Farewell!
Greetings Pause Members,
Mary Oliver (my gateway poet) said, “Who can open the door who does not reach for the latch?”
This month, we are focusing as a community on the theme of ATTACHMENT. Like every other monthly theme, I find this one so perfectly timed.
The time has come for me to gracefully exit my post as Community Manager, to open another door and to allow new energy to flow into the team at Pause.
Finding Pause, and the grace and warmth of Rena and Ryan, was serendipitously timed at a peak moment of several personal letting go stories. Funny how when we let go of one attachment, another perfect experience/person/idea/encounter is right there.
In my journey, attachment and letting go have taught me to trust more. Directly connected to trust, I have noticed, is love. Can we have love without trust? I don't think so. Can we trust without love? For me, I'm not sure that's possible. Somewhere in the middle of this mix of attachment, letting go, trust and love (or maybe it's embracing the whole big puddle), is bravery. It takes courage to trust the letting go. It takes courage to love – really love – with all your vulnerability hanging out.
And so I find myself standing at the precipice of trusting and letting go once again – at another chapter of this one wild and precious life (there’s Mary Oliver again!). After years of teaching meditation and yoga, I began my formal study of Ayurveda about a year before I found this incredible community. It is time for me to focus my energy there.
I am grateful to be able to remain on the teaching schedule first Saturdays for the Monthly Member Sit + Gathering. Being a part of the member community at Pause means so much to me. Coming together with other like minded individuals is increasingly valuable and important to me. We are here for such a brief visit. To connect with others who are seeking peace and clarity is where I want to be.
I hope to see you around the studio, or perhaps in a consultation. I hope to get to know your name and what inspires you. I hope to be vulnerable in your presence and for you to know that you can do the same in mine and I will love you all the more for it.
My last day will be February 29. Rena and Ryan will keep you posted about the transition and the process of ushering in our next Manager.
Thank you, dearest Pause community, for everything. If you would like to connect with me, please feel free to send me a note at nicole@shunyaayurveda.com or visit shunyaayurveda.com.
With a big armful of gratitude, love and warmth,
Nicole
Pause Community Manager
Nicole Rush is Pause's Community Manager and an Ayurvedic Wellness Counselor. Meditation is like digestion for the mind, guiding us to a place where we are able to let go of what no longer serves us, we can recognize the true self within, always there to guide us.
Our days are filled with activities that sometimes feel less than extraordinary, such as cooking dinner, doing the laundry or walking the dog. But, if we pay attention, we will recognize the richness and abundance in the seemingly mundane. We don’t have to wait for a special day to find joy and happiness — it’s available now.
In 2018, Nicole traveled to the mountains of Kathmandu to complete her yoga and meditation teacher training. She also holds a Yoga Nidra certification and a Bachelor of Fine Art from Marylhurst University. Outside of wellness practices, Nicole finds joy in poetry, knitting, long walks, French films and her ever-vibrant family.