marijuana, white water rafting, & air bound bison

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This season has been all about the learning for me.  Summer months filled with sights, sounds, and experiences to file away…bits of knowledge that may or may not be useful at some future point.  You know…stuff.

Like our recycling program.  They pick up our bins every other week, but it’s run by the same company that handles trash disposal.  Now I can’t help wondering if the whole thing is BS & everything ends up in the landfill after all.

And Roombas, those automated pods that toodle around vacuuming your floor?  They’re designed to pick up debris and programmed to change directions, but in a huge design oversight they don’t immediately come to a halt if they run over, say, cat feces.  (True story.)

Now, for your reading pleasure, some of the random bits and pieces I’ve tucked away this summer.

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wcw – creating a world that reflects our heart

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“The only way to gain power in a world that is moving too fast is to learn to slow down.  And the only way to spread one’s influence wide is to learn how to go deep.  The world we want for ourselves and our children will not emerge from electronic speed but rather from a spiritual stillness that takes root in our souls.  Then, and only then, will we create a world that reflects the heart instead of shattering it.”

– Marianne Williamson

gratitude: water in stillness and motion

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I’m always at peace on the water.  Well, technically I’m always at peace near the water, but you get the gist.  There are few things I find as soothing.

Lakes, creeks, rivers, oceans – I willingly spend hours near any of these.  Water in both stillness and motion speaks to me.  It murmurs to my heart: be still and listen.  It quiets my mind and settles me into a rhythm older than time itself.

the Groundhog Day roundabout of parenting

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Groundhog Day in paradise. 

There should be a law against this.  It’s a crime against nature that a gorgeous sunset colors the water while BrightSide and I are trapped in a room, hammering out another peace accord between our kids. 

Without surveillance video, stories morph from one version to another like fog rolling across a river.  She did this.  But he did that.  No, I didn’t!  And she said this then did that.  No I didn’t!  I really didn’t!

Lawd.

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Share Your World 8/7/17

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What was the last URL that you bookmarked or saved?

How long has Donald Trump been president?  Seriously, there’s a website for this.

Do you believe in the afterlife?  Reincarnation?

I believe in an afterlife, but I’m cool with what most other faiths believe happens after death.  The only concept I struggle to grasp is the Buddhists’ belief that achieving nirvana leads to the extinguishing of a life force altogether upon death.  I’m working on processing that one.

If you were or are a writer do you prefer writing short stories, poems or novels?

I write some poetry, though not as well as many others do.  My favorite genre is very similar to the blog – first person narrative in short stories or commentary.

What inspired you this past week?  Feel free to use a quote, a photo, a story, or even a combination. 

Watching the herons swoop across the lake.  I always enjoy seeing these graceful birds, even when they’re standing like statues at the shoreline, searching for food like a cat stalking prey.  I rarely see more than one but several times last week I spotted two flying together, swooping into the tree line to find a more peaceful resting place.  It was beautiful.

Cee’s Share Your World is a fun Monday blogging prompt.

SoCS – two philosophers walked into a bar…

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High bars, low bars…some say how successful you feel depends on where you set your goal line.  

I’m not sure how I feel about this philosophy.  I mean, in some instances it makes sense.  Going into a Saturday hoping to have a good day may seem like setting a low bar to some, but if setting the bar low means you find pleasure in a cup of coffee and walking the dog then who am I to argue? 

Then again, aiming to graduate college with whatever GPA constitutes “passing” strikes me as a bar set far too low.  Little to aim for, no incentive to challenge yourself – I think some folks sell themselves short when they’re cruising on Ds and keep on rolling.

So where’s the happy medium?  (And you can’t say average.)

My kids aim high.  In school, in sports, in more ways than I probably know, T-man and Bear want to achieve.  I’m trying to help them find balance, find a way to live peacefully even when life doesn’t hit those high notes.  It’s a work in progress.  I could say the same for me.

Linda’s stream of consciousness prompt this week is “high/low.”

offensive t-shirt seams, temporary body art, and the pointless pursuit of de-sassing teens

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Leave it to my youngest to bring up back to school shopping.  In July.  While on vacation.

I guess one could praise Bear for her foresight and responsibility.  Me?  I fell back on Advanced Parenting 301.  I said I didn’t want to think about it until August.

And dammit, here we are.

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