Trailing

The first thing I was aware of when I opened my eyes?

Socks

Brown wooly socks balled up and resting on the pillow beside my head.

Wrinkled black jeans tossed over a chair

Bright yellow t-shirt with a black/white yin and yang symbol

Three pair of shoes over turned and scattered ~ sandals and clogs

I’ll deal with them later.

Coffee

After I wash the pot

Find a clean cup among

Crockery with remnants of last nights hamburger and gazpacho

Knives, forks, spoons ~ how many people live here?

Chaos in the morning

Not my friend

Pick up and put away

Socks in the hamper, hang up clothes and make the bed

Dishes in the dishwasher and leave the cupboard clean and dry

Open the curtains to sunshine and leave a tidy trail behind.

“It is a rare life that remains orderly even in private.”

~ Michel de Montaigne

A Selfie in Words

A selfie from June 21, 2015

I can look at my skin and see
wrinkles on my hands, face and arm, skin no longer smooth and soft with youth

Awareness of age ~ my age ~ 
pushing seven decades - but not there yet - gets scary from time to time!

Until I’m in the midst of some thing ~ focused on some one ~ when I lose myself in the moment. Any notion of those fears vanish as though never before there.

In that zone of fascination
There is no age - no aches or pains 
And crepe like skin has no power over me

Except that each fold, each wrinkle, each thinning
Has the soft strength of experience.
So I look at my skin and see a kinder reality.

"This is the true wine of astonishment: 

‘We are not over when we think we are.’"

~ Alice Walker

A Fleeting Moment

A bouquet arrived like magic
Unexpected and very appreciated
Accepted with surprise and gratitude
A bright spot of awareness in a very ordinary day.

“There are always flowers for those who want to see them.”

~ Henri Mattise

Looking for Answers

Questions about the past    

Could go over all 
the geeky teenager stuff

Or

The awkward new wife
new mom
  new nurse issues

Or

The 40 something woman
Adventuring south of the border
    Almost lost in the west Texas sun

Or

The pre-retirement woman
Learning how to write
  How to pen stories instead of progress notes.

Aware of answers found in the past ~
this mom and this nurse keeps learning the craft of writing.

“There are some questions that shouldn’t be asked 

until a person is mature enough to appreciate the answers.”

~ Anne Bishop, Daughter of the Blood

Awareness - Body and Mind

I called in sick for today and tomorrow - but not from work
Put my personal life on hold
Not wanting to be aware of how I was really feeling

Not an easy task to make each call
Knowing that I’d miss 
   A fun luncheon for next years book choices, 
      A long scheduled financial planning meeting  
Therapeutic massage tomorrow would be amazing

After all it was only a sore throat
And head full of cotton packing
Oh, and energy drained and draining

But these nasty viruses or bacteria or germs of some sort
always looking for another host would not be shared by me today!
They will have to live out their life cycle in this person.

All these things that make up our lives
  hard to give up even for a day
difficult to let go - even for an hour
tough to just lay them down and rest.

“Rest and be thankful.”

~ William Wordsworth

(I did get the laundry done though)

Hateful: A New Definition

Honesty

Awareness

Tolerance

Ethics

Fulfillment

Understanding

Learning

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that.

Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.”

~ Martin Luther King Jr.

Orlando Tragedy - Opinion Piece

Cross Country Checkup on CBC Radio this afternoon, hosted by Asha Tomlinson, posed the question ‘what are your thoughts about the mass shooting in Orlando, Florida’, a tragedy costing 50 people their lives and putting 53 more people in hospital with injuries. The issues raised throughout the two hour call-in show were terrorism, homophobia, and the lack of gun control in the United States. All are valid issues that our society discusses regularly. This most recent tragedy brought them all to the forefront of our daily lives once more.

While I listened to each of the well voiced opinions and observations, one thread seemed to underlie each of the issues. That thread I recognized is the ability and practice to hate what humanity seems to have mastered. There is no legislation that can stop or alter hate that is 

already a part of any individual’s life.

So what can be done? What can I do?

I confess, I am not going to pretend to feel the anger, the devastation or the fear that I heard many voice today. Stepping into those burning feelings on a continuing basis, leaves me unsettled, with the potential for paranoia to creep in. Hate can follow closely behind, clinging and convincing me that hate is necessary - when hate is completely counterproductive. Hate is divisive.

Terrorism is global, unpredictable and frightening
Homophobia, a great danger to the LGBTQ community, is immense, dangerous and frightening.
Lack of gun control is political, bound in generational beliefs and, again, frightening to the children and adults alike.

To be aware of how we treat all people on a daily basis, and then change what needs to be changed, is the beginning of addressing each of these issues. Sounds simplistic? Naive?
Maybe it is. 

“Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.”

~ Confucius

Dinner with Friends

Politics, Family and Travel

Friendships, Global Affairs, and Fashion

Movies, Food and Wine

Imagine these discussions across a shiny, teak boardroom table.

Aware only of a printed agenda, power point presentation outlining goals and focus for the next quarter.

And then

Imagine these discussions

Where the only agenda is food and fun

Goals are to laugh and be aware of each other.

Focus shifts as often as the topic.

“Logic will get you from A to Z; imagination will get you everywhere.”

~ Albert Einstein