Pause
Pause. Breathe. Win.
The following guided meditations by Charles Oteyza are designed for educator activists working for social and racial justice. In order to remain present, impactful and connected, take a moment to pause, recharge and refocus. Being able to sustain yourself is essential for your personal health and to continue your contributions to public education and the movement.
A Brief Meditation on Time
“If we are not fully ourselves, truly in the present moment, we miss everything.”
– Thich Nhat Hanh
A Brief Meditation on Light
“In my sleep I dreamed this poem.
Someone I loved once gave me
a box full of darkness.
It took me years to understand
that this, too, was a gift.”
– from “The Uses of Sorrow” by Mary Oliver.
A Brief Meditation on Joy
“Discovering more joy does not, save us from the inevitability of hardship and heartbreak. In fact, we may cry more easily, but we will laugh more easily too. Perhaps we are just more alive. Yet as we discover more joy, we can face suffering in a way that ennobles rather than embitters. We have hardship without becoming hard. We have heartbreaks without being broken.”
― Desmond Tutu, “The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World”
About Charles Oteyza
Attempting to define Charles is like attempting to define Filipino food. Both sprout from a colorful heritage steeped in Filipino and American traditions, abstract expressionism, music and culture.
A first generation Filipino-American on his father’s side, Charles traces his history back to America’s early frontier days on his mother’s side.
Read MoreAt times feeling caught between two completely different worlds, he has used the gift of artistic expression that has been passed down through generations to help navigate and communicate his diverse upbringing. This is apparent in his use of color and movement in his artistic projects, as well as in his playful and down-to-earth teaching style.
A loving husband and proud father of four beautiful children, Charles can often be found on local adventures with his family or teaching and meandering about at Blue Nectar Yoga Studio, where he is the general manager and a yoga instructor.
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