Weekly Joos: Meet a Superstar Who Could Be You

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I've known Lisa Lewtan for a number of years as the entrepreneurial go-getter. There's not a lot of drama in what Lisa does. In fact it's quite simple. When she wants something, she goes after it.

 I met another side of Lisa approximately 2 weeks ago that I hadn't anticipated. We met for tea at Cafe L'Aroma. Each time I see Lisa, she looks like she just stepped out from a Cosmo shoot and this time was no different. 

  Frankly, I had anticipated talking about what two suburban mothers typically discuss: children, schools, etc. I didn't know, though, that Lisa is a regular meditator, a black belt in Tae Kwon Do and a certified "Let Your Yoga Dance and "Journey Dance" instructor. Lisa's passion is to help people "let it go" and not take life or themselves so seriously.

 When I left our meeting, I had that uplifting feeling when you meet with someone who is so full of positive, grounded energy. 

 I love having the type of paradigm shifts I experienced with Lisa. We judge people by their appearance and then find how wrong we were. This happened to me when I did my first weekend long meditation seminar with Sharon Salzberg, New York Times best selling author of Lovingkindness and several other books. I walked into the room and saw a very overweight, unattractive middle-aged woman. With terrible judgement, I thought, "I'm going to spend a whole weekend with her." She must have read my mind because at that very moment, she looked at me with the most penetratingly beautiful smile. At that instant, my thoughts shifted to, "How lucky that I'm going to spend a whole weekend with her."

 From that experience, I learned that there is much more depth to each person, despite their appearances. Each of us has an interesting story to tell. The problem is that many of us are too wrapped up in carrying all the baggage from our past into the present moment and future. As a result, we're uptight, vindictive, depressed and/or any number of negative emotions. 

 Just like you and me, Lisa and Sharon have their own issues, but they don't allow those issues to dictate their lives. That's why it is such a joy to spend time with them.

 

 

 

 

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