns following the slick kaleidoscope of oil shines Before the match strike September 3rd: Smother by Amy Kay Czechowicz Sugar-crusted grilled peaches sitting a top your piled-high vanilla ice cream Or Desire for more, more respect, more pay, more attention suffocating your ability to be content Can one be good and one be bad or is it shades between - to be smothered by sugar-crusted peaches September 4th: FFS by Amy Kay Czechowicz Word choice Our preference for one word over another A poet's prerogative And what goes into judging each other's words Here you sit Judging mine Yet it is mine And it's interpretation is yours Thank you March 23:
Tardigrade, Beetle, Fish by Amy Kay Czechowicz I'm made in the image of the bird Clearly my nose is like a beak My toes have joins my ankles have feet I'm made in the image of a tardigrade When I want to move I fall with control of gravity When I find surplus food I keep it with me 'round my belly I'm made in the image of a beetle If I want to crawl along the earth I do so Crooked elbows bending to move me slow I'm made in the image of a fish Beautiful lungs along my spine Wide lips and open eyes I'm made through selected happenstance In the image of the earthling Like the birds, the tardigrade, the beetle, and the fish It's been half a year of my 2023 Year of Poetry which means I've written over 185 poems and posted them to Patreon. As you know, I was hopeful that the Patreon would bring my poems to the writing arts community and spark the conversation. I've since realized that this website is a better "home" for my poems and that Instagram is a better sharing platform to inform others when I've got my poems up.
So we're back, baby!!! The remaining poems for 2023 will be posted here instead. I hope you enjoy! Day 188 Alive by Amy Kay Czechowicz I'm in a fight for my life And the enemy has claws of expectation They threaten deep rends in my joy of the present My greaves protect with mindfulness and drawing sweet breath I'm in a fight for my life And the enemy has teeth of doubt They threaten punctures on my dreams and courage My helmet is strong with diligence and perseverance I'm in a fight for my life And the enemy has a stinging tail of apathy They threaten stabs in my gratitude and abundance My shield resists with attention and choice I'm in a fight for my life And I'm happy to be alive Hello Poetry and Yoga Lovers!
I imagine there is quite an overlap there. Anyhow, I'm posting for two reasons. 1. to share some of my favorite poems that have come out of my year of poetry 2023 so far and 2. to share some exciting news about my yoga teaching! So, in reverse order - I'm officially teaching yoga at a STUDIO starting April 4th, 2023. I'm ecstatic. I've been on this yoga teaching journey and have been teaching since 2018 but only through my own LLC. Now, I'll be teaching two classes every Tuesday at Green Lotus Yoga and Healing Center in Lakeville, MN. I'll be teaching Yin from 4:45-5:45pm and Vinyasa from 6-7pm. And now for the poems, my intention with sharing them here is to draw attention to my Patreon. I really believe that the world will be a better place the more time we get to spend doing art, including poetry. So I wanted to give the world of poetry lovers a chance to support my poetry writing in a tangible way. That being said, I also believe that reading poetry is a worthwhile endeavor and so I'll put these here for you to enjoy, and hey, if you like it, swing over to my Patreon page and sign up to support my poetry writing! Sweet January Treat by Amy Kay Czechowicz I'll take this January. This cold happy moment swept under my feet Slick as the bead of water melting under my blades A million sugary January afternoons like this please, garçon The delectable pine trees beckon with their ice cream boughs I squint and wobble as the sunshine turns my vision blue I admire the bright lemons behind my eyelids as I lay Yes, more of this sweet treat Beloved - After Vandana Khanna By Amy Kay Czechowicz My name means beloved. And maybe my grandpa picked my name, or he liked it at least. I remember his lemon drops and sunshine on the back of a brown armchair. My mother says I made her sick and she weighed less after she carried me than before. I ruined her appetite as I acquired my own. The other option for my name was Elaina. Oh, that my grandpa would have picked Elaina instead. How elegant I would have been, a dancer, certainly. Instead of a stout midwestern gal with a hearty appetite and the legs to show for it. Now, though, I'm glad for my name. Grateful to grandpa and the story. Glad to know the secret meaning at introductions or when I'm giving myself pep-talks. A reminder, at the least, that I'm lovable, capable of being loved. Beloved. The Word of the Day is Paladin by Amy Kay Czechowicz A millennium between us and the pal of Charlemagne Does heroism and honor have the same name? Do we as peers in this modern court Exceed the measure our forebears did start? Do we study history to not relive the past Cringing and cheering for Irene the Empress Are we stuck in mirrored plots and foibles Still thrashing for say-so and gouging out eyeballs How tiresome to realize nobilities nativity Power granted through access and breeding One thousand years earlier and one thousand years back Lost at the beginning or found in the clash We're back to another December. It was great to see so many of you landing on the page and sticking around for the poetry. I was able to pen a few poems here and there this year and I kept up with my weekly yoga practice. At one point, I got my home practice to three times a week a few weeks in a row. I always feel optimized when I cultivate a high frequency of yoga and poetry!
In that vein, my year-end reflection has brought me to a few reflections. The first is that my belief that the world can only benefit from more yoga and more poetry is not wrong. Feel free to provide contrarian evidence. Secondly, that in 2023, I can shape the daily practices I want to see through structure. One way I've committed to that structure is by starting a Patreon page for folks who want to interact with my poetry more. You can find it at: patreon.com/user?u=84428775 Hope to see you around! Wow! What a ride! If you had asked me in November 2019, when I was registering for classes for my upcoming first semester of my MBA program, what predictions I had for the world while I attended school, I would not have guessed widespread pandemic, global upheaval and supply chain disruption, and long-needed collective action for social justice and change. Yet, here we are, two years later, my program is done and I know I'm as transformed as this world I live in.
I feel a deep sense of satisfaction and pride that I kept the contract with myself. I had declared sometime in late 2018 or early 2019 that I was ready to attempt my MBA. Initially, I was expecting it to take me closer to two and a half years and, I'm relieved to have finished in two. It was not two years without tears or worries or frustrations. The material was challenging as was my pace. I feel a deep sense of gratitude for my program. I believe the courses I took were extremely useful and applicable. My professors typically chose up-to-date books with relevant looks at our rapidly evolving environments. We were given challenging and appropriate assignments that I could translate into my day-job. We were charged to think beyond our anecdotal experiences and put on our research caps for validity and reliability of our hypotheses. I got to study operations and statistical process control, true strategic marketing, and the latest research in human resources and organizational development. I got to put my mind together with my fantastic classmates as we analyzed and summarized Friedman and Porter's arguments, as we dug into and actually practiced negotiation and ethics. Because my program was small. I got to know the 15-20 folks who were repeatedly in my courses. I feel connected to my graduating cohort even though we took 75% of our program online. I'm grateful to the university for acknowledging that online doesn't have to be boring or uniform. It can be adaptive and real and foster a sense of connection when done well. I'm so grateful to the numerous individuals whose support, encouragement, commiseration, and shoulders-to-cry-on made completing my MBA possible. You know who you are <3. And finally, I leave you with a poem I wrote today while reflecting on my learning journey. If there is anything out there you're thinking of doing, do it! There is beauty in transformation, my butterflies. I'm sitting down to reflect on my year and, I have to admit something to you, dear reader. In 2020, a year when we faced a deadly pandemic, murdering police and calls for social justice, an atypical election cycle with attacks on our democracy, and business-not-as-usual, I, a self-proclaimed over-achiever, took on too much. In summary, last year I committed and completed the following: writing a daily poem and posting it here, my first year of classes towards my MBA, practicing and teaching yoga (in-person at first, online you-know-when), being an engaged contributor at my full-time day job, meeting my consulting clients' needs, and being a loving spouse who shares the workload. Here's my caveat: even knowing it was a tough year, and hindsight being 20/20 and all, I still don't think I would go back and take anything off my plate. Wild. Right? So, with that personal clarity, I wanted to share with you the top insights I gained from taking on too much in 2020.
Image credit: Franz Bachinger on pixabay • I control what occupies my mind Despite the overwhelming amount of options my attention span is inundated with, in the end, I get to decide what information, entertainment, distraction, etc., consumes my mind. If you've been following me for a while, you probably saw that I paused my own reading of books for leisure for the first half of 2020. My intent was to pause for the entire year and over summer break, my will weakened and after that, I reasoned with myself that I could balance the urge to read with the rest of my commitments, which I did - sort of. I also stopped thinking as much though. I let the books become what I wanted them to be, a distraction, and it was fine because it was what I needed. At the same time, I haven't read any leisure books so far in 2021 and already I see my thought patterns changing. I also notice a correlation between novel reading and social media. When one goes up, the other goes down. I'm most heartened by my awareness. Because I am aware of what wants to pull my attention and what happens when I follow those different paths, I can better decide how I want my mind occupied. • Having purposeful downtime is not wasteful. I could have called this one 4b because it's definitely related. Since I control how my mind is occupied, I'm also in charge of whether I'm being "recharged" or just "draining the battery". If I choose downtime that makes me go braindead or forget that there is life "out there", then I'm not actually refueling. Choosing downtime that helped me feel refreshed and energized, such as a walk and a phone call, or making art, made a big difference on whether I had the energy and enthusiasm for school after work. Sitting down and reading a book made me want to stay sitting and stay reading. The new year gave me a good chance to "reset" and I'm finding my way forward on this one again. • It's humane to be human Being human must come first or I can't be anything. When I pay attention to my physiological needs and responses I am better able to concentrate on the tasks I decide to get done. This insight was taught at the school of hard knocks of 40 hour work-from-home workweek followed by evening school work. I could no longer rely on my walk to and from the bus station to stretch my legs. I could not count on having every weeknight for hikes or biking. I needed to be intentional in how I moved, sat, and slept. Yoga was a big help and when I practice more than 3 times a week, I can get away with more inactivity during the work day. The fewer the yoga sessions though, I better be moving on my 15s and lunch! Setting a routine helped and getting outside. I feel so much more human when I can feel the wind on my face at least once a day. Thank you, dear reader, for sticking with me this long on my 2020 reflection, for tolerating my mildly obnoxious humble-brag as I worked through those insights. I hope they help you and me in navigating what is coming our way for 2021. I believe perspective creates reality and though we may not have turned the corner on good things outweighing the bad, there is a lot of good inside of me, you, everywhere that can fill us up. My wish for us in 2021 is that we carry with us the surprising gratitude, the moments we realized our treasures, that we keep that hard-earned perspective and keep dreaming. Happy New Year! Love - Amy Kay Image credit: Pexels on Pixabay
Almost. I did some reflecting on my 2020 intention setting poem. Remember that one? It was "I Will Be A Corpse Whale". You can read it here. I wrote it's second response poem tonight. Image credit: Photograph on pixabay
I'm holding a paradox in my heart on this one. I do, sincerely wish for peace and joy and comfort to you this holiday season, and, I believe we could be doing a better job. My poem today carries a bit of my sadness from some things I heard in the news report today.
Wow! If you are near the twin cities, Sever's Festival of Lights in Shakopee, Minnesota is fantastic.
Here are three poems for the last three days. I've been rejuvenating, sleeping in, painting my house, and working on a pre-requisite for my MBA program. It's a blizzard in Minnesota right now and my house is cozy and perfect. It makes me feel very thankful for what I have. The solstice was on Monday and also made me feel thankful. The days will just keep getting brighter from here. "Solstice" is an ekphrastic poem in Shadorma form inspired by this image by David Sockrider. "Descendant" is an ekphrastic poem inspired by this image by Jacob Sutton. Image credit: Jill Wellington on Pixabay
Check out my inspiration for this ekphrastic poem here: https://www.artistaday.com/?p=143815. Arielle Pytka is the artist. I've written quite a few poems about the concept of clowns and this might be my favorite. Thanks again to Rattle for inspiration on ekphrasitc poems.
Shout out to Rattle for their monthly ekphrastic poetry challenge that inspired this one. Shout out to Dominique Dève whom they chose as the featured artist to inspire us in December. art credit: Dominque Dève
A collum lune and a shadorma. I'm in the holiday spirit. Tonight I addressed all of my holiday cards while watching two holiday movies back to back. So you get two holiday poems, back to back.
It was finals week and I had a bear of a schedule to wrestle. The celebration today was sleeping in, practicing yoga, talking with family members, buying holiday gifts, and posting these poems. Image credit: Mammiya on Pixabay
I'm a lucky human and have fallen in with many other humans who make me feel complete and content and enough. This poem is for one of those sparkling stars of my life-time. Agape <3. Image credit: Karen Henseler on pixabay
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AuthorCreative enthusiast, gregarious naturalist, opinionated humanist, MBA, RYT 200. Amy Kay Czechowicz completed a poetry challenge for 2018, 2020, and half of 2023 by posting an original poem daily to this blog. She teaches yin and vinyasa weekly at Green Lotus Yoga in Lakeville, Minnesota and chimes in here from time to time with musings and rhymes. Archives
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