BUGS

"I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious."

~ Albert Einstein ~

So the question is, why are bugs attracted to lights at night, when, if they get too close, the light will likely kill them. 

Science says some insects navigate by light, so they are following what they believe to be the right path forward, 

and others are attracted to the heat in order to stay warm on a chilly night. 

Neither answer seems completely satisfactory somehow. 

     Maybe bugs, like humans rubber necking at a highway accident, just can't help themselves, 

and have to know what's going on over there. 

We don't always have to know why. 

TECHNICAL SUPPORT

"Technology brings you great gifts with one hand and stabs you in the back with the other."

~ CP Snow ~

We are forced by circumstance to become largely self-sufficient when it comes to tech support. It's almost a given that an inquiry phone call will ultimately drive us back online. Many companies these days unabashedly announce that no humans are reachable except by email... and we may feel frustrated, but we manage. We watch a YouTube video or search google a new way, and something is lost and something is gained and a little tidal pool is formed where technical and human needs align and crash.

Live human interaction has unmatched technical benefits.

CLOSE TO CENTER

"Happiness is a place between too little and too much."

~ Finnish Proverb ~

Life seeks balance, 

so when things swing off wildly in one lopsided direction, 

we can be sure at some point they will be swinging back around. 

And the goal, 

perhaps, 

is to live as close to center as possible 

so as to avoid 

the jolting 

back and forth.

Balance and stability live between the extremes.

SEEING THE GOOD

"You can't please everyone."

~ American Proverb ~

I stop trying to convince those who don't see it of my worth. 

There are plenty who do see it, and I make it a priority to hang out with them.

I focus on what's working.

LEVELING UP AND DOWN

"Be moderate in order to taste the joys of life in abundance."

~ Epicurus ~

I have observed two possible responses to telling someone they are amazing and doing a great job. The first is that they heighten their integrity an additional notch, walk a little taller, and become scrupulous about continuing to earn the acknowledgement.
     And the other, sadly, is to slip a little and become less scrupulous figuring now they have won us over that they can do no wrong.

I avoid enthusiasm backlash by keeping my compliments right-sized. 

THE BRIGHT YOUNG PERSPECTIVE

"Every child comes with the message that God is not yet discouraged of man."

~ Rabindranath Tagore ~

I had the privilege of eating breakfast with a six year old recently. She was wearing a hat with sparkly flowers and pink cowboy boots. I asked her what her favorite food was and she said, "Raspberries!" When I asked her why she said "Because I can put them on my fingers and eat them from there!"

Children remind me of the joy of living.

MIDNIGHT MIND WARP

"It's the worry that gets you, not the lack of sleep."

~ Dale Carnegie ~

We create problems in our minds in the middle of the night and feel a kind of panicky urgency to solve them right then and there. But it's all just mind activity. There is no actual problem in the moment.
     We can relax, breathe deeply, and go back to sleep. As challenges arise in the daylight, we will intuitively know what to do.

I keep my "problems" in perspective and realize that many of them are of my own making. 

GIVE AND TAKE

"Monologue disguised as dialogue is the great dissembler that masquerades as the interhuman."

~ Maurice Friedman ~

Communication is give and take. 

If it's all give then it's grandstanding, and if it's all take it can be abusive. 

Sometimes we have more to say than others.

That's the truth.

Nonetheless, even if some speak longer and others less long,

Everyone must have their say.

Monopoly has no place in communication. 

ANGELS ABOUNDING

"Faith is brother to despair."

~ William Hardcastle Browne ~

There was a time in 2016, not so long ago really, when Gruff, my husband, and I were in the Winchester, Virginia hospital and feeling quite desperate. Not knowing what else to do, I asked for help from my Facebook friends- that they send up prayers, direct loving vibes our way, anything they could to hold us up. And they did.

     Within minutes of my request, the energy in our hospital room changed, and fifteen minutes later I felt the "peace that passes all understanding" that I had heard about but never known. It was one of the most profound moments in my life, it was 100% real, and I understood then that there is power so deep in unity and in love that it can create miracles. And since then, I've forgotten it, caught up as I've been in life happening and things being largely good. So I'm happy for the reminder. It's a good one, and roots me deeper in trusting all the things I cannot see.

I accept the fact that extreme challenges may come to give me the opportunity to experience grace. 

SELF-WORTH

"Life will have vastly barren places until I cover my own desert with green."

~ Muriel Strode ~

We think others care about what we achieve and accomplish and how we look, and don't realize that it's our attitude and energy that make the greatest impact. No matter how much fame or physical appeal we may have, the generous loving spirit of an open heart reigns supreme.

I am more than what I accomplish. 

METAPHYSICS

"I have a problem for every solution."

~ Robert Zend ~

I believe in metaphysical causes for physical ailments, and that we have more power than we realize to heal ourselves by shifting our point of view. 

Regarding anything and everything, we can readily change our mind.

I take responsibility for every aspect of my well-being that I can.

THE LIMITS OF PRAGMATISM

"Set out from any point."

~ Antonio Porchia ~

Life is far less practical than we think it is, so our pragmatism can carry us only so far. There's more wiggle room and compromise and accommodation and patience than we might ideally prefer. The path that seems clear clouds over. Our plans are dashed by weather. Things just don't always work out the way we think they will- our straight line to the goal has twists and turns. 

And it's ok.

Practicality often lacks vitality.

The dynamic, unexpected road

invigorates us

more than the well-beaten path. 

I stay fluid and vital and enjoy the wild ride as it comes. 

THE DANCING RELEASE

"We're fools whether we dance or not, so we might as well dance."

~ Japanese Proverb ~

Dancing free form to good music is equivalent to laughter.

They both feel good.

Let's allow ourselves to dance and to laugh, regularly, and with our whole hearts.

I move and giggle and feel vibrantly alive. 

ARE WE THERE YET?

"The living moment is everything."

~ DH Lawrence ~

I'm not sure why it is that we want to be there already. We resist the journey, and the approach. They feel less important and less appealing than arriving, which we're sure will bring us all we long for at last, but it doesn't. Instead, we just push out to the next arrival point, living like a Greyhound at the track chasing a mechanical rabbit. There's no meat there, and no satisfaction in the catch, just the chase itself, and exhaustion, and endless circling round and round.

I may not realize it, but I have arrived already.

I am here, now. 

WHY THE DARKNESS?

"The future is always beginning now."

~ Mark Strand ~

When I project into the future it's usually disastrous rather than a good time. I fully expect to be stretched to my limit, challenged to the point of suffering, and faced with pain, hardship, and despair.
     Where does all this negativity come from? And why do I smear it all over the clean palette of tomorrow? These are questions I can't confidently answer without making up poor me stories in my mind, so it's best to stay in today and face what's right here and right now.

I trust in the goodness of whatever may come. 

BUDS AND BLOSSOMS

"Every spring is a perpetual astonishment."

~ Ellis Peters ~

The sheer variety of plants and trees that come into bloom in the spring in Virginia 

are enough to convince me of 

the glory of God. 

It's a spectacular show of buds and berries and blossoms and color. 

It's humbling.

It's inspiring.

It's awakening.

It's renewal, 

and 

It's here, now. 

I celebrate the spring!

MENTAL NOISE

"Men are... prisoners of their... minds."

~ FDR ~

Most of the time, things are actually better than we think they are in our minds, which seem to like to create problems so they can fret and fuss all day over solving them. We focus internally to deal with whatever seems to be the trouble, and we miss all the goodness right in front of us... until something startles us out of our negative meditation and we are relieved.
     There is a sweetness in letting go of our mental fixations, and a spaciousness to the energy of surrendering to the moment and the day.

I stop creating problems in my mind. 

EMOTIONAL ROLLER COASTER

"All emotions are pure which gather you and lift you up; the emotion is impure which seizes only one side of your being and so distorts you."

~ Rainer Maria Rilke ~

Sometimes it's a challenge to know what's going on with our emotions. They seem all over the map, and while we have some awareness that our discombobulated state is disconcerting to those around us, we have little power to stop what triggers us. We're along for the ride. And sometimes later, in hindsight, we understand what was going on with us, and sometimes we don't ever know.
     The only thing that's certain is that how we feel will change, so if we just hang in there, confusion may well shift into clarity, or determination, or anger, or joy.

I ride the waves of my emotions with a certain detachment, and the knowledge that just because I feel something doesn't necessarily make it true. 

THE BLUE RIDGE MOUNTAINS

"Deny yourself the connection to the wild places that your soul craves and the fire inside you will slowly turn to ash."

~ Creek Stewart ~

I love the mountains, and particularly, the mountains in Virginia, where I live. They rise gently curving above the landscape: deep blue, dark blue, green, and grey. Their presence is a constant reminder of spaciousness and light and life beyond the immediate and the mundane.
     At times in my life, I have lived in places without mountains, or with sharply pointed and peaked mountains, and at those times, I've experienced a lost-ness and a missing- for the beautiful rolling skyline of my home state.

I love and am comforted by the natural features of the place I call home. 

SMART CARS

"This is (a) beautiful time in human history; it is ...pregnant with all kinds of creative possibilities made possible by science and technology."

~ Jonas Salk ~

My old car died, and I have a new little car that I love! It's a Ford Escape Titanium, it's comfortable, solid on the road, zippy to drive, and has all the latest and greatest bells and whistles. I scoffed at all of these before I had them, and now, they delight me every day!
     Thanks to technology, my car is my true partner on any journey, an always willing traveler, and a comforting friend.

Technology has its advantages. 

ALL TOGETHER

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world.

Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."

~ Margaret Meade ~

We have an amazing team of people working on our farm reconstruction project with us, and they are all so different from each other, and all so perfectly suited to what they do. I respect them, and feel a certain tenderness towards them for their integrity, their workmanship, and the genuine way they seem to care about us and their part in what we're creating. In a subtle, and mutually protective kind of way, we are taking care of each other.

I am blessed to be surrounded by hard working, high-integrity individuals.

FEELING BLESSED

"Thanks are justly due for boons unbought."

~ Ovid ~

I am grateful for spring flowers and early blooming trees. 

I am grateful for my health and the health of those I love. 

I am grateful for opportunity and evolution and spirit and kindness, 

and whatever experience life may offer me up. 

I am grateful for my husband who is also my best friend. 

I am grateful for color and sunshine 

and soft sheets 

and cozy covers.

I am grateful.