Tag Archives: equilibrium

Thanks, for Friends and….

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Posted by on in animal and plant life, collaborating, Community, distraction issues, impediments, Inspiration, Matters of Faith, Personal Values, service, Social, Spiritual, Striving

November 28, 2024, Grapevine- Today marks another instance of the latest date that Thanksgiving can fall, by U.S. custom. There is grumbling, in some quarters, that this shortens the Christmas season. I, though, am more than happy to have T-day fall on this day in November, because it’s my birthday, and sharing the day with our national community, in our biggest holiday of the year, is to me, a blessing.

There has been, of late, a mini-tempest, wherein a relatively small, but vocal, group has called for the day to be recast as “Friendsgiving”. People can call the day of sharing whatever they want. To me, thanksgiving is not about Pilgrims and Wampanoags, per se, nor about false promises and the resulting oppression.

It is about gratitude-for friends, yes, and for family. I am grateful for all, in Arizona, California, Texas, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Maine, all across the West and across the continent. I am grateful for progressive friends, conservative friends, Baha’i, Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, Wiccan, agnostic and atheist friends.

I like the company of my fellow veterans at Post 6; fellows in faith at devotionals, Spiritual Feasts and Holy Days; and my little family, whenever we get together, for meals, outings, board games and watch parties. My life is enhanced by the energy of children and youths, the drive of adults and the wisdom of elders. I treasure the company of the woman I love most, and all of our mutual friends, when I get to see them-either physically or online.

Of course, we must work, diligently, to address and overcome injustice. Let us, though, not replace one imbalance with another. Equilibrium is a delicate state and requires loving attention. It cannot be sacrificed for whimsical ideas, nor for the sake of a contrived sense of “purity”.

I am, as I turn 74, grateful for the Creator’s provisions-our food supply, paths to health, bounty of nature and all the varieties of terrain, bodies of water and living things that make our world such a treasure chest. I am grateful for our solar system and for the Universe, I am just grateful for being.

Happy Thanksgiving, friends.

Intensity

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Posted by on in Assistance, collaborating, Community, impediments, Personal Values, Social, Striving

July 9, 2023- As I was leaving the massage chair area, at Planet Fitness, this evening, a strapping young man walked in and asked which chair was #2. I noticed he was sweating profusely and that he was visibly uncomfortable. After reassuring him that the chair would work well on his aching back, I was told that he had done a substantial number of miles of miles on treadmill. I recommended a regimen that used both the chair and the nearby hydro lounge, for which he was grateful.

I fully get the concept of intensity. Even at my age, getting a job done means doing whatever it takes. I am more in sync with staying hydrated, than I once was. I am also more inclined to walk, when the distance to be covered is two miles or less. The girth I acquired, while being Penny’s caretaker, only went away recently, and then only because of learning and practicing the right mix of nutrition and exercise, which is a lot more of a fine line than is commonly recognized. It has to be followed every day, and there are no shortcuts.

There are also no shortcuts to keeping the body’s hydration system in balance. With 60% of our total body mass being water, a workout like that done by the young man mentioned above would probably require at least 1 1/2 gallons (6 quarts, or 5.68 liters) of replacement fluid (electrolyte water being the best such fluid), gradually, over the two hours following the workout.

A stretch of high heat is coming our way, followed soon after by rain and humidity. Life doesn’t get less intense, when the weather increases in its intensity. Attention to hydration should follow suit.

The Little Truths

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Posted by on in impediments, Inner Struggles, Personal goals, Personal Values, Social, Spiritual, Striving

March 12, 2021- In the course of becoming a better person, there is an ongoing process of uncovering, remembering small incidents and minor actions that form patterns over time. It is in the burial of those details, that growth becomes stunted, difficult- if not impossible. It is in their acknowledgement, that incremental changes can take place and growth suddenly takes off.

I have experienced both, in this fairly long life. It took a lot of introspection, and even more forgiveness, of both myself and others, to reach a relatively strong level of equilibrium, enhanced intuition and ability to recognize who is truly in my corner-and who is best cut out of my life.

Fortunately, no family members are in the last category. There are some, who I trusted- in some cases for years, who are in my rear view mirror. There are others, a few of whom are members of my Faith, who are more or less in a state of suspended animation-so as to let me have time and space to work through those parts of myself that have been triggered by their mannerisms, jabs and ability to find my weak spots.

I am reminded of this aspect of my persona, by certain events of the past week, especially last weekend. Thus, I know what I must continue to do, to strengthen myself and shed even more of those aspects of myself that bring about limitations-while keeping a distance from those who would drag me down.

Little truths can be positive, shiny and growth-enhancing. It is better to find, and promulgate them, than to wallow in their opposites.

The Summer of the Rising Tides, Day 45: The Ebbtide and the Altar

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Posted by on in Community, Inner Struggles, Inspiration, Matters of Faith, Personal Values, Social, Spiritual, Striving

July 15, 2020-

I had to pull myself out of one of those funks which occasionally hits, this morning. By mid-afternoon, the ebb tide had turned around, and I found that making a small altar with my ferns, singing bowl, ceramic dolphins, metal whale, small Hopi pot, crystal and small angel had the calming effect that turned the emotional tide in the right direction.

It is never true that people are turning on me, though I used to let that illusion overtake my sense of equilibrium, in earlier days. It is always my inner voice that throws out the aspersions, at people who are just facing their own tough times.

My greater Faith will always be in the Creator, so this place of solace, in my living room, serves the same purpose as a nook in the woods or a soft place in the desert. No matter how long this mix of disease and chaos persists, I will navigate and persist.

The second half of July will find me doing much the same as I’ve been doing, since June 7: Home Base, to downtown, and back, from one Zoom call to another. Life will remain sweet.