I was supposed to teach yoga this morning. I lay in bed instead. My throat feels shot, as if talking would make it raw. So I let the morning go on for a few seconds longer then usual. Listening to the others get up. The shower ran. The dog barked. One car drove away. When I peeled back the curtains there was a layer of snow resting on the shady corners of the driveway, not to un-thaw for several hours. I played NPR radio while stirring the oatmeal and boiling the water for coffee. Violin music seems to always get threaded into the radio sessions, regardless of the topic being discussed. This morning it was about the situation in Syria. The violin only made things seem sadder. I ate breakfast at the kitchen table in a red kimono. I never do that. I read from my meditation book. Day 27. “It s not because things are difficult that we do not dare; it is because we do not dare that they are difficult.”-Seneca. I’m surprised at myself, I’m a creature of certain routines and habits, but have never been consistent in reading something each morning. This morning was about truthfulness. In the yoga community that’s called Satya. We’re called to live our truth, whatever that may be. It might not be what people expect or want from you, but it’s important to maintain a level of it for your own wellbeing. It’s taken me this long to even come clean with myself, about what I value and need. Once you know your truth you can never go back. But I think actually starting to be direct with others about your needs is the hardest part. That is what I’m still working on, and the process has been both glorious and unpleasant. I’m working off years of being what others might term a doormat, or a push-over. But let me tell you, it ain’t working.  Truthfulness is more becoming on me anyways.