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Sunday, July 20, 2008
Everything
Everything in the universe is a pitcher brimming with wisdom and beauty. - Rumi
(Photo taken at Denver's Botanic Gardens)
Labels: photography, Rumi
posted by Carol at 4:16 PM
0 comments
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Spiffy, Spooky Spider Spinning Sprawling Web
It appears that spiders make bigger and much more interesting webs in Maine than they do in Colorado. We walked on one pier that had a giant web on almost every support pole. Our second day in Maine began with a lot of fog, so the webs had nice diamondy droplets on them..
I was looking up wikipedia information on spiders and found this photo of fried spiders in Cambodia:
Maybe I don't know what I'm missin', but....
Anyway, I hope you're having fun and staying cool this summer Saturday!
I was looking up wikipedia information on spiders and found this photo of fried spiders in Cambodia:
Maybe I don't know what I'm missin', but....
Anyway, I hope you're having fun and staying cool this summer Saturday!
Labels: Maine, photography
posted by Carol at 3:00 PM
4 comments
Sunday, July 06, 2008
Bird Philosophy
Is education possibly a process of trading awareness for things of lesser worth? The goose who trades his is soon a pile of feathers. - Aldo Leopold
On a planet that increasingly resembles one huge Maximum Security prison, the only intelligent choice is to plan a jail break. - Robert Anton Wilson
Beauty is not in the face; beauty is a light in the heart - Kahlil Gibran
Labels: Kansas, photography
posted by Carol at 1:58 PM
5 comments
Wednesday, July 02, 2008
Right In Front Of Us
There is a small lake nearby that I've walked around probably hundreds of times over the last 20+ years. One day last year, my friend pointed out some wild asparagus along a trail by the lake. It never entered my mind that asparagus could grow there, so I never saw it before. I hadn't slowed down to see what was right in front of me.
My friend also pointed out a "weed" that is really a medicinal herb and is prolific in this area. Now I see it everywhere I go and realize that the earth is a giant medicine cabinet.
I wonder if there are many things that we don't see because our mass consciousness doesn't have a concept for them; because we think that we know what we know so what we don't know can't make itself apparent to us. We don't slow down to see and hear what we haven't seen and heard before.
When we look at a snake, we may instantaneously give it all kinds of characteristics like evil, poisonous, and deadly. We may be so afraid that we don't take the time to really see the beauty of it. Sometimes we also do that with people.
Maybe the answers to our questions of how to stop war and how to take care of each other and our planet are right in front of us but we don't slow down and allow ourselves to see what is already here.
Maybe.
My friend also pointed out a "weed" that is really a medicinal herb and is prolific in this area. Now I see it everywhere I go and realize that the earth is a giant medicine cabinet.
I wonder if there are many things that we don't see because our mass consciousness doesn't have a concept for them; because we think that we know what we know so what we don't know can't make itself apparent to us. We don't slow down to see and hear what we haven't seen and heard before.
When we look at a snake, we may instantaneously give it all kinds of characteristics like evil, poisonous, and deadly. We may be so afraid that we don't take the time to really see the beauty of it. Sometimes we also do that with people.
Maybe the answers to our questions of how to stop war and how to take care of each other and our planet are right in front of us but we don't slow down and allow ourselves to see what is already here.
Maybe.
"We have more possibilities available in each moment than we realize."
- Thich Nhat Hanh
- Thich Nhat Hanh
Labels: Kansas, photography
posted by Carol at 12:21 PM
8 comments
Tuesday, July 01, 2008
Reflections on a Feather
Life at the Sedgwick County Zoo:
Hope is the thing with feathers, that perches in the soul, and sings the tune without words, and never stops at all. - Emily Dickinson
Labels: Kansas, photography
posted by Carol at 5:56 PM
7 comments
Friday, June 27, 2008
Petals on the Water
This is one of the photos I like the best from an evening of photography at the Botanic Gardens last Wednesday. That's all. Just thought I'd share it.
Labels: photography
posted by Carol at 10:00 AM
9 comments
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Holes
Day 15
Addiction (from Merriam-Webster):
Compulsive need for and use of habit-forming substance:
I admit that I have a compulsive need for and use of sugar-containing substances, especially chocolate, and substances that are comprised mostly of something starchy.
Withdrawal:
On days 1 - 3 of this no sugar, no grains, no wine, no dairy (which I don't do anyway), no nuthin' except vegetables, nuts, and some chicken and fish diet, if I wasn't experiencing withdrawals, what were those symptoms? No, they weren't as bad as those you experience from drugs and alcohol, but my brain didn't work, my energy was only a memory, and I knew a fix would make life look a whole lot better. Those symptoms still come up sometimes. Especially when I'm having a smoke at the bar with my friends. (KIDDING!)
Substance known by user to be harmful
And don't tell me that sugar and refined carbs aren't harmful - especially in the doses that most of us ingest them! Read about the numbers of Americans who are overweight here. See the statistics for diabetes in the U.S. here. We didn't get there by OD'ing on salads!
And those are only the top two problems that we seem to acknowledge can come from our Standard American Diets (a.k.a. SAD). Our food gives us LIFE, but most of what we eat is devoid of any life. So all kinds of deficiencies can come up in a person "well-fed". And the balance of the foods is important - our SAD eating habits usually create too much acidity in the body. My gut problem is doing an extraordinary turn-around now that I am eating so much better.
(But don't worry, I'm not going to be so Spartan forever. I've already lost my butt somewhere along the way and don't have much else to lose. I just never want to get so out of balance again.)
And this all leads me to the subject of holes.
Yes, the solution to most of our problems is to address these holes that many of us seem to have. A lot of us don't consciously know that we have a vacuity inside, but on some level, we know it's there and we stay very busy trying to fill it up with many things. One of the most common means of filling it is with food. And I'm not sure you can eat enough salads to accomplish that task. Thus, mankind invented white flour and white sugar.
On this eating plan that I'm on, I feel the hole 24/7. Knowing that a plate of steamed cabbage and carrots won't fill it, I think, "Why bother?" So I have to sit with the hole. And I've started looking into what I thought would be an abyss, but come to find out was only a bunch of thought patterns about worthiness and such. Only when I looked at it, could I realize that it wasn't a hole, so NOTHING can fill it. I can quit trying! And thoughts about worthiness are only thoughts - no substance! Whew!
So I"m thinking: if we could just get W and friends to somehow HAVE to give up sugar and refined carbs, they wouldn't have anything with which to fill up their holes, so they'd have an opportunity to see what really makes up that perceived emptiness. AND they wouldn't have the energy to try to fill their holes by destroying other countries and our own young men and women! Whaddaya think???
(And don't tell me that W is any kind of ...hole himself. With a little bit of pruning on his diet - pun intended - we might find a smart, kind guy under that swagger. Well, maybe...)
Addiction (from Merriam-Webster):
1: the quality or state of being addictedMerriam-Webster doesn't list sugar and refined carbs. I need to write to them and ask them to do a revision.
2: compulsive need for and use of a habit-forming substance (as heroin, nicotine, or alcohol) characterized by tolerance and by well-defined physiological symptoms upon withdrawal; broadly : persistent compulsive use of a substance known by the user to be harmful.
Compulsive need for and use of habit-forming substance:
I admit that I have a compulsive need for and use of sugar-containing substances, especially chocolate, and substances that are comprised mostly of something starchy.
Withdrawal:
On days 1 - 3 of this no sugar, no grains, no wine, no dairy (which I don't do anyway), no nuthin' except vegetables, nuts, and some chicken and fish diet, if I wasn't experiencing withdrawals, what were those symptoms? No, they weren't as bad as those you experience from drugs and alcohol, but my brain didn't work, my energy was only a memory, and I knew a fix would make life look a whole lot better. Those symptoms still come up sometimes. Especially when I'm having a smoke at the bar with my friends. (KIDDING!)
Substance known by user to be harmful
And don't tell me that sugar and refined carbs aren't harmful - especially in the doses that most of us ingest them! Read about the numbers of Americans who are overweight here. See the statistics for diabetes in the U.S. here. We didn't get there by OD'ing on salads!
And those are only the top two problems that we seem to acknowledge can come from our Standard American Diets (a.k.a. SAD). Our food gives us LIFE, but most of what we eat is devoid of any life. So all kinds of deficiencies can come up in a person "well-fed". And the balance of the foods is important - our SAD eating habits usually create too much acidity in the body. My gut problem is doing an extraordinary turn-around now that I am eating so much better.
(But don't worry, I'm not going to be so Spartan forever. I've already lost my butt somewhere along the way and don't have much else to lose. I just never want to get so out of balance again.)
And this all leads me to the subject of holes.
Yes, the solution to most of our problems is to address these holes that many of us seem to have. A lot of us don't consciously know that we have a vacuity inside, but on some level, we know it's there and we stay very busy trying to fill it up with many things. One of the most common means of filling it is with food. And I'm not sure you can eat enough salads to accomplish that task. Thus, mankind invented white flour and white sugar.
On this eating plan that I'm on, I feel the hole 24/7. Knowing that a plate of steamed cabbage and carrots won't fill it, I think, "Why bother?" So I have to sit with the hole. And I've started looking into what I thought would be an abyss, but come to find out was only a bunch of thought patterns about worthiness and such. Only when I looked at it, could I realize that it wasn't a hole, so NOTHING can fill it. I can quit trying! And thoughts about worthiness are only thoughts - no substance! Whew!
So I"m thinking: if we could just get W and friends to somehow HAVE to give up sugar and refined carbs, they wouldn't have anything with which to fill up their holes, so they'd have an opportunity to see what really makes up that perceived emptiness. AND they wouldn't have the energy to try to fill their holes by destroying other countries and our own young men and women! Whaddaya think???
(And don't tell me that W is any kind of ...hole himself. With a little bit of pruning on his diet - pun intended - we might find a smart, kind guy under that swagger. Well, maybe...)
Labels: diabetes, diet, holes, obesity, photography
posted by Carol at 11:16 AM
17 comments
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Self-reflection
To question that things might not be as they seem can shake the very foundation of habitual clinging. This questioning spirit is the starting point for self-reflection. Could it be that this tightly-knit sense of self is not what it seems? Do we really need to hold everything together, and can we? Is there life beyond self-importance? These kinds of questions open the door to investigating the cause of our suffering.
The actual practice of self-reflection requires us to step back, examine our experience, and not succumb to the momentum of habitual mind. This allows us to look without judgment at whatever arises, and this goes directly against the grain of our self-importance.
Self-reflection is the common thread that runs through all traditions and lineages of Buddhist practice. It also takes us beyond the boundaries of formal practice. We can bring the questioning spirit of self-reflection to any situation, at any time. Self-reflection is an attitude, an approach, and a practice. In nutshell, it is a way to make practice come alive for us personally. - Aryadeva (3rd Century CE)
Labels: Aryadeva, photography
posted by Carol at 10:12 AM
6 comments
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
And Peas Be With You
Day 8 of no sugar. Life is GREAT! The brain has given up its desires for things it can't have.
I didn't intentionally decide to give up sugars and starches at the same time my garden started producing scrumptious veggies. I decided to do this because of some yeasties that are partying in my insides. Yeasties and I both love sugar and starch. Since we live in the same body, we have to work together on this.
Yesterday, I had a medical test done to be sure that those party animals were the only things going on in my gut. I passed with flying colors. It was fascinating to watch my mind during the days leading up to the test. It is so easy to forget, on a day to day basis, that I am not immune to dying. It's not always going to be someone else who gets the dreaded disease or dies in an accident. At some point, maybe even in the next moment, that person will be me. Or, more accurately, that body will be this body.
But back to the garden.
Peas and the most mouthwatering spinach, arugula and varieties of lettuce are available right now in the CarolForPeace garden. I'm loving it! I know why I usually prefer chocolate over lettuce. It's because lettuce from the store just doesn't taste like the real stuff. This garden lettuce is CANDY! But don't tell the yeast guys in my gut that!
Red leaf lettuce among the pea plants.
Tonight's dinner
I didn't intentionally decide to give up sugars and starches at the same time my garden started producing scrumptious veggies. I decided to do this because of some yeasties that are partying in my insides. Yeasties and I both love sugar and starch. Since we live in the same body, we have to work together on this.
Yesterday, I had a medical test done to be sure that those party animals were the only things going on in my gut. I passed with flying colors. It was fascinating to watch my mind during the days leading up to the test. It is so easy to forget, on a day to day basis, that I am not immune to dying. It's not always going to be someone else who gets the dreaded disease or dies in an accident. At some point, maybe even in the next moment, that person will be me. Or, more accurately, that body will be this body.
But back to the garden.
Peas and the most mouthwatering spinach, arugula and varieties of lettuce are available right now in the CarolForPeace garden. I'm loving it! I know why I usually prefer chocolate over lettuce. It's because lettuce from the store just doesn't taste like the real stuff. This garden lettuce is CANDY! But don't tell the yeast guys in my gut that!
Red leaf lettuce among the pea plants.
Tonight's dinnerLabels: garden, photography
posted by Carol at 8:38 AM
15 comments
Sunday, June 15, 2008
The Beauty of it All
We took a little hike at sunset tonight. The place we went usually has an amazing display of wildflowers in late spring. It's been particularly dry this year (all of the water is going to the Midwest...) and there aren't quite as many flowers as there can be sometimes, but we still had a gorgeous show.
Nature's garden
I love wild lupine!
Awe
And the meadowlarks, whose songs make me smile through and through, were singing the whole evening.
Nature's garden
I love wild lupine!
AweAnd the meadowlarks, whose songs make me smile through and through, were singing the whole evening.
Labels: meadowlarks, photography
posted by Carol at 10:05 PM
11 comments
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
MLK, Jr. Memorial, S.F.
My friend, Liz, had posted a comment on this blog telling me that I might enjoy the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial while in San Francisco. It's located in Yerba Buena Gardens. I had this picture in my mind of a big beautiful wild park outside the city with good herbs as the Spanish name indicates, so while our chauffeur (aka my son-in-law, Ben) was driving us through chaotic downtown S.F., I thought he had to be lost. But then, right in the middle of business-suited, mirrored-windowed skyscraper city, we found the peaceful oasis.
The water flows down so loudly, you can't hear anything else.
"No. No. We are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream."
Columbine in the gardens.
The water flows down so loudly, you can't hear anything else.
"No. No. We are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream."
"An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity."
"I have the audacity to believe that peoples everywhere can have three meals a day for their bodies, education and culture for their minds, and dignity, equality and freedom for their spirits. I believe that what self-centered men have torn down, men other-centered can build up."
Columbine in the gardens.Labels: MLK, photography
posted by Carol at 4:14 PM
7 comments
Monday, June 09, 2008
Photographs and Memories
Finally trying to get through more of my San Francisco photos. Below, you'll find a few.
Before we get to them, though, I want to thank daffy for my very first blog award. Thank you daffy!
I want to pass this award along to everyone on my blogroll because I wouldn't be reading your blogs if I didn't think that you were such wonderful people. Thank you for being in my life - even if it's only from a (physical) distance!
On with the show!
Alcatraz
We climbed to the top of Telegraph Hill for one main reason: to see the Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill. And did they show their pretty little faces for us??? Nooooooo! But I did enjoy this sign on the outside wall of the fanciest outdoor toilet I've ever seen (you might need to click on this and embiggen it in order to learn about the wonders of toilet technology).
Window in the old bunker.
See their little faces???
I want to pet him!
Before we get to them, though, I want to thank daffy for my very first blog award. Thank you daffy!
I want to pass this award along to everyone on my blogroll because I wouldn't be reading your blogs if I didn't think that you were such wonderful people. Thank you for being in my life - even if it's only from a (physical) distance!
On with the show!
Alcatraz
We climbed to the top of Telegraph Hill for one main reason: to see the Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill. And did they show their pretty little faces for us??? Nooooooo! But I did enjoy this sign on the outside wall of the fanciest outdoor toilet I've ever seen (you might need to click on this and embiggen it in order to learn about the wonders of toilet technology).
Window in the old bunker.
See their little faces???
I want to pet him!
Labels: photography, San Francisco
posted by Carol at 5:00 PM
7 comments
Wednesday, June 04, 2008
Mimi and many others are participating in a BlogBlast for Peace today (see Nick's here). I was too busy with traveling stuff to be able to participate, so today I will offer this photo of some graffiti of the words of Jimi Hendrix. This was found in an old bunker outside of San Francisco. I hope someday soon, all tools of war will become shrines to peace.
May all beings know peace...
May all beings know peace...
Labels: BlogBlast for peace, Hendrix, photography
posted by Carol at 9:24 AM
9 comments
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Warm San Francisco Nights
We're here! And already surrounded by family. Tonight will be one of many family shindigs.
I have been in S.F. twice before. The first trip took place in 1973 - with my parents and brother. The area seemed a little less crowded then. And the times were so much more... innocent???
The last time I was here was in the mid-80's. The love of my life (well, I THOUGHT he was the love of my life at that time - big mistake) had moved from Colorado to California and we continued with a long distance relationship for awhile. It lasted until his ex-wife moved out to CA for a possible reconciliation... Best thing she could have done for me!
It really seems like I have experienced this city from the point of view of three different Carols. I wouldn't trade away any of them.
I have been in S.F. twice before. The first trip took place in 1973 - with my parents and brother. The area seemed a little less crowded then. And the times were so much more... innocent???
The last time I was here was in the mid-80's. The love of my life (well, I THOUGHT he was the love of my life at that time - big mistake) had moved from Colorado to California and we continued with a long distance relationship for awhile. It lasted until his ex-wife moved out to CA for a possible reconciliation... Best thing she could have done for me!
It really seems like I have experienced this city from the point of view of three different Carols. I wouldn't trade away any of them.
I don't know what this flower is, but I love how sweet and delicate it looks!
Magnolia (I think)! Can you smell them? If these grew in Colorado, I'd have a yard full of them!
Labels: photography, San Francisco, The Animals
posted by Carol at 5:44 PM
7 comments
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Preparing
A couple of weeks ago, I saw a squirrel digging in my newly planted petunias.
I didn't know what he was doing until I saw him go back to his corn cob that was under the tree (some neighbor feeds the squirrels LOTS of corn). I watched him as he took kernels of corn to different parts of the yard.
On the left you'll see the corn that is now coming up from the squirrel's planting.
I thought that he was hiding his corn kernels away for the winter, but it looks like he's planning on a big harvest this summer.
Labels: photography, preparing for winter, squirrels
posted by Carol at 5:31 PM
10 comments
Friday, May 23, 2008
Blooming Recklessly
Everything is blooming most recklessly; if it were voices instead of colors, there would be an unbelievable shrieking into the heart of the night.
Rainer Maria Rilke
Rainer Maria Rilke
Ooooohhh... I love that quote!
Some photos of the unbelievable shrieking of the wildflowers on the hill the other evening:
Some photos of the unbelievable shrieking of the wildflowers on the hill the other evening:
Indian Paintbrush
Yellow I-Don't-Knows
Riding off into the sunsetLabels: flowers, photography, Rilke, teenybopper, Tommy Roe
posted by Carol at 12:27 PM
4 comments
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Finally!
Happy Day! Yahoooo!
I have been trying to post some photos the past few days and IT HASN'T BEEN WORKING!!! A little test for the patience...
We went wildflower viewing the other night. I had fun taking photos and I wanted to share them. But before I bring out the garden au naturel photos, I will share a little prelude. An hors d'oeuvre for the eye. Main course will begin in a day or two, if the blogger gods deem it to be so.
On the way to the open space, we had to visit the Goose family (now that the Owl family has vacated their premises and I'm feeling all empty-nested and such).
And this! My magnifique columbine. Either I'm having a brain fart (which happens much too often) or else this guy invited himself into my whiskey barrel/planter, because I don't remember putting him there. But he's a beaut and he's welcome to stay. I can't quit smiling every time I look at him.
I have been trying to post some photos the past few days and IT HASN'T BEEN WORKING!!! A little test for the patience...
We went wildflower viewing the other night. I had fun taking photos and I wanted to share them. But before I bring out the garden au naturel photos, I will share a little prelude. An hors d'oeuvre for the eye. Main course will begin in a day or two, if the blogger gods deem it to be so.
On the way to the open space, we had to visit the Goose family (now that the Owl family has vacated their premises and I'm feeling all empty-nested and such). 
This was a 21st century family - a community family with four adults and five kidlets. The more parents, the more eyes to watch youngsters to keep them safe from carnivores and cars.
And this! My magnifique columbine. Either I'm having a brain fart (which happens much too often) or else this guy invited himself into my whiskey barrel/planter, because I don't remember putting him there. But he's a beaut and he's welcome to stay. I can't quit smiling every time I look at him. Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts. - Rachel Carlson
Labels: flowers, geese, Life, photography
posted by Carol at 8:12 PM
8 comments
Saturday, May 03, 2008
We're All Guests
For a few days, the sweet and lovely smell permeates the air. So pungent, it can almost be tasted. I think that they're some kind of Hawthorne. Two of them have invited themselves to live in our yard.
"Like an overnight guest, you shall arise and depart in the morning. Why are you so attached to your household? It is all like flowers in the garden." Sri Guru Granth Sahib
"Like an overnight guest, you shall arise and depart in the morning. Why are you so attached to your household? It is all like flowers in the garden." Sri Guru Granth Sahib
Labels: impermanence, photography
posted by Carol at 7:40 PM
0 comments
Thursday, May 01, 2008
Today
May Day.
Big, fluffy snow is falling here. Very beautiful against the colors that have come out. Pink flowered trees, white flowered trees and all colors of flowers are at their peak right now. The snow adds magic to it all.
In Baghdad, it's about 93 degrees right now. I wonder what it's like to be an American soldier or an Iraqi civilian there today. Five years ago today, it was announced that our mission was accomplished. It's hard to wash out the bad taste that scene left in my mouth.
The temps in Kabul will reach 82 degrees today. Watching the snow outside my window, I wonder what's going on in that country so far away. We hear so little.
I Google "Afghanistan War" and find this:
At a NATO summit in early April, President Bush told the allies the United States would send many more troops to Afghanistan in 2009. He mentioned no numbers, but U.S. commanders say they need at least two more brigades, or 7,500 troops.
Oh.
Juan Torres, whom I first met at Camp Casey in 2005, has been working on a movie about his son who died rather mysteriously at Bagram AFB in Afghanistan. Read more here. Today I found out that a website has been created for the movie, which is titled Drugs and Death at Bagram. If you visit the site, scroll down to read the story behind the movie.
Juan Torres is one of the sweetest, most humble men that I met at Camp Casey (I've seen him there twice and then in D.C. - he is on a mission). I can only imagine the pain that was caused first by the death of his son and then as Juan dug deep into the cause of his son's death.
Big, fluffy snow is falling here. Very beautiful against the colors that have come out. Pink flowered trees, white flowered trees and all colors of flowers are at their peak right now. The snow adds magic to it all.
In Baghdad, it's about 93 degrees right now. I wonder what it's like to be an American soldier or an Iraqi civilian there today. Five years ago today, it was announced that our mission was accomplished. It's hard to wash out the bad taste that scene left in my mouth.
The temps in Kabul will reach 82 degrees today. Watching the snow outside my window, I wonder what's going on in that country so far away. We hear so little.
I Google "Afghanistan War" and find this:
At a NATO summit in early April, President Bush told the allies the United States would send many more troops to Afghanistan in 2009. He mentioned no numbers, but U.S. commanders say they need at least two more brigades, or 7,500 troops.
Oh.
Juan Torres, whom I first met at Camp Casey in 2005, has been working on a movie about his son who died rather mysteriously at Bagram AFB in Afghanistan. Read more here. Today I found out that a website has been created for the movie, which is titled Drugs and Death at Bagram. If you visit the site, scroll down to read the story behind the movie.
Juan Torres is one of the sweetest, most humble men that I met at Camp Casey (I've seen him there twice and then in D.C. - he is on a mission). I can only imagine the pain that was caused first by the death of his son and then as Juan dug deep into the cause of his son's death.
How many more todays will it take before we put an end to war?
Labels: Afghanistan, drugs and death at bagram, Iraq War, Juan Torres, photography
posted by Carol at 9:49 AM
3 comments
Monday, April 21, 2008
Entertainment?
Thomas of Living Next Door to Alice has alerted us that this week is TV Turnoff Week.
I was raised watching television. My dad owned a television and radio store/repair shop. I spent many hours during after-school time and summers in front of big, mahogany console televisions that were waiting to be adopted by loving families. We were the first on our block to own a color television. (And to anyone under 30, yes we did have indoor plumbing.)
Now, the only television in this house is a hand-me-down (or hand-me-up? over?) from my 29 year-old daughter. She gave it to us because the remote no longer worked. We don't care. We only turn it on when we want to watch videos a few times a month. It's a dinky little TV, but it works pretty well.
Most likely, the television in this house wouldn't get turned on this week anyway.
But back to TV Turnoff Week, I think it's a good idea to bring awareness to the fact that there are many things to do besides watching TV. Maybe a family who participates in this exercise will spend the week doing something together. Or they might read some books. Or have a CONVERSATION!
If I were king, I'd outlaw all television and decree every weekend and every Wednesday to be Computer Turnoff Days. Maybe then, all the people in the land would go outside and interact with each other and the rest of the life on the planet.
This is some kind of pelican, I assume. An inland pelican? A migrating pelican? They were hanging out at the lake near my house. What are those black things on their beaks? Cellphones, maybe?
Grape Hyacinth
I was raised watching television. My dad owned a television and radio store/repair shop. I spent many hours during after-school time and summers in front of big, mahogany console televisions that were waiting to be adopted by loving families. We were the first on our block to own a color television. (And to anyone under 30, yes we did have indoor plumbing.)
Now, the only television in this house is a hand-me-down (or hand-me-up? over?) from my 29 year-old daughter. She gave it to us because the remote no longer worked. We don't care. We only turn it on when we want to watch videos a few times a month. It's a dinky little TV, but it works pretty well.
Most likely, the television in this house wouldn't get turned on this week anyway.
But back to TV Turnoff Week, I think it's a good idea to bring awareness to the fact that there are many things to do besides watching TV. Maybe a family who participates in this exercise will spend the week doing something together. Or they might read some books. Or have a CONVERSATION!
If I were king, I'd outlaw all television and decree every weekend and every Wednesday to be Computer Turnoff Days. Maybe then, all the people in the land would go outside and interact with each other and the rest of the life on the planet.
This is some kind of pelican, I assume. An inland pelican? A migrating pelican? They were hanging out at the lake near my house. What are those black things on their beaks? Cellphones, maybe?
A tulip for TT. For tiptoeing through.
Grape Hyacinth Labels: computers, photography, television
posted by Carol at 11:06 AM
8 comments
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Never Alone
This is not the clearest photo in the world, but it's the clearest photo I could get of this mountain bluebird that wouldn't hold still. Yeah, I'll blame it on him, not my lack of photographic skill...These little guys are colored the bluest of blues. They're sweet little flitty types. I loved their visits while I sat "alone".
I feel more alone when I'm surrounded by people than I do when no one is around. Is that weird? I never got lonely on retreat. In fact, I only came back to my "life" because it was time to come back. I wouldn't have had a ride home if I stayed any longer. Hmmmm.. what would be so bad about that???
Now that I'm here, I am really appreciating that I have so much support for the next few months (both seen and unseen) while I'll be operating one-armed. I sometimes forget how much love there is in this world. Everything is going to be fine.
Labels: bluebird, McCartney, photography, Post-retreat
posted by Carol at 9:27 AM
8 comments
Friday, March 21, 2008
$$$$$$
Love does not remain within the heart,
it flows out to build secret tabernacles in the landscape.
- John O'Donohue
it flows out to build secret tabernacles in the landscape.
- John O'Donohue
The San Luis Valley is the largest contained sub-alpine desert valley in the world. Within it lies the Baca National Wildlife Refuge. More than 70 species of rare plants and animals are found within the refuge, including species that are found nowhere else on earth.
This land has been lightly inhabited for centuries. Love has flowed out into the landscape and the landscape has generously given back. Waters cascade from mountain snow-melt, vast aquifers support wildlife, communities, and agriculture.
Now, a Canadian company - Lexam Explorations, Inc. - is planning to drill in the San Luis Valley, including areas within the wildlife refuge, for - you guessed it - the objects of our addiction: oil and natural gas.
Most likely, it won't be long before the environment of my recent sacred retreat will be assaulted with air, light, and noise pollution. The magnificent beauty of the land will be marred by drilling machinery. The precious waters will be polluted. And wildlife will be affected in ways that I can't imagine.
We've got to figure out a better way...
To learn more about the Baca Wildlife Refuge and the plans for drilling in the San Luis Valley, go to Citizen's for San Luis Valley Water Protection or the San Luis Valley Ecosystem Council.
Labels: Lexam, oil addiction, photography, San Luis Valley
posted by Carol at 9:02 AM
5 comments
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Complexities
This is some kind of plant that likes to grow in sand in the valley where I sat and watched the coyotes and myself last week.
On my last day of retreat, I was walking along a dirt road when a coyote approached me from the field next to me. When I saw him and he saw me, we both stopped in our tracks. I could see something big and dark in his mouth. I wondered what he would do, since I was right in his path. The beautiful little guy decided to make a right turn and I lost him in the growth of desert life like the plant above. I figured that he might soon come out and climb the hill in front of my cabin because I had seen a coyote go up that hill on another morning. Sure enough, there he went. The creature that was to become breakfast was in his mouth with its little black legs flopping lifelessly in the air. It was no more than a minute later that I watched what I thought were two foxes climb up the same hill and one was also carrying something in its mouth, though that piece of food was smaller than that of the coyote.
A friend told me that she thought that coyotes and foxes don't live in the same territory. I did a search and found that they can live together but they do so as competitors. Maybe the last two animals to go up the hill were just smaller coyotes than the first. I'll never know.
When I did my google search to see if coyote and fox live together, many of the sites that came up had to do with killing and hunting this beautiful nocturnal singer.
Many people hate coyotes because they kill their livestock or their pets. I started thinking about all of the killing that humankind does, and I wondered why it's perfectly acceptable to hate coyotes who kill to eat but it is virtuous to love humankind which kills all kinds of life including its own species for reasons that I don't understand. It seems insane.
But don't listen to me, because yesterday, I started going in and out of dark, stormy weather. The sun was shining outside and my little flower was still smiling, but the weather in my head turned gray. But it has been intermittent. I am fine one moment, and then suddenly, tears and wailing of "I don't want to" come gushing out. I am freaking - at least in some moments - about this surgery. Nintey-four and a half hours from now...
In this moment, I really don't want to...
Labels: coyote, photography, Post-retreat, Pre-surgery
posted by Carol at 8:45 AM
6 comments
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
First Flower
I found this year's first bloom in the Carol For Peace yard.
It didn't spit out that penny - that's just to show you the tiny size of this precious little creature.
Isn't it cute???
All of you in warmer climates probably think that this is an embarrassing, puny little guy, but around here, at this time of year, it's impressive!
Labels: flowers, photography
posted by Carol at 4:18 PM
10 comments
Who's Fussing???
A sign over the door in one of the buildings at the retreat center where I stayed last week.Fussing.
Something to think about.
How many times during the day do we speak or worry about something of which we have no control? Hillary should do such and such. I'm worried that this or that will cause Obama to lose the race. People should be more ________. Along with other assorted, and much bigger, worrisome issues.
If we don't like something, and we can do something about it, then by all means, it is good to do what we can. But we can't control the world, so sometimes I wonder what all the "predictions" and "shoulds" are all about.
Not that I'm totally exempt from these things. Just trying to observe.
I watched myself one evening as we neared the movie theater where we were excited to see a certain film. I was worried (fussing) that we were running late and we wouldn't be able to get a seat. So, instead of just trusting that it would be what it would be, I had to announce that we just might not be there in time. We might have come all that way for nothing.
After my profound announcement, I wondered why I said it. It was as if by saying it, I could somehow prepare everyone for the worst. Then, if we couldn't get seats, things wouldn't be as bad since we weren't surprised - we'd been warned by Carol the All-Knowing. Boy, I was a real big help there! (By the way, we got into the movie - with room to spare. So much for All-Knowing.)
I was raised with the belief that if you cared about someone, you worried about him or her. I can't say that I never worry about loved ones, but mostly I figure that my worrying won't change things with the other person and it will certainly make me miserable. Besides, most of the time, I don't find that I feel any more loved if someone said they were worried about me. In fact, I feel like that person has little confidence in my abilities to take care of myself.
When I remember to lay down my Carol the All-Knowing Cape by being willing to drop my stories about what "might happen", I can either take action or not, but either way, I can do it from a place of peace.
Something to think about.
How many times during the day do we speak or worry about something of which we have no control? Hillary should do such and such. I'm worried that this or that will cause Obama to lose the race. People should be more ________. Along with other assorted, and much bigger, worrisome issues.
If we don't like something, and we can do something about it, then by all means, it is good to do what we can. But we can't control the world, so sometimes I wonder what all the "predictions" and "shoulds" are all about.
Not that I'm totally exempt from these things. Just trying to observe.
I watched myself one evening as we neared the movie theater where we were excited to see a certain film. I was worried (fussing) that we were running late and we wouldn't be able to get a seat. So, instead of just trusting that it would be what it would be, I had to announce that we just might not be there in time. We might have come all that way for nothing.
After my profound announcement, I wondered why I said it. It was as if by saying it, I could somehow prepare everyone for the worst. Then, if we couldn't get seats, things wouldn't be as bad since we weren't surprised - we'd been warned by Carol the All-Knowing. Boy, I was a real big help there! (By the way, we got into the movie - with room to spare. So much for All-Knowing.)
I was raised with the belief that if you cared about someone, you worried about him or her. I can't say that I never worry about loved ones, but mostly I figure that my worrying won't change things with the other person and it will certainly make me miserable. Besides, most of the time, I don't find that I feel any more loved if someone said they were worried about me. In fact, I feel like that person has little confidence in my abilities to take care of myself.
When I remember to lay down my Carol the All-Knowing Cape by being willing to drop my stories about what "might happen", I can either take action or not, but either way, I can do it from a place of peace.
Labels: Fussing, photography, Post-retreat
posted by Carol at 8:03 AM
5 comments
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Giving Myself Away
As snow melted off the roof of my cabin, it kerplunked down onto a bed of ice below."Today our special is a cool drop of water served on a bed of ice."
A quote: "We have to choose between risk and risk. We run the risk of sleeping through life, of never waking up at all or else we wakefully rise to the risk of life, facing the challenge of life, of love."
In this book, Steindl-Rast spoke of how often we use the word "take" as opposed to "give". Take an exam, take a vacation, take a nap. But we really are giving ourselves to these things. We will try to take a nap until we realize that we won't fall asleep until we GIVE ourselves to the nap.
We all know that feeling. The feeling of giving ourselves fully to sleep. Giving ourselves to whatever we are doing. I also know the feeling of doing what I'm doing while holding a big part of myself back. I think I have done that a lot in my life. Not fully committing because I'm scared, because I'm not sure that what I'm doing is what I want to be doing, because I'm embarrassed to admit that this is who I am. It's like I'm trying to skate through life between the risk of sleeping through it and the risk of living. Staying in the "safe" zone (that doesn't really exist). What a joke, though. We're either the snow on the roof or the drop as it freely falls. The drop can't hold on to the shingles and safety. Once you're a drop, you gotta do what drops do.
When I prepared for my first vision quest, I wasn't afraid of being alone in the desert. I was afraid of sleeping with no tent to give me a sense of protection. The thought of sleeping out there where any animal could just come upon me was unnerving.
But when as our group arrived at the desert, one of the quest leaders - a woman - stated: "This is the place where I feel the safest in the world." For some reason, I believed her. I believed that it was safe out there, so having no tent was no longer a problem. And I gave myself to the desert. I did a free-fall into it and reaped the joy of it.
Birds make great sky-circles
Of their freedom.
How do they learn it?
They fall, and falling,
They're given wings.
- Rumi
Of their freedom.
How do they learn it?
They fall, and falling,
They're given wings.
- Rumi
Labels: Brother David Steindl-Rast, photography, Post-retreat, Rumi
posted by Carol at 11:40 PM
2 comments
In My Element
I am in my element in the desert and I love the mountains. This past week, I lived in sand and sage near 14,000 foot mountains. I thrive in such places. I'm home. I also love being alone a lot. And I was. I think that I can bring that slow-ness, that silence, that one-ness with me wherever I am. It's in my bones and no one can take it away.My arms don't allow me to sleep well which can be a blessing. Because of them, I was awake a lot and I could listen to the coyotes sing their song off and on through the nights.
From my journal:
3/9/08
In the darkness
A lone coyote speaks his language.
So close
He must be right outside the window
Open blinds don't allow
him to be seen.
But darkness creates
no room for shadow
Later
A symphony.
An entire orchestra
tunes up
and music
cuts through the night.
I was sick on a Christmas day when I was young, so my dad and I stayed with one of my grandmothers while my mom and brother visited all the rest of our relatives (We had a lot of family who lived in a small town near us).
My grandmother had a painting of a coyote or wolf on a snow-covered hill that hung above her couch. I stared at the painting for years, but now it has been such a long time that I only remember its essence, no details.
I do remember that I was in and out of sleep on the couch that Christmas day, and at one point, my grandmother told me stories about the coyote/wolf in the painting. I loved my grandmother so much... She died 35 years ago, but she lives inside me always.
Now, after listening to coyote song each night and watching coyote move across the ridge in front of my cabin, now that I am getting nearer to the age that my grandmother would've been when she taught me about coyote/wolf, I realize how much that painting meant to her. Long ago, Grandmother had lived in the hills of Oklahoma and she wrote beautifully of the love she had for that land. She saw friendship in the rough hills that m