The ground was littered with small wrappers of Nestle Crunch, Snickers, Skittles, Baby Ruth, Mars, Laffy Taffy and Dots (didn't even know they had those anymore).

I saw and older gentleman with a plastic bag, picking up the empty wrappers off his front yard.

I said, this is your 'treat' after last night tricks. We shared a laugh and I thought, no one, not one single gluten free home is safe from Halloween and it made me smile and remember when I was young and all we had to worry about was needles in apples.

And so, I put on the ipod mini, strap on the shoes and go.

But, I feel heavy.

I have this thing. No one passes me on the beach path.

No one.

But today, one man did.

And the thing is, he only passes me and stays a few feet in front. So, technically our pace is the same. Kind of pissed at passy Mc Pacerton.

I'm sluggish. And the thought of falling back behind is tempting.

But, I see him before me, good form, nice pace for me today, challenging but not over exerting.

I teach in my Hot classes, where we practice in front of a mirror for alignment purposes, to keep that one still point of focus in the mirror. The place between the eyebrows, the space at the heart or other places on the body depending on the posture we are working on. In my flow or Ashtanga classes, we call this the drishti or gaze point. In dancing, they call this the spot. Without it, there is no focus. We need that still point to gaze at so our mind and body can stay, for lack of a better word, on pointe.

We need the still point of focus to smooth out the breath, keep our mind steady and not frazzled and support the structure of our body as we move in space. In Hot yoga, there is ALOT of balancing, so that still point of focus is so important.

And, can be frustrating.

I was a little mift at Mr. Pass me on the Path Pace Master, but I appreciated him in the long run, pun intended, because I kept pace with his pace, kept my focal point strong and my mind was at ease.

One still point of focus, eye on the prize, the goal, the road. Keep that laser beam focus and you can achieve anything, even that balancing posture you've been working on for years, that project at work, that novel that's been gnawing at you.

Focus in the eyes, focuses the mind, the body and the breath.

And, sometimes, the thing, the person, the situation that causes a bit of frustration, can end up being just what you need.

Today, let's make our collective intention to find that one point of focus and zoom in on that. When things get rough, find that thing to stare at, that moment to think about, that phrase to chant or remember.

You can’t depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus. – Mark Twain

The key to success is to focus out conscious mind on things we desire not things we fear. – Brian Tracy

It is during our darkest moments that we must focus to see the light. – Aristotle Onassis

Focus 90% of your time on solutions and only 10% of your time on problems. – Anthony J. D’ Angelo

Focus is a matter of deciding what things you’re not going to do. –John Carmack

To do two things at once is to do neither. –Publilius Syrus

Take up one idea. Make that one idea your life- think of it, dream of it, live on that idea. Let the brain, muscles, nerves, every part of your body be full of that idea and just leave every idea alone. This is the way to success, that is the way great spiritual giants are produced. –Swami Vivekananda

All that we are is the result of what we have thought. – Buddha

Concentrate all your thoughts upon the work at hand. The suns rays do not burn until brought to a focus. – Alexander Graham Bell

A person who aims at nothing is sure to hit it. – Unknown

When walking, walk. When eating, eat. – Zen proverb

Concentrated attention is the collection of units of power on a chosen point of intention. – James Arthur Ray

Concentration is the secret to strength. – Ralph Waldo Emerson

If you focus on results you will never change. If you focus on change, you will get results. – Jack Dixon

It is a mistake to try to look too far ahead. The chain of destiny can only be grasped one link at a time. – Winston Churchill

It is a process of diverting one’s scattered forces into one powerful channel. – James Allen

Keep your eyes on the stars and your feet on the ground. – Theodore Roosevelt.

Visualize this thing you want. See it, feel it, believe in it. Make your mental blueprint and begin. – Robert Collier

We are too busy mopping the floor to turn off the faucet. – Unknown

What we see depends mainly on what we look for. – John Lubbock

When meditation is mastered, the mind is un-waivering like the flame of a lamp in a windless place. – Bhagavad Gita

The successful warrior is the average man with laser light focus. – Bruce Lee

Presence is more than just being there. – Malcolm S. Forbes

Strong lives are motivated by dynamic purposes. – Kenneth Hildebrand

There is no substitute for paying attention. – Diane Sawyer

Don not let what you can’t do interfere with what you can do. John Wooden –basketball coach

Do the hard jobs first, the easy jobs will take care of themselves – Dale Carnegie

Don’t aim for success. If you want it just do what you love and believe in and it will come naturally. – David Frost

"The joy after a period of darkness and struggle is greater than

the peace of one who only basks in the light." JJ Dewey

Who is more foolish, the child afraid of the dark or the man afraid of

the light? ~Maurice Freehill

There are two kinds of light - the glow that illumines, and the glare

that obscures. ~James Thurber

We cannot hold a torch to light another's path without brightening our

own. ~Ben Sweetland

Light gives of itself freely, filling all available space. It does

not seek anything in return; it asks not whether you are friend or

foe. It gives of itself and is not thereby diminished. ~Michael

Strassfeld

Live in rooms full of light. ~Cornelius Celsus

We are each gifted in a unique and important way. It is our privilege

and our adventure to discover our own special light. ~Mary Dunbar

You can't have a light without a dark to stick it in. ~Arlo Guthrie

There are two ways of spreading light; to be the candle or the mirror

that reflects it. ~Edith Wharton

People are like stained-glass windows. They sparkle and shine when

the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in their true beauty is

revealed only if there is light from within. ~Elisabeth Kübler-Ross

Turn your face to the sun and the shadows fall behind you. ~Maori Proverb

Wherever you go, no matter what the weather, always bring your own

sunshine. ~Anthony J. D'Angelo

A sensible man will remember that the eyes may be confused in two ways

- by a change from light to darkness or from darkness to light; and he

will recognize that the same thing happens to the soul. ~Plato

When you possess light within, you see it externally. ~Anaïs Nin

Dare to reach out your hand into the darkness, to pull another hand

into the light. ~Norman B. Rice

From within or from behind, a light shines through us upon things, and

makes us aware that we are nothing, but the light is all. ~Ralph

Waldo Emerson

When my heart is heavy, the sun helps make it light. ~Astrid Alauda

Love is not consolation. It is light. ~Friedrich Nietzsche

In faith there is enough light for those who want to believe and

enough shadows to blind those who don't. ~Blaise Pascal

Sunshine is my quest. ~Winston Churchill

We all walk in the dark and each of us must learn to turn on his or

her own light. ~Earl Nightingale

No matter how fast light travels it finds the darkness has always got

there first, and is waiting for it. ~Terry Pratchett

The black moment is the moment when the real message of transformation

is going to come. At the darkest moment comes the light. ~Joseph

Campbell

I will love the light for it shows me the way. Yet I will endure the

darkness for it shows me the stars. Og Mandino

All the powers in the universe are already ours. It is we who have

put our hands before our eyes and cry that it is dark. Swami

Vivekananda

There are dark shadows on the earth, but it's lights are stronger in

the contrast. Charles Dickens

Walking with a friend in the dark is better than walking alone in the

light. - Helen Keller

We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real

tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light. -Plato

We must walk consciously only part way toward our goal, and then leap

in the dark to our success. - Henry David Thoreau

Every moment of light and dark is a miracle - Walt Whitman

All growth is a leap in the dark, a spontaneous unpremeditated act

without benefit of experience. - Henry Miller