Whew!

I am overloaded with inspiration and just in the nick of time.

It's rough out there, you know? No matter what are your politics, I think we can all agree that these are some strange days with much uncertainty.

Last week I was blown away in NY by the timelessness of Chekhov. Yesterday I went to hear the remarkable Wendell Berry read from his work at NKU. In addition to the fact that he is a gentle genius in the vein of Thoreau (just replace Walden Pond with Kentucky), he is not a youngster anymore. Mr. Berry has been around the block and he has been keeping notes and taking names.

And I was reminded that while this feels like a very scary time, it is not much different than it was 30 and 40 years ago.  The things Wendell Berry read that he had written so long ago seem as relevant as if he had written them yesterday.

Should that be scarier? Perhaps. Are we taking too long to figure it out? Maybe.

But I think what it speaks to is our refusal to give up hope and to find ways to connect to ourselves and each other, either through simple labor or art or laughter. Take time to read the entire Manifesto: The Mad Farmer Liberation Front. 

You can find it here:

http://journeysomething.wordpress.com/category/wendell-berry/

Or read this lovely excerpt. And then go do something that won't compute.

So, friends, every day do something

that won't compute. Love the Lord.

Love the world. Work for nothing.

Take all that you have and be poor.

Love someone who does not deserve it.

Denounce the government and embrace

the flag. Hope to live in that free

republic for which it stands.

Give your approval to all you cannot

understand. Praise ignorance, for what man

has not yet encountered he has not destroyed.

Only the rereading counts ...

Here is a passage from the beautiful novel "Divisadero" by Michael Ondaatje. Thanks Carolyn Krause for the recommendation.  This rocked my world this morning.

"Only the rereading counts, Nabokov said .... For we live with those retrievals from childhood that coalesce and echo throughout our lives, the way shattered pieces of glass in a kaleidoscope reappear in new forms and are songlike in their refrains and rhymes, making up a single monologue. We live permanently in the recurrence of our own stories, whatever story we tell."

Have you reread a book lately? Or your own life? Take time where there doesn't appear to be any. You will be rewarded.

Just say YES.

Oh come on. Just do it.

It is easy. You go to www.pendletonpilates.com and you go to Schedule Online part and go to workshops and click on the Mat Class with Lolita San Miguel and you say yes. You give us $30 and then you come on this Saturday, Sept. 13th, from 9-10 am for a mat class with a 72 year old powerhouse of a woman who is one of two people in the entire world to be CERTIFIED BY JOSEPH PILATES PERSONALLY to teach Pilates.

Here is why you need to just say YES. Because you will be so happy you did it. Because what else you gonna do on Saturday morning? Because if you think you know Pilates, why not find out if you are close to the source of it? Because if you don't know Pilates, why not find out from as close as you can get to the source of it?

Because you will look taller and younger and more vibrant and sexier and smarter and all around nicer if you do. I swear.

www.pendletonpilates.com 

YES. YES. YES.

There you go. You look younger already.

SHINING CITY and AMADEUS

I had a lovely weekend and saw TWO fantastic productions here in Cincinnati. I encourage you to get tix now to see each of these plays.

SHINING CITY is at the New Stage Collective in OTR where a tiny staff and artistic director Alan Patrick Kenny have been knocking them out of the ball park for two incredible, award-winning seasons.  This beautiful play about two men, each haunted by different things, is surprisingly moving; which should be no surprise I suppose as it is written by Conor McPherson, the fantastic Irish playwright. 

AMADEUS opened at the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company to sell-out crowds on Friday and Saturday night and for good reason. Chris Guthrie (Mozart) and Bruce Cromer (Salieri) tear it up in this intense story about obsession, madness and genius - all my favorite subjects right there. I assure you that this production will only get better and harder to get tickets for so hurry it up and buy your tickets now.

www.newstagecollective.com

www.cincyshakes.com

And I want to express my sincere gratitude to the theatre community here in Greater Cincinnati for doing such extraordinary work, year after year and show after show. I have spent the last two years doing much of my homework about how to make a play right here in Cincinnati. 

Thailand or Bust

My son, Nick Sharp, is on his way to Thailand right this very second. He is spending three months at a university in Bangkok studying. 

I imagine that about now, with his long legs crammed into a seat on the very long journey from LA to Taipei, he might be thinking, "This is a terrible idea." 

I felt the same way on my way to Bali. I felt the same way on my way to spend a month in Paris. I most often feel the same way on my way to any new thing, no matter how near it is. New can be terrifying.  

But isn't it the best??? When you get out of our comfort zone to learn and experience and connect? I can assure you that Bali and Paris were not bad ideas. Nope. Not one bit.

And I know that Thailand will be the same for my son, Nick. Before he knows it, whether he is sitting in a classroom or riding on an elephant or standing on a beach or trying to navigate the crazy city of Bangkok, he will know he has arrived into the best part of life: making the unknown known.

New Dates for True Body Class

Whoops! We hope you can still come!

Please join us for True Body Project for girls and women at the Downtown Pendleton Pilates studio this fall.

THESE ARE THE NEW DATES:

THURSDAY NIGHTS - (Not Tuesday nights)

October 2 - November 20th

7-8:30 pm

Downtown Pendleton Pilates

500 Reading Road

Karma class - suggested donation $10 but pay what you can, when you can.

Move, Write, Create, See, Connect, Inspire.

With Julianna Bloodgood, Stacy Sims and friends.

For Girls and Women.

Have You Been Thinking About Teacher Training?

I assure you that if you have been thinking about it signing up for our four month Teacher Training program at Pendleton Pilates, now is the time to JUST DO IT!

Honestly, I know for sure that the experience always exceeds the expectations of the trainees. Not only do you get to connect with yourself and learn how the body really works best, but you get to study what it means to interact with - to truly connect with - another person.

Additionally, it is a great chance to practice Pilates ALL THE TIME while learning Pilates-specific anatomy and physics. 

If you are curious, visit www.pendletonpilates.com or contact me here or Shannon Faith at 513-333-0191. Payment plans are available. We start up again on September 11th. This session runs through mid-December.