Well, everyone else is doing it ... I've looked back through my 2011 blog posts, and I actually don't really know how to sum it all up. Some bad things happened. I got a torn meniscus in my knee. I did get to Bali, but was pretty sick the whole time! And - don't think I ever posted about this, but in the middle of the year my darling pussycat got run over - I was searching for her and had to pick her body up from the road. Too painful to blog about at the time, and although I'm now reconciled, I think that some of the pain from that may have spilled over into the way I was so freaked out/obsessed with my knee meniscus issue - probably explains a lot. (Never realised it at the time, but the knee thing happened only a week or two later.)
Something that I did learn from Dena this time was to 'enjoy what I've got/where I am in the practice'. I've just re-read a post from Bali about her concept of 'conscious samisthithi' before moving into each pose. To stretch the spine, then turn on uddhiyana and mula bandhas, and then move into the pose. One of the teachers at my shala reminded me to do that in my last shala practice before Christmas.
And don't let me forget that my meditation teacher Maharaji came to Australia, and I went to the 2-day event at Amaroo, and also saw him speak in an introductory event in Brisbane a couple of weeks later (having just flown back from spending 10 days helping my Mum when she got out of hospital). That was all really wonderful.
I'm hoping for a happy and healthy 2012! I will get another pussycat soon. I've reluctantly decided that while I still live in this house (which, although rural, has a road close by that cars/lorries drive fast along) I will have to prevent access to the wider outdoors. I've always kept my cats inside at night to protect the wildlife, but generally speaking I don't agree with keeping cats inside. But ... I just can't go through that again (finding her dead on the road), and have actually had part of the back deck fenced off, so I can give a pussycat limited outdoors access. I'm going to get an adult cat from the RSPCA shelter this time (although I'll definitely get an Abyssinian kitten again in the future!)
Anyway - let's just see what lessons 2012 brings to us all ... :)
