In the words of Socrates, "The more I learn, the more I learn how little I know." Age is definitely helping me realize that there is a depth of knowledge that I have failed to learn over time. As I near my 50th birthday, I realize that the more I understand about people around me, but more I can learn about myself. This statement, coming from a validated introvert, actually means I am becoming more interested in the people around me and what I can learn from them. My interest is focused on their life's experience and how it has affected them rather than the knowledge they have.
Last night's lesson came during my first book club meeting. There were three other women in the group, a retired English teacher, a health care professional, and the leader. We all read the same book, but getting their points of view reflected the things that were of interest to them. While we had similar items of interest, we also had points that one person totally missed, while the others thought them quite note worthy. The women in this group were either older than I or of similar age group, but we all had quite different life experiences which made us pay attention to the various items of interest.
Another lesson I learned yesterday is that young people, people in their 30's, are involved in serious life altering decision making processes. A co-worker's husband is taking the same journey in life that I did in my late 30's. As I hear the story from my co-worker's point of view, I am contemplating the best path to help her either a) understand her husband's search; let him go and find his own way or b) give her information that might make him alter his path, which would be better for her. For me to give this advice brings me back to my original sentiment, I am not smart enough to help in this decision making. What's right for him is right for him - not me, nor his wife. OR is it our lot in life to guide each other through sharing our life's experiences and hope that we make a difference along the way?
I have learned a great deal when friends and family have offered advice to understand my behaviors. I have appreciated their insight. So am I smart enough to help others deal with their lives or do I still have a lot to learn? Do I have to offer advice or can I live by example and hope that what I have learned is available to those who would benefit? The answer is the unknown future, and again I realize, "The more I learn, the more I learn how little I know."
Namaste (meaning..the wisdom in me bows to the wisdom in you). .
Friday, February 25, 2011
Sunday, February 6, 2011
The colors of winter
During the day, the colors display various shades of gray: steel gray, purple-gray, red-gray, blue gray, green gray. There are shades of brown and black intermixed with the with the grays and whites.
While the landscape does not show the brilliant greens of spring, there's no shortage of colors to admire in the winter landscape. If you are tired of the winter and need a pick-me-up, take a drive out to the country. Bundle up with layers of clothes, bring your dog, take a walk and soak in some winter beauty.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Yoga sequencing - Warrier Series
While I would love to spend an hour on my daily yoga practice, I have finally decided that 15-20 minutes every morning is better than wishing I had more time to spend. Recently, I have been working on sequencing yoga poses, coming up with some interesting flow movements. I would like to start adding some of these series to my blog, so that you might incorporate them into your own home yoga practice. One of my favorite flows is the Warrier series.
Start with a 2-4 Sun Salutations (1-2 on each side).
Once warmed up, move through the following series, spending 2-5 breaths on each pose.
1. Warrier 1
2. Warrier 2
3. Reverse Warrier (back arm to leg, front arm to the sky)
5. Side Angle
4. Triangle
5. Reverse Triangle
6. Standing splits/forward fold/hands in reverse namaste
Switch to the other side and repeat.
Start with a 2-4 Sun Salutations (1-2 on each side).
Once warmed up, move through the following series, spending 2-5 breaths on each pose.
1. Warrier 1
2. Warrier 2
3. Reverse Warrier (back arm to leg, front arm to the sky)
5. Side Angle
4. Triangle
5. Reverse Triangle
6. Standing splits/forward fold/hands in reverse namaste
Switch to the other side and repeat.
It's all relative
4:30 pm. I had put in my day's worth of work and it was time to go home.
The temperature outdoors was 42 degrees Fahrenheit, only 10 degrees above freezing. I put on my long wool coat, wrapped my knitted scarf around my neck, buttoned up my coat and walked out the door to my car. The sun was shining. There was no wind. If it had been a day in November and 42 degrees, I would have huddled my neck down into my scarf and thought it was really cold. Instead, I unbuttoned my coat and raised my face to the sunshine, thinking it was an absolutely gorgeous, downright balmy, day.
I raced home, thinking Abbie would enjoy today's afternoon walk as compared to the single digit to teens temperatures we had been experiencing. As soon as I got home, I changed my clothes and put on my walking shoes. Abbie was ready to go after spending the day in her kennel.
We took off outside. Her tail rose like a metal flagpole. We took off down the road. Her tail whipped, giving her back legs a lift off of the ground. She loves the heat, and often lies on the tiles in front of the wood burning stove to soak in the heat. But today's difference in temperature was noticeable to her and she wasn't begging to go back to the house. Instead, she jumped and bounced as she raced down the road, tail wagging, ears perked, nose engaged.
In the cold mornings, we often get half way through our walk when Abbie decides she is ready to turn back to the house and its warmth. Today, there was none of that behavior. The snow in the ditches was still deep, but instead of being fluffy and easy for Abbie to run through, it was heavy and wet with melting. Abbie took off through the ditches, sinking up to her belly in the snow and loving the challenge of the workout. As she emerged out of the ditches onto the road, she would shake her entire body, starting at her head and through to her back legs, doing a twist as her back legs danced off the ground.
By the time we were at the end of our first mile, the sun had set and it was time to turn around and go back to the house. Abbie was ahead of me, so I decided to keep walking. There was still enough light in the sky and the sunset's colors were a brilliant orange fading to pink. The blue sky above was crossed with condensation trails of people traveling to places unknown. Several flocks of geese had also flown overhead. I didn't want this time to be over and neither did Abbie.
When we did finally turn to go home, there was a faint wind in my face that smelled like spring. The melting snow and warming earth created that spring smell that made deep breathing a joy as the wind caressed my face. Thoughts of crocus and daffodils crossed my mind.
By the time we got home, the temperature had dropped to 36 degrees. It was only four degrees above freezing; still cold but not frigid as it has been. The wind was mild and it smelled like springtime. Abbie enjoyed running through the soggy snow as much as I had enjoyed watching her and the sun setting behind the horizon. Cold? Maybe, but it's all relative. We would look forward to tomorrow morning's walk, no matter what the temperature.
The temperature outdoors was 42 degrees Fahrenheit, only 10 degrees above freezing. I put on my long wool coat, wrapped my knitted scarf around my neck, buttoned up my coat and walked out the door to my car. The sun was shining. There was no wind. If it had been a day in November and 42 degrees, I would have huddled my neck down into my scarf and thought it was really cold. Instead, I unbuttoned my coat and raised my face to the sunshine, thinking it was an absolutely gorgeous, downright balmy, day.
I raced home, thinking Abbie would enjoy today's afternoon walk as compared to the single digit to teens temperatures we had been experiencing. As soon as I got home, I changed my clothes and put on my walking shoes. Abbie was ready to go after spending the day in her kennel.
We took off outside. Her tail rose like a metal flagpole. We took off down the road. Her tail whipped, giving her back legs a lift off of the ground. She loves the heat, and often lies on the tiles in front of the wood burning stove to soak in the heat. But today's difference in temperature was noticeable to her and she wasn't begging to go back to the house. Instead, she jumped and bounced as she raced down the road, tail wagging, ears perked, nose engaged.
In the cold mornings, we often get half way through our walk when Abbie decides she is ready to turn back to the house and its warmth. Today, there was none of that behavior. The snow in the ditches was still deep, but instead of being fluffy and easy for Abbie to run through, it was heavy and wet with melting. Abbie took off through the ditches, sinking up to her belly in the snow and loving the challenge of the workout. As she emerged out of the ditches onto the road, she would shake her entire body, starting at her head and through to her back legs, doing a twist as her back legs danced off the ground.
By the time we were at the end of our first mile, the sun had set and it was time to turn around and go back to the house. Abbie was ahead of me, so I decided to keep walking. There was still enough light in the sky and the sunset's colors were a brilliant orange fading to pink. The blue sky above was crossed with condensation trails of people traveling to places unknown. Several flocks of geese had also flown overhead. I didn't want this time to be over and neither did Abbie.
When we did finally turn to go home, there was a faint wind in my face that smelled like spring. The melting snow and warming earth created that spring smell that made deep breathing a joy as the wind caressed my face. Thoughts of crocus and daffodils crossed my mind.
By the time we got home, the temperature had dropped to 36 degrees. It was only four degrees above freezing; still cold but not frigid as it has been. The wind was mild and it smelled like springtime. Abbie enjoyed running through the soggy snow as much as I had enjoyed watching her and the sun setting behind the horizon. Cold? Maybe, but it's all relative. We would look forward to tomorrow morning's walk, no matter what the temperature.
Monday, January 3, 2011
"What you think about, you bring about." Mary Kay Ash
As I start this first Monday of 2011, I was thinking about how much I do not want to go to work and wishing I was already retired. My Applause magazine from Mary Kay was on today's stack of reading materials and the phrase, "What you think about, you bring about," was brought to my attention.
Here I was, thinking about NOT wanting to go to work, when what I should have been doing was sitting in my lovely little writing room, doing what it is that I want to do, which is writing. Today's TV commercials are full of new year resolutions; loose weight, stop smoking, get fit. My commercial today should be, "get your life on track by doing what you want to be doing. Keep thinking about it, outline the simple steps, and do them."
Happy 2011. May it be a year of bringing about what you're thinking about.
Here I was, thinking about NOT wanting to go to work, when what I should have been doing was sitting in my lovely little writing room, doing what it is that I want to do, which is writing. Today's TV commercials are full of new year resolutions; loose weight, stop smoking, get fit. My commercial today should be, "get your life on track by doing what you want to be doing. Keep thinking about it, outline the simple steps, and do them."
Happy 2011. May it be a year of bringing about what you're thinking about.
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Christmas cookies
Today is the winter solstice, and so I decided to spend a few hours reading Rosamunde Pilcher's Winter Solstice. The wood stove is lit, the front room is toasty warm, and there are ice cubes in my glass of wine. The dog is restless as we did not go for a walk after work, so she gets up periodically to bark at the reflections the lamps are making in the windows.
A vehicle pulled up in the driveway and I kept reading thinking it was our neighbor who lets herself in without knocking on the door. Instead, there was a knock on the door. The dog barked, so I got up to see who was bothering my quiet evening.
A young man and a small boy stood at the bottom of the steps. He introduced himself as Greg W.... and his son Seth. They are our neighbors who live two miles down the road and 3/4 mile north. He expressed remorse for not stopping by earlier to introduce himself as he handed me a beautiful tray of Christmas cookies. We had a nice short visit and I invited them inside out of the cold. He indicated they had other trays to deliver but that we should get together in the future.
We wished each other a Merry Christmas as they got in their big white Chevy Suburban and they drove away.
All day long, I have been doing a very good job on my diet. My weight loss goal established on 11/1/10 is attainable by 12/31/10, but difficult at this time of Christmas goodies at every turn. All day long, I have turned away the cupcakes, cobblers, and high calorie free lunch until this beautiful tray of handmade goodies showed up at my door.
I'm sure that Christmas love has deleted all of the calories in the chocolate dipped fudge balls, and the white almond bark coated crackers with peanut butter between. I'm even more sure there are very few calories in the rolled out sugar cookies with blue sparkles and the chocolate coated mint graham crackers. Even if there are a thousand calories, the tray brought back memories of the many years I used to bake endless batches of cookies and distribute trays to our friends and neighbors.
Calories don't count tonight. My heart is glad with holiday giving.
A vehicle pulled up in the driveway and I kept reading thinking it was our neighbor who lets herself in without knocking on the door. Instead, there was a knock on the door. The dog barked, so I got up to see who was bothering my quiet evening.
A young man and a small boy stood at the bottom of the steps. He introduced himself as Greg W.... and his son Seth. They are our neighbors who live two miles down the road and 3/4 mile north. He expressed remorse for not stopping by earlier to introduce himself as he handed me a beautiful tray of Christmas cookies. We had a nice short visit and I invited them inside out of the cold. He indicated they had other trays to deliver but that we should get together in the future.
We wished each other a Merry Christmas as they got in their big white Chevy Suburban and they drove away.
All day long, I have been doing a very good job on my diet. My weight loss goal established on 11/1/10 is attainable by 12/31/10, but difficult at this time of Christmas goodies at every turn. All day long, I have turned away the cupcakes, cobblers, and high calorie free lunch until this beautiful tray of handmade goodies showed up at my door.
I'm sure that Christmas love has deleted all of the calories in the chocolate dipped fudge balls, and the white almond bark coated crackers with peanut butter between. I'm even more sure there are very few calories in the rolled out sugar cookies with blue sparkles and the chocolate coated mint graham crackers. Even if there are a thousand calories, the tray brought back memories of the many years I used to bake endless batches of cookies and distribute trays to our friends and neighbors.
Calories don't count tonight. My heart is glad with holiday giving.
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Peace for Christmas
This year, I'm trying something new for Christmas. I know, Christmas is all about traditions, but it seems to be a good year to try something out of the box and get out of my comfort zone.
Traditionally, Ken and I go to our river property to select the best possible red cedar tree to decorate for Christmas. Grandma and Grandpa used to decorate red cedar trees and the smell brings back memories of Grandpa’s chewing gum and favorite dollies from Santa. Red cedar trees are considered weeds and are typically cut out of pastures. They are prickly and have meager limbs. It is challenging to find a tree that is nicely shaped and has enough branches to support decorations.
Since Ken isn't much of a tree person, I end up decorating by myself and have to listen to whatever football game or NCIS episode happens to be on the television instead of listening to Christmas music. I also end up enjoying the tree by myself, since he doesn't think that sitting in front of my glowing cedar "bush", is entertaining. The more I decorate, the more he detaches. As I considered Ken’s dislike, the freshly steam cleaned carpet and the work required to cut, decorate, water daily, keep the cats and dog out, and undecorate seemed to require more effort than I could summon. So, there is no tree nor holiday bling in our front room.
When I got home late from work tonight, supper was ready in the crock pot and Ken was out hunting. I made a cup of tea, lit a fire in the wood stove, and sat on the couch. Maybelline, the youngest of our cats, purred on my lap. It was peaceful. It was warm and relaxing. I read my entire Better Homes & Garden magazine. It was a silent night, a holy night. .
From the quietness of my evening, I wish you peace.
Traditionally, Ken and I go to our river property to select the best possible red cedar tree to decorate for Christmas. Grandma and Grandpa used to decorate red cedar trees and the smell brings back memories of Grandpa’s chewing gum and favorite dollies from Santa. Red cedar trees are considered weeds and are typically cut out of pastures. They are prickly and have meager limbs. It is challenging to find a tree that is nicely shaped and has enough branches to support decorations.
Since Ken isn't much of a tree person, I end up decorating by myself and have to listen to whatever football game or NCIS episode happens to be on the television instead of listening to Christmas music. I also end up enjoying the tree by myself, since he doesn't think that sitting in front of my glowing cedar "bush", is entertaining. The more I decorate, the more he detaches. As I considered Ken’s dislike, the freshly steam cleaned carpet and the work required to cut, decorate, water daily, keep the cats and dog out, and undecorate seemed to require more effort than I could summon. So, there is no tree nor holiday bling in our front room.
When I got home late from work tonight, supper was ready in the crock pot and Ken was out hunting. I made a cup of tea, lit a fire in the wood stove, and sat on the couch. Maybelline, the youngest of our cats, purred on my lap. It was peaceful. It was warm and relaxing. I read my entire Better Homes & Garden magazine. It was a silent night, a holy night. .
From the quietness of my evening, I wish you peace.
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