Yesterday I had an extremely frustrating contretemps between me, my computer and the internet. I lost. And on top of that I had to tackle more chores from my to-do list, so I was not in a very good mood when I stomped out into my garden. You know that mood – the one where you mutter under your breath, use nasty language and are unable to let go of not getting your own way? Ya, that one.

Luckily I had some heavy weeding to do…hauling wild raspberries out of their hiding places, clipping the salal back, dismantling big chunks of crab grass from our woodsy walkway and laying down wood chips. I dove into it with great gusto, dirt flying, sweat dripping, all accompanied by grunts and mutters…

Oh, it felt delicious to whale away – releasing all that exasperating techno-gismo misalignment. After about an hour of pushing and pulling and lifting and rearranging I noticed that I was in a delightful mood. Not only did I feel competent again, I had a smile on my face and the garden looked great!

But what is most cool about this little scenario is that a few years ago I would not have been able to indulge. My back would have gone into spasm, I wouldn’t have had the strength to get the weeds out of the ground as easily and probably wouldn’t have had the mental energy to even start the job. I delight in the vitality that I feel now – more active and agile at 58 than I was at 48, maybe even 38!

So how did I get here? Nia, of course, has been a major catalyst. Finding the joy in moving my body’s way has helped me find joy in other areas of my life as well. Maybe not so much in technical areas yet…