Painting the Sidewalk with Water

#1 - When a Krishna Das comes on in yoga, I automatically start breathing deeper. Today I was already happy when one of his songs began and THEN it broke into this rapping part. It was awesome, devotional chanting and rap!

#2- My friend's mother agreeing to take a restorative yoga class with me this weekend.

#3 - Painting the Sidewalk with Water and Nothing to Grasp - these are appealing book titles from an author a friend told me I might like (Joan Tollifson.)

#4 - I received a love letter in the mail. From myself. The first time I recall writing a letter to myself was in my first poetry workshop ten years ago. The instructor had us write some sort of letter to ourselves, seal it in an envelope and said at some point we'd receive it, and I did. So it's not a new concept to me.

However, getting a letter in the mail, addressed to yourself, in your handwriting, that you do not recall writing (in this case) is a little weird. This time it was a love letter to myself, written on pink paper. It feels vaguely familiar, I would not be surprised if I read somewhere that instead of looking always outside for someone else to write you a love letter, to try it yourself, and that makes sense. Based on what I wrote, it was within the last couple years. The mystery though is WHO SENT IT TO ME? Obviously I either gave it to a friend...or did it in some other sort of class/workshop...who knows?

#5 - The letter is written on the front and back sides of a piece of paper, the back side feels empty to me/not really interesting, but the first few paragraphs on the front are quite specific and made me smile :).

Three Chords and the Truth

#1 - I wrote a new song last week which I was especially excited about because it had been four months since I'd written any. I had the impulse to play it for a friend on Skype. I wanted to ignore this impulse as I didn't understand where it came from. I've never used Skype before and I've been fine playing on the phone...but I've also learned to follow my impulses. Reluctantly I decided to try it, but I was nervous. Fortunately my 20 year old cousin called and when I said I was going to get off the phone soon to Skype with my friend, she got all excited and wanted to try it right now.

Anyway, I am so grateful because I am so comfortable with her I didn't have any nervousness and she helped me figure it out.

#2 - I played for my friend and instead of it making me more nervous (which almost always happens when I play for others), half way through the song I felt instead more focused. There is one word I'm constantly messing up, saying it in the line previous to where it belongs. But when I played for my friend I got it just right.


#3 - My friend said he felt loved/cared for when he heard the song. This is exactly how I feel when I listen to my favorite live musicians - The Brothers Frantzich.

#4 - A friend read a book I gave her (self-published by another friend). She really liked it, which is of course wonderful AND the best part of is that she took the time to read it in the first place.

#5 - Bob Dylan was asked what it takes to write a song and he replied, "All you need is three chords and the truth."

Alley

#1 - The biker who stopped and helped me get my chain unstuck, right at the point were I was approaching giving up and trying to come up with an alternative plan.

#2 - That the chain got stuck on a pedestrian/bike bridge which made it more likely something like this would happen.

#3 - I walked to the end of the alley with my friend's three year old as he rode his mini-bike. On the way back (it was less than a block), he didn't want to ride. He wanted me to carry his bike. I told him it was his bike. He pushed it a bit and then started getting annoyed. I said, "We can rest here for a bit." So we sat down at the back of a garage at the edge of the alleyway. The child started playing. After about five minutes I was tempted to say, "Let's go," but then stopped myself. The child was playing with a thin layer of dirt, a few sticks, a decorative piece of woodwork (that had fallen off something)...having a great time. Soon enough I was having a great time too.

#4 - He started to gently comb my hair with one of the sticks and it felt really relaxing.

#5 - Whatever stopped my from my impulse to say, "Let's go" and redirected me to the enjoyable moment I was already having.

Osprey

Osprey sighting.  I only know it was an osprey because after the bird caught my attention with its call, I looked up and saw it perched next to a huge nest at the top of a tree.  As I tried to identify it I looked down and saw the path/dirt road turn off was labeled, "osprey house". 

"Go climb a tree." a mother I overheard talking to her 7 year old as they were packing up their campsite. It seems parents are often scared to let their kids do things like climb a tree.

I stopped and ate my lunch at a park I'd driven by but never visited, where the Rum River enters the Mississippi.

Watching my niece's intense absorption as she tried to clip her stroller strap after she was taken out and tried to walk around with my flip flop on one foot (she even got the toe hold at one point.)




I picked up a bag of trash that was at the top of a gutter drain.  I'd already passed by it at least three times and finally I picked it up today.  Since I already was carrying it I decided to pick up any recycling I passed as I walked....so I'm wondering if it was a "good deed" leads to "good deeds" kind of thing...there is a house down the street that has turned a small section of their lawn into an area to attract butterflies and other beneficial insects.  It actually looked pretty pitiful lately as everything is in such need of rain.  But as I walked past today I had a thought that has never occurred to me before, "I should mail them a card thanking them for creating that space on their lawn."  Even though it has been that way for a few years at least, it never occurred to me before.

(Pictures are from my trip a couple weeks ago, Mississippi River on Wisconsin/Iowa border, or WI/MN border on the middle one.)