More Travel

Arrived at the Hood Canal today after a brief stop in Poulsbo. Cute town! Friendly people.

128 stairs total to get to the tidal flats & boat house; another 128 to return. Wow! Quite a workout!

Then there was a quiet sunset. All in all, a grand day!

Remembering Nagasaki

9 August 1945

May we never have another day like that!

As I think about this day and what it meant in the history of the world, I find myself reflecting on the war we are now involved in ~ Afghanistan ~ and about the people suffering in Syria, the stolen tank in the Sinai, those imprisoned for their outspoken beliefs anywhere in the world. I am also reminded of this quote from a 1985 speech given by Father George Zabelka, who was the Catholic chaplain to the flyboys of the 'Enola Gay' (bombed Hiroshima) and the 'Bockscar' (bombed Nagasaki):

"We must all do something for peace. We must stop this insanity of worshiping the gods of metal. We must take a stand against evil and idolatry. This is our destiny at the most critical time of human history. But it's also the greatest opportunity ever offered to any group of people in the history of our world~to save our world from complete annihilation."

Hopefully, we will all care enough to do something, however small and insignificant we think it is, in the pursuit of peace.

Pausing to Wonder

When I consider the wonders of the universe......

What an incredible beginning to a thought! Yet I often forget to notice the mysterious, the wonders of the universe, the miraculous moments that exist in every moment I'm alive. Einstein's observation that when we miss the emotion inherent in awe, we are as good as dead. We have no true life within us.

The subtly greater issue is that we still walk and talk and eat and work and breathe as though we are real.... we miss the truest moments of beauty and life. We miss beauty and passion.... true, living passion .... as well as wonder. I continue to move forward to recall the passion I've experienced in my life.W

On the Road Again....

Today was my final vacation day. I packed most of my stuff last night… barely slept [4-7 a.m.]

We packed up, checked out, & went to breakfast at Becky's on the waterfront. Tasty, home style cooking... fairly simple fare.

Then we went to Exchange Street because it was on my current trip bucket list. Calm & fun; ended with buying a Starbucks soy green tea latte.

Now as I wait at JFK for the final leg of my trek, I am extremely grateful for these past three weeks.... time with my brother, with new friends and with the friend I visited for the most extensive segment of the trip. Grateful for the job that provided the money, for family left behind, for friends keeping good thoughts heading my way.

Moral Principle

From the Dalai Lama:
As human beings we are all the same. We have this marvelous intelligence, which sometimes creates problems for us, but when influenced by warm-heartedness can be very constructive. ... In this context we need to appreciate the value of having moral principles.

Sometimes, after incidents such as what happened in Aurora, Colorado, I begin to think that our intelligence can take us in different directions ~~ toward the good or toward the evil. We create problems in different ways. Does it matter that he planned it out? Would it be less evil if he'd just spontaneously gone there and shot up the theater? What is the moral principle here? Whose more principle matters?

Bangor's Famous Son

Today I drove past the house of Stephen King. I felt odd taking pictures of it.... then decided to just go for it!

It's a big beautiful place with an unusual gate ... spider web at the bottom (really well done!) and the gate posts have gargoyles, or maybe bats, on them.

Dreaming of Sailing

Yesterday morning I woke from sleep in the midst of a dream of sailing.... not something I do in real life...

I was alone on a sailboat in the middle of a river or perhaps in a bay or cove, there was land nearby though not within easy reach. The water was mildly rough, nothing overwhelming, but not like glass. I stood on the deck of the boat, checking the wind, feeling the sway of the boat and getting my 'sea legs'. I felt calm, joyful. I was beginning to unfurl the sail, everything was perfect.

A song was also playing in my mind: Sail On by Lionel Richie
Sail on, honey, good times never felt so good.....

And that's literally how I felt! It was as though Spirit was confirming in every possible way that I'm on the right path at this moment. I knew I was paying attention as I needed to do in the way I needed to do it. At least in that precise moment.

Moving forward moment by moment.....

Shaman Oracle

Shaman of Birth
I drew this card as I was preparing to leave on a three week vacation. My focus as I searched & drew the card was a theme, something that would carry me through these weeks. What an amazing draw!

Next to the picture of the card in the book accompanying the deck: I am the Shaman of Birth. I guide souls into being. I am present from the moment of conception to the moment when the newborn arrives in the world. I help at the birth of many things, including ideas, beliefs, wisdom & change. I guard & show the way to all who seek this path of new beginnings: trust in me as you contemplate your future, for I am the midwife to the dreams of many. Whew! And....Wow!

Medicine Wheel Card.....

Today I decided to draw a Medicine Wheel Card ~~ for two reasons: first, my horoscope suggested meditating on the bigger picture of my life and future around the time of the full moon (11:52 a.m. PDT); second, I wanted a focus for my East Coast trip that begins tomorrow.

So, I removed the blank cards & began shuffling the deck, specifically asking for guidance for the next two days and for the immediate future of my trip. My question: What strength and help will I need/be able to use for the next several days?

After I'd shuffled the deck several times, keeping my question and focus in my mind and heart, I pulled a card. SURPRISE! I apparently hadn't removed all the blank cards because the shield on my card was blank! I laughed out loud! What popped into my head was that the future for me was a blank slate & that I would be writing the story myself. Amazing!

Then my mind, always wanting to check everything out, sought out the book for the 'definition' of the blank cards. Two pieces of information surfaced and stuck in my mind: it indeed was a blank slate that could carry whichever animal drew me (& wasn't represented in the deck already) AND it could represent an entire group that was an ally. For me that meant Dragon and the Stone Nation, respectively. Wow!

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.

Thinking about thinking too much.....

I've often been accused of thinking too much about things. Or of spending lots of time in my head. It's funny how we view those things as negatives.

My question: How can anyone think too much about things? If my way of being in the world is to be reflective, then what's 'too much'? How does one determine what the outside limit is for thinking? If I spend 5 minutes on a topic, is that too little or just enough? If I spend 30 minutes on a topic, is that too much or just enough? Who gets to make that determination?

There are two vastly different points of view that both lay claim to telling me I think too much. The first are the people who prefer action. Be bold! Be daring! Just do it! (thank you, Nike) Action is the important point for this group. Thinking delays action.

The second viewpoint is that I should depend more on my intuition, and therefore, I would feel the next step more than think about it. Funny thing is that the outcome of these two points of view would be the same: acting more rapidly than I do.