Loveseat

#1 - Last night I saw that my neighbor was throwing away a loveseat (I guess that is the word for a small couch?). I went over to look at it in the dark. There didn't seem to be anything broken or wrong with it. As part of moving the television into the basement at the sweet man's place it would be nice to have an additional place to sit in the living room. So I called him up and asked what he thought. He had similar thoughts to myself, so I grabbed it and brought it inside.

However, a principal concern remained. How was I going to get it over there? My one thought was a good friend of mine's father who lives nearby and has an SUV. I would have liked to call him before I grabbed the couch off the curb, but it was 10pm.

#2 - So I waited until this morning and then hesitantly called and asked. I was apprehensive to do it even though I was 90% sure he would be happy to help. It can be so hard to ask! Anyway, I just called and he not only said he would but...

#3 - He said he'd come by this morning and we could get it done today!

I feel so wealthy.

#4 - I was planning to bus to the sweet man's later this AM anyway so this really couldn't be more convenient!

#5 - I like to have the steps all figured out before I act. So it takes a leap of faith for me to act before I have the steps in place.

But I'm glad I did.




And as a bonus...a little spoken word
 

French Father and Son

http://www.msn.com/en-us/video/news/french-father-explains-terror-attacks-to-his-young-son/vi-BBn86ki?ocid=mailsignout


I had other things but...

to the strength of the father,
the openness of the child,
the receptivity of the reporter
the station who led me there (NPR)
and the video itself.

(And I guess I'll add to this, that I embedded this video before the copyright claim revoked it. Now I've found it in another location though it cut it off 10 seconds early in my opinion. I don't know how to embed this link.)

This is a longer clip and they often get rotated on Tolle's site, but for now -

?

#1 - I just signed up for the first volunteer event the sweet man, his kids and I will do together.  It's preparing donated bikes for kids.  We will be preppers which basically involves cleaning/scrubbing the rust off of bikes.

#2 - Do you know what seriously is one of the most appealing things about having a kid is to me?  Reading with them.  So it is no surprise that since the aforementioned four of us will have a 10 hour drive (round trip) over Thanksgiving, I have made a few requests from the library.  I just thought of another book that would be awesome to read together -The Neverending Story.  I just added it to my request list even though I already had books planned.  Who knows maybe they've already read one of them, best to be prepared.  Then again I've already read all these books...I'm still excited.

#3 - I also scheduled the date for my New Years ritual.  I had no idea we were starting a tradition when two friends and I honored the New Year in a reflective way 10 years ago.  We haven't stopped since.  It usually involves a potluck meal, some writing and whatever else we have the inspiration to explore.  The last few years it has involved selecting a word of the year. 

This year my word of the year is ripe.  I was completely afraid of this word when my body selected it.  I was playing with words in my head, it was already a couple weeks into 2015 and nothing was coming to me.  "Maybe I won't have a word of the year." I thought.  I started playing with water imagery and then r words ripple etc. Then "ripe" popped in my my mind and my entire body responded.  Well, everything except my brain.  My brain said, "What the hell is 'ripe' in my life?  Absolutely nothing."  I felt I had chosen words of the year before that I wanted but never materialized. I did not want a word of the year that I would feel I failed at.

But I couldn't let it go either.  Ripe chose me.  It still has a couple more months, but it fulfilled its mission long ago.  I am no longer afraid that nothing in my life is/was ready.  Hopefully, in a couple months another word partner will come my way.

#4 - I listened to Macklemore's Downtown as a break today.  It just made me smile.

#5 - I received an email from a friend about the difficult week she had last week and feeling alone and vulnerable.  I'm glad she felt safe and willing to share that with me.

Fairy Tale Hike

#1 - When I pulled up at my friend's house - her child was kneeling at the living room window waiting for me.  When I got inside he gave me this.

#2- The sweet man and I went for a short hike with his kids at a nature area.  I told them when we arrived that I often see wild turkeys here.  Sure enough we had barely begun and about 7 or 8 turkeys came barreling down the path - almost right at us - then went around us by 5 feet or so and continued on their way.  Only the last one in back kept a more respectable distance and went in the woods to avoid us.  I said that was the highly sensitive turkey.

#3 - The look on the youngest's face when her normal talkative self became silent and her jaw dropped as the turkeys trotted by.

#4 - When we got to a bridge we decide to act out The Billy Goat Gruff, then we did Hansel and Gretel, Sleeping Beauty, then Rumpelstilskin, Snow White, Cinderella, Jack and the Bean Stalk and Rapunzel.  Almost the whole 1.5-2 mile hike we were acting out fairy tales.  I have never done that before.  I can say that for certain.

#5 - Everyone including the sometimes selective eater - enjoyed the lentil, apple, carrot, sweet potato soup that I made for lunch.

Big Magic

#1  - I went to a cancer prevention session this AM and they brought up a few things I already intended to talk to the sweet man about.  It was a nudge/reminder to make that happen.

#2 -  I’m vastly enjoying Elizabeth Gilbert’s new book – Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear.  I didn’t want to read it this afternoon though because it’s a book I don’t want to read too fast, it has some points I want to give myself some time to absorb and ponder.

I did want to read today though so I happened to have checked out The Frog Prince – A Fairy Tale for Consenting Adults by Stephen Mitchell.  I’ve read it previously but I can’t remember anything beyond the fact that I enjoyed it.  It’s a short book that can be guzzled down for enjoyment, which is what I’ve done today. (#3) – in the sunshine on the ground in the backyard after I took out the rest of the plants in the garden and raked some leaves.

#4 – There is a some advice that I heard quite a while ago from the Buddhist monk/author/Nobel Peace Prize winner Thich Nhat Hanh that I employed today.  He said if you are angry, say to your anger, “You are safe with me.  I will take good care of you.”  Today I did that with my hurt.  I had enough space inside to tell my hurt, “You are safe with me.  I will take good care of you."

I put Jason Mraz's (well Buika's song) on while I typed this as that takes good care of me too.  I thought about how I was carrying my own weight - not blaming anyone for my hurt, not denying my hurt.  Just seeing it there and saying, "I'll take good care of you."

"At the end of the day, you gotta carry your own.  No matter which path you take when you roam.    You gotta be ok with being alone.  Your body is a temple better make it your home... is where you heart is beating.  You are not the only one who's bleeding.  All you need is the air you're breathing and to just keep on believing, in you, and everything you do, then move aside and let the dream come through..."  - Jason Mraz/Buika

Gilbert was writing about this too - creating/holding/protecting space in your life for inspiration and creativity to come through.  It isn't ours, we just make the space.

Carry Your Own Weight

Still grateful for this man, and for a public that supports him, so encouraging.

Gym? Gymnastics?

#1 - Memorizing a Herman Hesse poem (Libros) in Spanish while I walked at Moose Lake State Park.  It gave me something positive to return my thoughts to when they'd wander to irrelevant places.

#2 - Most of my walk my mind was speaking uselessly.  I was almost done and going to return to the car when I saw a small trail to my right.  I was ready to leave but gave into the instinct to follow it.  It ended up being the most beautiful and peaceful part of my day.

#3 - A the top of the stand of pines were some yellow maple.  There were red leaves too but they were only on the ground.  I slowed down and did some walking meditation and then spontaneously sat for a bit.

#4 - The way the water of Lake Superior meets the sky in the golden light of late afternoon and the end of the fall leaves.

#5 - A mini-adventure in search of a gymnastics open gym.  The first place my cousin and I went didn't seem to have any gymnastics equipment. It was the wrong YMCA so the evening didn't go as planned, but nevertheless we enjoyed spending it together.