ALO- an acronym my papa came up with while I was still in grade school. I vaguely remember sitting in the car with him and my sister and somebody stating that what we had just discussed was “another learning opportunity”. Everything new since that time has become an “ALO” for my family. More than that, my dad has actually been able to spread the phrase around his office.
At some point in my maturation (which still has a long way to go, I’d wager), I stopped thinking of the phrase as one of those quirky things unique to my family and began using it as a personal mantra. Every experience, every conversation has the opportunity to be an ALO as long as I am open to realizing it.
This blog is called “Commuter Yoga” because I spend a lot of time with my own musings while on the train. It is an opportunity for me to meditate on my experiences of the day, dream about the future, and get rid of the feelings from the recent past and move on to the now.
I’m sure this seems hokey to most who would read this (if anybody actually does), but stopping to find the lessons in the anger-soaked day at work or the daydreams you have while standing in the metro is incredibly helpful to validating those feelings and learning to overcome them.
So let me know what you think and give me all the insight you can- I hope to turn this blog itself into another learning opportunity for me and anyone else who reads it.
Love your stuff, here, Jolie. I was in DC a few times in the mid 90’s during the Clinton administration, and DC was totally different from what you describe. People would come up to us to help us find our way around. They were very friendly and helpful. Hang in there; perhaps things will turn around.