What pulls....

Long work days really drive me crazy. I mean, if I felt like it was the same kind of work, the same run-around time, they'd be worse. As it is, the occasional 'long day' ~ even though it goes on an extra 4 hours ~ has a different focus, which makes it a different kind of crazy.

On the other hand, I've been focusing on a phrase from a piece of art work I bought on Sunday. The first two words are WHAT PULLS....  Just think about that for a minute. The language is subtle, yet strong. The word pulls implies a steadiness, a drawing forth, a strength. It's not tugs or yanks or snaps, anything that lends itself to speed and brevity. For today, for this moment, I focus on WHAT PULLS.....

More pondering of the rain

After posting the previous comments about the rain smelling the same the world over, a friend asked: Are you sure you do not remember the very subtle changes in smell of the rain in each of the places listed?

My response: Yes... and, no, the smell of the rain is the same. The difference is/was the smells indigenous to each place. That added to the smell of the rain. But what brought me to the realization that each place was HOME was the scent of the earth in the first drops of the cleansing rain.

That scent can bring me to each of those places: Israel on a dew-drenched, hot September dawn; Cairo in the midst of an April rain; Portland on a cool spring afternoon; Huairou before catching the bus to the Great Wall; Chicago's mid-summer shower.

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The Scent of Life

New rain falling. I love the gentle touch of the water on my head, my face, my hands. I love the smell of the first droplets wetting the ground, washing the leaves and plants. That smell is the same everywhere on the planet; certainly everywhere I've been. In Ottawa or Toronto or Vancouver, Canada; in Boston, Chicago, San Antonio or Chico; in Portland, Bend, Ashland or Nyssa, Oregon; in Beijing or Huairou, China; in England, France, Israel, Palestine, Jordan or Turkey; in Cairo, Giza, Taba, Sharm el Shaikh or Luxor, Egypt. The smell of renewal, of life, of cleansing. I am awestruck and humbled by its magnitude!

The night after Super Moon

'Twas the night after Super Moon and all through the land every person was feeling the pull of that Moon.....

I know that doesn't rhyme. Occasionally it's tough to put reality into a rhyme scheme. Last night the moon was at its closest approach to the Earth in its elliptical orbit. It sounds like a truly big deal, but it happens about 5 times a year. Which does not change the fact that it's an amazing event! And that it's watched by millions of people and considered special and spectacular.

I guess I'm just a Moon Girl at heart. Every moon and every phase of the moon brings a smile to my face.

Synchronicity

Things happen for a reason, even if that reason isn't clear immediately. And sometimes those things happen in the strangest of ways.

I had the opportunity to go on a women's retreat. I didn't sign up for it immediately. By the time I did, which was just a week or so later, the retreat was full. I found myself internally shrugging & thinking, "Oh, well. Something else must be in the works."

A week later, a friend mentioned that she was leading a visioning retreat. I thought, "Wow! If I'd signed up for the other one, I wouldn't be able to consider this one." Then I signed up for it.

Then today, I was thinking about that visioning retreat (happening at the end of May) and the person leading it. I found myself wondering about the last minute details. Within 10 minutes of my imaging the friend in my mind's eye and formulating the query, she emailed me with those very details. I'm not suggesting that my thoughts of her and the questions led her to send the email. I believe that she and I were both thinking of these details within the same time frame. Why did it happen that way? I have no idea. But it simply did.

Odd Days....

So today my horror scope read something like: You'll want to hide under the blankets (maybe even under the bed), but really you should go out and face the demons of the day. It left it unclear as to whether I'd survive the encounter. As you can tell from the fact of my posting, survive I did.

Yesterday was one of those difficult days one encounters.... it started out just peachy. Then all hell broke loose. But it was that quiet hell. Not the hell-raiser kind. Just the kind that strips away the beauty of the day and gives you the distinct feeling that the drawer under the bed is a better place to spend tomorrow.

Facing the demons of the day wasn't as tough as I thought it would be. I spent the day with my gut tied in knots, unsure how to handle some interestingly weird communication situations. Then an encounter with my boss turned things catawampus ~ which, for today, was a GOOD thing!

Confused? Well, join the club!

Inside Guide

I often wonder if other people know the difference between being an introvert and an extrovert. We look at it as though it's an easy difference to determine, but it's not. Our society is basically extroverted. Being an introvert, therefore, becomes a 'bad' thing. Or something less than the best. We look at it as though the introvert is our shy younger sibling who needs our help.

When I was a kid, I thought I was the shy socially backwards sibling. And that may have been, and still be, true. What I didn't see was the way my being quiet added to the mix. I knew people liked me. Looking back on it, I thought at least some of that was because I was my brother's kid sister. Now I recognize that's not true.... well, not totally true.

I always had a good sense of humor and could play off almost anyone's words. I was quick with comebacks and sarcastic as anyone can be. People actually enjoyed that and enjoyed my company because of it.

My big brother, who is an extrovert, was a more noticed leader than I was. Not just because he was older, but because he was an extrovert. I led from within the group. People didn't expect much from me so it was easy to listen, make suggestions and guide from inside. Something at which I excelled; and something for which I became known.