I Love

I love a good cup of cocoa. Not just water soluble mix that you can get at Costco, the crap my twin brother and I used to call "watersol." No, what I'm talking about is a very special tasse of real chocolate they serve at the Cocoa Cafe (300 E. 900S). It takes several hours to make (fortunately they make it in advance) and you eat it more than drink it, like chocolate soup. Slowly. They cap it with a glistening dollop of fresh whipped creme. I love to go there, sit in their well-worn leather chairs next to a fire, listen to the jazz playing from somewhere in the cafe, and just enjoy chocolate.

I love yoga. Probably because it's like chocolate:rich. Yoga is also playful and beautiful. I love to move. I love to breathe. I love to touch spirit and discover what is underneath this thin layer of surface. Yoga simply feels good and reminds me of my best part, that deep, infinite part of me that loves.

I love people. I love to be invited into your lives and hear of your joys, your sorrows, and your nothing news. I love that you come back time and again to practice with me. I love to see they way you look when you come out of Savasana. I love to feel the gravity or perhaps that sensation of palpable clarity in the air as you all leave the studio. I feel like your ghosts linger and as I'm sweeping the floors, I love to feel you still with me. I love to be the teacher and the janitor. I love the balance. I love to share this part of your life with you. I love that you make up this part of my life.

I love deep, deep friendship. You know, those people with whom you can sit around with and laugh so hard that your face hurts. Or cry with because in some way you share the same heart and if you hurt, than I also hurt. And in carrying that for each other, somehow the hurt is changed to love.

I love my wife, Celeste; her tender heart, her joys and losses, and the fact that she's the other half of me and has lived my same adventures. Truth be told, I followed her on her adventures until I discovered that I'm also an adventurous soul. She has the most amazing poet's heart. She believes in me more than I do. She inspires me with hope and faith. I hope. With her, I practice believing.

I love jazz. I love its language and its combined complexity and simplicity. I love to play it and sing through my saxophone.

I love to hear someone really play the guitar and sing their guts out with all of their heart.

I love to see someone try. To work against all odds and push because that's when I see their spirit.

I love a good poem, one that speaks to love.
I love a good joke. I love to laugh.
I love to see people care about each other.
I love watching dogs chase tennis balls with their unparalleled attention.
I love my teachers; thank you D'ana, Erin, Peter, Jaisri and all the rest.
I love prayer.
I love to run.

I love.