Upon Further Reflection

I was thinking this morning about kids and

#1 - How much time they spend sitting - in desks, in a vehicle, in front of screens and the health consequences of this inactivity.

#2 - Riding around in vehicles with distracted drivers. I just did a "cell phone use and driving" google search, landed on the Wikipedia page, and found this -

"A 2003 study by the U.S. University of Utah psychology department measured response time, following distance, and driving speed of a control group, subjects at the legal blood alcohol content (BAC) limit of 0.08%, and subjects involved in cell phone conversations...

As the study notes; "... this is the third in a series of studies that we have conducted evaluating the effects of cell phone use on driving using the car following procedure (see also Strayer & Drews, 2004; and Strayer et al., 2003). Across these three studies, 120 participants performed in both baseline and cell phone conditions. Two of the participants in our studies were involved in an accident in baseline conditions, whereas 10 participants were involved in an accident when they were conversing on a cell phone." However zero (0) drunk drivers had accidents in any of the tests. After controlling for driving difficulty and time on task, the study concluded that cell phone drivers exhibited greater impairment than intoxicated drivers.[9]"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile_phones_and_driving_safety

#3 - the cleanliness of the air they breathe and the water they drink

and I have to add to that children's safety in many ways, could use some overprotectedness.

For the young who want to

#1 - My favorite kind of exercise - not yoga, not soccer, not swimming - functional exercise, especially in place of the use of prehistoric plants and animals. It takes a lot less motivation to use decomposed prehistoric plants and animals, but today thanks to winter's transition to spring, I had the inspiration to jog to the monthly poetry group at the library.

#2 - The cover of this magazine, which appealed to me immediately. http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/ I didn't read the whole article but I completely agree with the opening sentiment. "In the past generation the risting preoccupation with children's safety has transformed childhood: stripping it of independence, risk-taking and discovery. What's been gained is unclear: rates of injury have remained fairly steady since the 1970's, and abduction by strangers was as rare then as it is now. What's been lost is creativity, passion and courage." Atlantic Monthly April 2014 Article by Hanna Rosin

#3 - Being able to share the two poems that have most touched me in the last month with an appreciative audience. They are Marge Piercy's "For the young who want to," and Carl Dennis's "Candles".

#4 - I've been meaning to get a baseball cap for probably a year or so. I have a couple hats I wear in the sun, however I've wanted something with a more snug fit for a situation like canoeing when I'm concerned my hat will blow off. I found one tonight and the best part of the gratitude is that I didn't make any effort to find it. I stopped in the store because I had a half an hour between the library closing and the bus, and there one was.

#5 - Someone asked a man, whom I consider to be the epitome of wisdom, the question that most troubles me.

https://www.eckharttolletv.com/free/?j=1#/805943863/Q-A-SAMPLE--How-can-we-resolve-overpopulation

The video is on his website and if it is possible to embed it here I haven't figured out how, so it will just have to be a link.

Mraz Medicine

The Place Where You Live

Do you see that speck of blue peeking out from this house?

Click on this to enlarge. Ha!

Gingerbread House?

Yeah they do. Well put!







Quite possibly one of my top ten all time gratitudes -

And it could not be going to a more deserving location (North Minneapolis). This makes me incredibly happy.

Marge Piercy

#1 – My friend tried a class at Orange Theory (an exercise place I bought a few classes for) with me today and so I got a free class as well.

#2 – The first half of this class is on the treadmill. When I got to the point where I needed to distract myself, I started with my toes and went through my body thanking it. “Thank you toes. Thank you feet. Thank you ankles. Thank you shins…” By the time I got to lungs, the instructor had us doing something else.

#3 – On the short ride there and home the conversation flowed so easily and interestingly with my friend. She also appreciated Marge Piercy’s, For the young who want to, poem which I had just picked up from the library and read to her.

#4 – I also picked up Marge Piercy’s Sex Wars A Novel of the Turbulent Post-Civil War Period. I love history and know very little about the women’s suffrage movement which is so recent. I am hopeful I will be as enthusiastic about the actual book as I am the idea of the book.

#5 – Eating a fruit smoothie on the couch while I listened to The News from Lake Wogobon on A Prairie Home Companion.

Light Dancing

#1 - The light dancing on the ceiling. I looked up from the computer and saw light dancing on the ceiling, as if a reflection from a pond. It gently rippled and swayed. It took some investigation to determine where this came from. At first I thought it was the reflection from the light shining on the wooden floor, maybe cloud movement. But it didn't move like clouds, it moved like water. Then I stood atop the lighted floor and saw I did not block the light. Eventually I realized it was from a puddle. There is a small puddle on the sidewalk outside. The sunlight was reflected off that puddle and onto the ceiling. And I guess there was enough wind to create a ripple effect. A pond on the ceiling.

#2 - I'm sure it was not a coincidence that I was enjoying a conversation between Eckhart Tolle and Karen May right before I became aware of the rippling light. Karen May struck me as a radiant woman - both inwardly and outwardly.

This was the Puddle -

#3 - Putting together a set list of songs to play for a musician friend. I'm not sure that I am going to play for him. I just have the impulse to put something together.

#4 - Being aware of forcing. I just wanted to get this email sent to a friend today. I knew while I was doing it that it had stressful energy behind it (that I probably should just write it later), but I wanted to get it done. The gratitude is simply that though I did not direct my actions/energy in a more positive manner, at least I was aware of this.

#5 - I went to a Poetry Out Loud competition yesterday. It was high school students competing in their memorization of poetry. I enjoyed the whole thing, however there were two poems that particularly stood out to me. "Candles" by Carl Dennis and "For the young who want to" by Marge Piercy. Clearly the students really liked "Candles" because three of the 14 students chose that poem, which meant I got to hear it three times. The Piercy poem was definitely my favorite and I just requested books by these two authors from the library. I memorized a different Piercy poem over ten years ago (which meant I really liked it), so I obviously should check her out. The library has 50 books by her! I've read zero and they look interesting. I'll start with the poetry book and Sex Wars, apparently historical fiction about suffrage.

Contagious Thrift

My 15 year old cousin is on Spring Break and stayed with me a couple days.

#1 - This evening we went to the thrift store. I bought a couple things that I would never even consider if she wasn't with me. She said 'Grandma-style' is in. This could be a huge joke if she was trying to get me back for something, and I am slightly suspicious, but it was fun to step out of my normal personality a bit.

#2 - Thrift was contagious, she started looking at things and saying "that's $6," as in "that is way too much money for a shirt." Not because it was poor condition, she was just getting accustomed to the low prices.

#3 - Making up a song on guitar about her eating an apple for breakfast.

#4 - "My" ukulele went home with her. She has said she wanted to learn guitar and I told her ukulele is a easier way to start. She was learning it while here and wanted to bring it home. I feel a bit protective of it, but I am also grateful she wants to learn. And the fact of the matter is the ukulele was our grandfather's, so it is really hers too.

#5 - Dalai Lama gives Senate's opening prayer

"I'm a Buddhist monk, simple Buddhist monk, so pray to Buddha and all other Gods."