Straight

#1 - Getting into a discussion on socially responsible investing with my teenage cousin. It began with us working on her homework assignment on ethical predicaments. One of them was related to money, and somehow we started talking about savings and CD rates. We went to look up CD rates and then I showed her the Forum for Sustainable and Responsible Investment website. She asked great questions, was really engaged in the discussion, and got me thinking. Thanks!

#2 - Walking down the stairs at my uncle's I glanced up and the approaching sunset with a puffy clouded sky, was perfectly framed by the window.

#3 - Trying out a couple of my favorite things (the ones I could remember) from the shiatsu massage I had recently on my cousins. My brother was watching and he wanted me to try on him too :).

#4 - Finding it relaxing to have my hair straightened by my cousin.

#5 - Discovering how the look that is so popular now is obtained. I've never had my hair straightened or really knew about it, but now I see it is not magic that "everyone" has the same hair style.

Blankets

#1 - I'm grateful at how I amused myself by finding things to take pictures of today - such as these before and after shots of straightening the blankets at my yoga studio.
#2 - Having leftover beans and rice, homemade cole slaw and two carob chip cookies to easily pack for my lunch. Eating that lunch outside in February, weird but enjoyable, until the wind came.

#3 - Having a flexible work schedule so I could clean the yoga studio this afternoon and then finish working after that.



#4 - Practicing getting into a relaxed position quickly as I set up the self-timer. (This is how I end most of my cleaning sessions).

#5 - Jason Mraz's new music video. It sounds silly to say, but I feel so proud of him.

The Not Feeling Like It Override

#1 - I did two things today, that beforehand, I didn't necessarily feel like doing - 6am yoga and my monthly food shelf volunteering. Both of these events were really positive contributions to my day. So maybe I should describe it as "The Not Feeling Like it Override."

#2 - There were a lot of new people volunteering tonight and I was happy to be able to help direct them.

#3 - Having a better idea of what items are in demand (if I donate to a food shelf): cooking oil, sugar, diapers, toilet paper...

#4 - Sometimes I get a bit tired of my repetitive thoughts (even if they aren't negative). When I walked out after volunteering, I realized that for the last 2.5 hours my thoughts had left their self-absorption for a while. Thank you!

#5 - Waiting at a bus stop I looked around me and almost everyone was looking down at an electronic device. I looked up and I smiled.

El Laberinto de la Felicidad

"Water kills more people in the world than all the world’s wars and all bullets combined together." Doc Hendley

Doc Hendley was interviewed on The Story today, he works to bring people access to clean water. Amen.

*****

Francesc Miralles - He is the co-author of a book I fell in love with last month El Mejor Lugar Del Mundo es Aqui Mismo (The Best Place on Earth is Right Here) and now I am reading the other book he co-authored that my library has - El Laberinto de la Felicidad (The Labyrinth of Happiness). Once again, it is delightful! I smile while I read.

In today's reading the train conductor (it's metaphorical) instead of reviewing your ticket, reviews your life. The woman asks, "With what will you review my life?" The conductor pulls out a mirror.

The woman looks in the mirror and sees how she has changed (through the story) how her eyes shine like when she was a child. The conductor says that the face is a reflection of the soul and that she wasn't afraid to look there.

Then there is the beauty of language in itself. I've thought about this while writing poems or songs, there are certain words and themes keep coming up because they rhyme - free and we and me and see for example. In Spanish free is "libre" and that doesn't rhyme like "free" does. So I've wondered if I was fluent enough to create in Spanish what those new rhymes would be? I don't know, but I did come across this cool passage in the book today. It just does not work in English. It is

"El miedo es el medio (102)"


(Roughly - Fear is the way, but it's not the same).

THEN I get to a chapter titled "El Atraepajaros." Pajaros means birds. Atrae is something like attract. I read for context, so I skip words I don't know unless I think they are really important or that I am missing something.

Anyway, in this chapter they are talking about an espantapajaros (so bird scare or something). I read for a while but am not getting it so I go back, then I joyfully figure out they mean scarecrow and the atraepajaros is the opposite, like an attractcrow. The book says at first the scarecrow scares away the birds, because it signals someone who could kill them for eating the seeds. But with fear comes opportunity and the scarecrows begin to signal where one can find nourishment.

"Bajo nuestros miedos se encuentra el tesoro que andamos buscando (101)." -

Beneath our fears we find the treasure we are looking for.

***