Gosh, how many times have I written about making time for the things you love? I know, a lot. A few months ago, I took my own advice and committed to being back in the dance studio. I am training with a new partner. The chemistry is right on and I can’t wait for our first competition. Dance is my church. Where’s your sacred spot? Go there, now.

Image Credits: Will Caldwell Art

 Be the one who nurtures and builds. Be the one who has an understanding and a forgiving heart, one who looks for the best in people. Leave people better than you found them.

 This is either the first or the last house

This river

Runs through

And my mind is a mad house I only share

With you

Lyrics: Zee Avi

I took this photograph while walking along the coast of Ambergris Caye, Belize. I just love it. It reminds me of something Freud said: One day, in retrospect, the years of struggle will strike you as the most beautiful.

We all go through tough stuff in a lifetime. Acknowledge how wonderful you are in this moment.

Image Credit: Jenny by design

Have you heard of Marfa? It popped on my radar a few years ago, after reading an article about Food Shark, a 1974 delivery truck known as one of Marfa’s best restaurants, always parked at the farmer’s market four afternoons a week. Marfa recently rolled back into my mind’s eye when a guy I was dating raved about the Texas town’s contemporary art and landscape. Better late than never to share a piece of artistry with you.

Artist Donald Judd began the Marfa art movement. His minimalist art was created and installed on a scale that mirrors the immense body of land. The Chinati Foundation is a local contemporary art museum based upon the ideas of Judd, its founder. As Judd wrote in the foundation’s catalogue: It takes a great deal of time and thought to install work carefully. This should not always be thrown away. Most art is fragile and some should be placed and never moved again. Somewhere a portion of contemporary art has to exist as an example of what the art and its context were meant to be. Somewhere, just as the platinum-iridium meter guarantees the tape measure, a strict measure must exist for the art of this time and place.

Prada Marfa is a permanently installed sculpture by Elmgreen and Dragset, Berlin artists who call the work a “pop architectural land art project.”

Another must-visit is Ballroom Marfa, an art gallery devoted to contemporary culture, including music and performance arts. The community is rich in history, especially recognizable for its Marfa Lights. Located off of Highway 90, the observation area allows for an enigmatic glimpse of a long-standing phenomenon. Magical moments, off the beaten path traditions and art make Marfa a worthy stop on the road of life.

Independently owned and stocked with earth-friendly one of a kind pieces, Kaight is the shop to stop in on Brooklyn’s Atlantic Avenue. Go ahead, decorate yourself.  Stellar weekend find: Kris Nations’ heart and star earrings. At $35 a pair and delivered as a message in a bottle, they are a decorative delight. p.s. I have them on right now.

I’ve been dancing almost as long as I’ve been alive. From childhood tap class and performing with various dance companies to teaching ballet and competing in Latin ballroom, dance is sewn into me. Seeing Trisha Brown Dance Company at Brooklyn Academy of Music made me want to bring out the sewing machine. The final piece, “I’m going to toss my arms — if you catch them they’re yours,” is a long work with original music by Alvin Curran, and it was my favorite. The eight dancers offer up full moments of happiness and lightness. As Alastair Macaulay of The New York Times expressed: “The transience of this work is its beauty. Here today, gone tomorrow.”

Images via Trisha Brown Dance Company

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Image Credits: Jenny Graham

Two weeks ago, I climbed El Castillo at Xunantunich with two dear friends. We took a small plane from Ambergris Caye in the Caribbean Sea to Belize City where we met our guide, Andre, who drove with us to the ancient Mayan archaeological site in the Cayo District of Belize, near Guatemala. The Stone Lady, as locals call her, was a major ceremonial site in Mayan culture and built on a natural limestone ridge.

El Castillo stands at 130 feet above the main plaza and is known for its frieze, a banded stucco decoration representing celestial phenomena, Gods of creation, a tree of life and more. I became especially keen on learning about the Cieba tree, a tree the ancient Maya of Central America believed stood at the center of the earth, connecting the underworld, earth and the heavens.

Andre, our soulful, spirited, and knowledgeable guide, lead us to the top of it all, embracing the Mayan belief of life cycles. So many folks have been anticipating today, 12.21.2012, as the end of the world, when really, it is the beginning of a new world cycle. Today is the inspiration for the next phase of our collective humanity.

The gentlemen keeping watch were friendly and calm…and the views extraordinary, extending throughout Western Belize and into Guatemala…

 Image Credits: Jenny Graham