Bringing Good Things To Life

photo courtesy of stock exchange

"Anything that does not bring you alive is too small for you." Sweet Darkness David Whyte

Once again, I've been "lightning bolted" by bloggers. First, it was Alexandra, who quoted this line and posed the question, "What brings you alive?" So all day, I've been going about my usual Sunday business, and silently rating everything I've done. Did sitting in my favorite chair, bathed in sunlight, with hot coffee and the New York Times bring me alive? Did making brunch and watching Magic and Molly lick their lips on tiny bites of cheese omelets and croissants bring me alive? Did shopping for accessories to match the new carpet and furniture in my family room bring me alive?

The answer - in small ways, yes. Of course, the question really refers to much larger elements of life than the homely little things I was thinking about today. Things like relationships, spirituality, careers, lifestyles. So I began reflecting on those things and marking a mental report card on what in my life might be too small. The things that really make me alive - being with my family and friends, playing music and interacting with other musicians young and old, sharing ideas with interesting people, especially through writing and reading, and seeing new things through traveling. Things that are definitely too small - shuffling papers at the office, spending too much time doing shopping and household tasks, and living so far away from my son and daughter in law.

And then I read Susannah's post, and she wrote so beautifully about living life to it's fullest every day. She too posed a fascinating question - if this were your last day on earth, what would you do? As I began to think about that, I realized that the answers were the same ones I'd given for things that bring me to life, which makes perfect sense, doesn't it? I'd spend the day with my family and friends, make some wonderful music, read and write some wonderful words. I'd probably choose to do it all sitting on top of a mountain, overlooking the ocean, and sipping a glass of very good champagne.

So on the whole, I guess I feel pretty good about my life at the moment. At least I realize that the potential is there for most of my life to be filled with things that contribute to enliven me mentally and spiritually. These are also obviously the things that mean the most to me, since they would be the way I'd choose to spend my last day on earth. In my "alive time," I could probably appreciate a larger helping of traveling, and it would be nice if my portion of paper shuffling would decrease. And even though I don't like spending most of my time living far away from my son, at least I'm able to have another home near him and visit there often.

So this was a good, enlightening exercise for me today, and made me feel better about my life as a whole. Thanks, Alexandra and Susannah, for the inspiration, which I'm now passing along to all of you. How would you spend your last day on earth? What brings you AliVe???

Sunday Scribblings-Two Cents Worth

I've never been one to spout my opinions on any subject, generally preferring to keep them to myself on the theory that no one really cares what I think anyway so why waste my breath. But since Meg and Laini have invited us to step onto the soapbox, I'll take this opportunity to pass along my two cents on a few subjects:

1. People just really need to learn to get along better, be more respectful of other's needs and differences, and learn to (occasionally at least) turn the other cheek. This goes for foreign governments and religious leaders all the way to the cashier in the grocery store and the mechanic who changes your oil;
2. People also need to take more responsibility for their own actions. Is it really McDonald's fault that you spill hot coffee in your lap when you're driving? Is it really Walt Disney World's fault that your child was "traumatized" when he accidentally saw a Donald Duck character taking off his head? Let's stop trying to blame someone else for everything that goes wrong;
3. I've probably mentioned this before, because this is something that I will voice an opinion about. Life is too complicated these days. There are too many choices in everything from radio stations to cereal to feminine protection. I end up standing in the grocery aisle searching up and down for the version of each product that I like. Sometimes, I get so overwhelmed that I just give up, my desire for the darn thing completely gone! I mean, besides regular Oreo cookies, there are Double Stuff, Vanilla, Uh-Oh's, mint, peanut butter, fudge, and let's not forget low fat and low carb! And all these products and services that were supposed to make life easier sometimes just make it more difficult. A particular case in point is the automated prescription re-order service at my pharmacy. The other day it took me seven minutes standing on the phone following robotic voice commands just to order one measly prescription;
4. As a result of life's complicated-ness, we're a society that's always in a hurry, always rushing to the next appointment, activity, shopping center, or playdate. I've heard they make personal planners and PDA's geared to the elementary age child - now that's just wrong!
5. Which brings me to my last, but not least, item - the "adult-izing" of children. I don't like seeing little girl's dressed like Brittany Spears, and wearing makeup at the age of 10. I worry about too many little boys who are zoned out for hours in front of violent TV shows and computer games. I pity children who are scheduled in organized activities every minute of their day, so they don't have time to just play. It's hard for parents to buck this system - if every one else's kid really is doing it, how can you say no without making a misfit of your own child?

There, that's my pennies worth for today! To read what other's have to say, go here.

Checking In

For the past couple of weeks, Greenish Lady has been treating us to lovely posts she calls her weekly check in, a technique that she began as part of The Artist's Way, a course in "discovering your creative self." In this program, you use the Check In to monitor your progress toward achieving creative goals. I've actually just started working my way through The Artist's Way book, and I wish I could say this has been a productive week for me creatively, but alas, I cannot. In fact, I feel less creative this week than I have in quite some time, and I'm wondering why. A major requirement of this course is "The Morning Pages," three pages of free writing, preferably done first thing every morning. These pages are meant to be a cathartic, stream of consciousness "brain drain," which will free your minds of the things blocking your creativity. I latched on to this exercise quite happily, and have completed it nearly effortlessly for 13 of the past 14 mornings. I'm actually amazed at the way words flow out of my pen onto the page of the brand new spiral notebook - it's almost as if there is a direct feed from my brain to the paper, and I'm not consciously even thinking about what's coming out on the page. According to the rules of the practice, you aren't supposed to re-read what you've written (and it's a good thing, because I'm writing so fast my handwriting is virtually illegible). So I was hopeful that the clogged drain of my creative plumbing was getting nicely cleared out.

Not so. I'm beginning to think that I'm using up all my ideas in the morning pages! The words and images that usually flood my mind when I'm driving, or walking, or sitting on the porch, making me grab for my Moleskine (or a napkin or the back of a grocery receipt) have been nowhere to be found. My mind feels like an empty, foggy Tupperware container, one whose really good contents have been consumed, so it's been tossed in the sink.

No, that isn't quite true. My mind doesn't feel empty at all, and perhaps that's the problem. For the past week, my mind has been consumed with minutiae of all kinds - catching up on lots of boring office work, preparing for some home improvement projects, involving several trips to places like Home Depot, dealing with repairmen for my mom's central air conditioning which is on the fritz (and our weather is in the 90's), trying to schedule appointments for my annual medical check up and tests, and last, but certainly not least, worried about finding a home for a little dog one of my friend's told me about.

I feel really frustrated with my life lately. I had hoped that I would feel less pressured during the summer. But it seems that life is just as harried and rushed as it was from September to June.

In a sidebar quote in The Artist's Way, Brenda Uland writes: "Imagination needs moodling - long, inefficient, happy idling, dawdling, and puttering." Maybe it's a cop-out to say that my creativity is suffering because I don't have enought "moodling" time. But if I'm being honest in my Check In this week, I feel like my creativity has "checked out."

Poetry Thursday-The Traveling Onion

I first became acquainted with Naomi Shihab Nye's work some years ago when she was featured on Bill Moyers' PBS special on poetry. l love the way her poems honor the minute, homely details of life, celebrating the "small forgotten miracles" that make up daily living in the world. Born in 1952 of Palestinian-American heritage, she has lived in the Middle East as well as in the US, and she brings a unique and timely perspective to the experiences of a world citizen.

The Traveling Onion

Naomi Shihab Nye

"It is believed that the onion originally came from India. In Egypt it was an object of worship - why I haven't been able to find out. From Egypt the onion entered Greece and on to Italy, thence into all of Europe." Better Living Cookbook

When I think how far the onion has traveled

just to enter my stew today, I could kneel and praise

all small forgotten miracles,

crackly paper peeling on the drainboard,

pearly layers in smooth agreement,

the way knife enters onion

and onion falls apart on the chopping block,

a history revealed.

And I would never scold the onion

for causing tears.

It is right that tears fall

for something small and forgotten.

How at meal, we sit to eat,

commenting on texture of meat or herbal aroma

but never on the translucence of onion,

now limp, now divided,

or its traditionally honorable career:

For the sake of others,

disappear.

For more poems that are good enough to eat, go here

Goings On

This has been a Monday (on a Tuesday) kind of day. Having spent the past few days (including yesterday, the real Monday) at our home in Florida, there's always kind of a frantic catching up to do in order to re-enter normal life here in Michigan. I feel the need to clear my head, and this seems like the place to do it. So here what's been "going on":

• First of all, I'm on borrowed time here because I left my laptop's power cord is on the floor under my desk in Florida! So I was forced to make an emergency call to my son, admit that I was stupid, and beg him to go to my house and mail it to me tomorrow - overnight pony express as fast as they can get it here no matter what it costs- mail!
• In addition to that call, I had a long phone message on my answer machine from a co-worker who was bitterly complaining about a report she was working on and telling me that I (as "head of the department") was going to have to do something about it as soon as possible. GADS!! I hate it when I have to be the "in charge" person and actually talk to someone about something they've done wrong. I can hardly wait to go to work tomorrow!
• I also had to run out and do emergency shopping because I had another message on my answer machine inviting me to a suprise birthday party tomorrow night for a good friend. The shopping was a little frantic, but the party will be a good time;
• And as my mind veers toward the positive, I will note (happily!) that when I went to the gym just before I left for Florida last week, I got weighed and measured and had lost one of the several pesky inches I've been determined to ditch before the end of summer. I think I have blogging to thank for part of that, because all the time I spend reading and writing here has distracted me from snacking! Another benefit to being a blogger!
• And speaking of blogs, if you're a regular visitor here, you may notice my masthead has been spiffed up quite nicely. That is thanks to my son, who is a professional webmaster, so sprucing up my little banner was an elementary exercise for him. However, this particular banner is meaningful to me for several reasons. When I was a very small girl, about 3 or 4 years old, I learned to type on a manual typewriter just like the one in the photo. We had an upstairs attic with an old desk right by a tiny window, and I can clearly remember sitting up there pounding away on those stiff little keys, typing up my own newspaper stories. For a long time (until I got distracted by music) being a journalist was my big dream, and throughout my youth I created lots of my own "newspapers", as well as writing for my school papers. So, this blog is just the latest edition in a long line of Becca's Bylines. Special thanks to my very creative son, who is also a mighty fine writer, for capturing just what I was looking for :)
• Well, that's what's been happening. I'm behind on lots of thing here at home - laundry, mail, bills, practising, exercising, not to mention this week's haiku for One Deep Breath...oh my. Un oh - I think my battery is about to run out. Maybe I'll just go have a snack...