Ch-ch-ch-changes!

Well, we've been on pins and needles for the past three weeks, and today the wait was FINALLY over.  

Today, we were told that we will be moving to...

...drum roll please...

WHIDBEY ISLAND, WA!

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As you can see on the map above, Whidbey is about an hour and a half from Seattle, and about an hour south of Vancouver, Canada.  From all the pictures I have seen, it looks GORGEOUS.  I can't wait to experience the cooler weather and an actual. winter. season.!

I definitely see lots of skiing, snowboarding, hiking, and lots of outdoor activities in our future, not to mention many a Canadian adventure!

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It's also exciting because Whidbey will be our our first permanent duty station, meaning that we will be stationed there for approximately three years (the longest that Bo and I have lived somewhere since we got married)!  During that time, Bo will complete his first (and possibly second) deployment, and we will probably try to expand the Behne clan.

Whatever happens, we are looking forward to it!  

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In other "changing" news, Yoga Life Studio (where I am a Business Partner and Co-Director) is closing this Friday.

Although it is hard to let the studio go, a variety of things factored into Sara's (the owner's) final decision to close - a tough economy and growing lease fees among them.  Perhaps most importantly, the owner's son has autism and (understandable and rightfully so) needs her undivided attention, energy, and love.  I think that Sara said in best in her farewell letter to the community:

After prayerful consideration, I have decided to close Yoga Life Studio on Friday, October 5th.   I want to extend my deepest gratitude to every student who has walked through our doors and shared their life, energy and breath with me.  You have inspired me, changed me, lifted my soul and transformed me in so many countless ways.  I truly enjoyed being your guide and mentor on the path of yoga.  I am eternally grateful to my students who understood the challenges we faced this year, and supported me with their presence on the mat, a kind word of encouragement, a hug, and so much more.   When you come to that place where you know you cannot do it alone...it's actually the sweetest place to be.   Only then you really see how God works in your life.  I saw God working in so many of you this year and I will never forget our time together.

So, as I conclude this post I am reminded that there are times to let go, and there are times to move forward.

Today was a time for both.

As they say, "when one door closes..."

Question of the Day:

Have you ever made a BIG move to a new city/state/part of the country?  Tell me all about your experience below!  We need all the advice we can get...

Blessings,
Ally and Bo

Love is Like a Mirror

Yesterday, on my way home from a business meeting and taking a yoga class, I was listening to "Fresh Air" with Terri Gross.  "Fresh Air" is easily one of my favorite shows on NPR; there is just something about Gross' ability to ask the right questions that makes every show both impressionable and memorable.

In yesterday's program, Gross interviewed Martin Bayne who was forced to enter an assisted living facility due to his debilitating early-onset Parkinson's disease.  Unlike most of his assisted living counterparts who are in their 80's and 90's, Bayne - in his early 50's - "calls himself an observer-advocate and writes about long-term care reform for the elderly" in his blog, as well as nationally-renowned newspapers such as The Washington Post.  The interview covered a vast array of topics including:

• false advertising;
• social perceptions of the elderly;
• recording people's final days; and
• how death is handled in assisted living facilities.  

But - for me, at least - the most powerful moment in the interview was an obscure one: it was a moment that reflected not on death, and not on the elderly, but on love.  I am paraphrasing substantially here because I cannot find a transcript of the interview online, but when Gross asked Bayne why he cares so much about his community, he answered in roughly the following way:

Because love is like a mirror.  If I can love the brokenness in others.  If I can accept the disintegration of my peers and of my friends, then I can learn to accept the same faults within myself.  I can only love my friends and family as much as I love myself.  No more. And if I have no love for myself, then that will inevitably be reflected in my relationship with everyone else.

I almost cried. 

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It's amazing how the truth can find us in the most unexpected of times, when we are most unprepared for its arrival.  And yet, Bayne's words hit me like a ton of bricks and said:

"WAKE UP!"

"Are you listening?"

"Don't you get it?!"

And in that moment, I did.

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With love you cannot bargain there,

the choice is not yours.

Love is a mirror, 

it reflects only your essence,

if you have the courage to look in its face.

-Translation by Azima Melita Kolin and Maryam Mafi

Rumi: Whispers of the Beloved

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Normal Rockwell paintings are some of my favorites, and this one (entitled "Girl in Mirror") is one of my all time favorites.  This painting has always spoken to me; maybe it's because "something about the way this young girl looks at herself in the mirror rings so familiar...you can tell she's judging herself," and it's beautiful in a sad, intimate sort of way.

As an interesting tidbit, if you look at the original photograph that Rockwell painted from, there is no magazine.  He added the magazine onto the girl's lap in his painting...and I have to wonder why?

What was his inspiration?

What was he trying to say...if anything?

I have a hard time thinking that he would add the magazine "just because" - without any real meaning or message behind it - but then again, who am I to judge?  Regardless, at the end of yesterday (and into this morning), Bayne's words still echo in my mind:

I can only love my friends and family as much as I love myself.  

No more. 

With that said, I think I have some work to do...

Question of the Day:

What are your thoughts about today's post?  Do YOU think love is like a mirror...or do you think this is just some silly simile?  

Whatever you think, I would love to hear all about it in the "Comment" section below!

Blessings,
Ally and Bo