Month

What’s your favorite month of the year? Why?

I read a bunch of responses while trying to figure out MY favorite month.

The posts surprised me. I wouldn’t have guessed November and February would have made the list but they did.

No one said June or July. It seems that October, November and December are the big favorites.

I like most of the months pretty equally, with the exception of November and February, which I think I like a little less but not much, depending on where I am in the world. February in Western Canada is just cold and dreary and unmagical. In So CA, it’s the beginning of Spring. I had a PTSD thing about that month for some years, but it seems to have dissipated.

My favorite month in New England might be May. Spring is a beautiful time here.

My favorite month in California is September because it’s the end of tourist season, and the weather is amazing.

The ocean

Ocean

What is your favorite place to go in your city?

I have several beach locations that I like to frequent on both coasts.

Lately, besides our dock, or just sitting by the window looking out at the blue horizon, my favorite place to go is Crescent Beach. It has a big park with old trees and a path that crawls along a bluff overlooking the ocean. On windy cold days I feel like a Brontë character. The path leads to a boardwalk that arks along the beach for over a mile. From there I can either go under the road and stroll through town, or circle back along the boardwalk. Either way it’s beautiful.

I used to walk for miles on the sand in CA. I miss that stretch of ocean, but will be walking it again soon.

First Impressions

I hope I come across warm and friendly.

I never know how I’m being received. Sometimes I feel like I bounce in too upbeat, other times, I stand back remembering to be respectful.

I generally seek out places that I feel comfortable being myself. I’ve spent more than enough time not fitting and I don’t enjoy it as much.

First impressions? I hope they are pleasant enough that people stick around and get to know me.

Maybe I could seem a little interesting. I’d be good with just that…

The Untethered Soul

What book are you reading right now?

Right now and still, I’m stuck on ‘The Untethered Soul’ by Michael Singer. I started reading a couple of other books too, but keep returning to that one.

(here’s something weird. The last few days I’ve been able to answer the prompt question directly)

Today after yoga and the meditation class that followed, we got talking about mind chatter, thoughts that won’t stop and all, which led to throwing around the term ‘non duality’. Along with its apparent opposite, duality’.

My mind usually starts to wander and I’m pretty sure my eyes glaze over when things get too philosophical, so I’m not sure I was paying enough attention when I blurted out that I didn’t know which team I was on.

This led to our instructor giving a pretty clear definition of both, which after reading about consciousness repeatedly in the ‘Untethered soul’, I was able to wrap my head around.

I don’t really recommend this book. The more times I read it, and talk to people who’ve read it, the more I think it can be taken in too many ways, not all of them helpful. So unless it comes along on its own and you can’t stop yourself from reading it, don’t bother.

There are plenty of interesting things to read out there, no need to open this can of worms.

Plus, I didn’t even know that these two perspectives were so opposing. I feel like we have enough reasons to disagree with each other on earth right now, no one needs to explain AND defend philosophy perspectives. We can surely save that for another time.

Meanwhile, I’m oddly comforted by what I’m getting from these pages. I need these concepts right now. Remembering that I am an observer. Observing my thoughts and feelings. Not trying to not have them, just falling back into a place of nonjudgmental observation. Even finding compassion for myself and others because aren’t we all a little lost in the dramas that surround us?

Like Dr Sueuss pointed out in ‘The Lorax’ “it’s hard to be a human”… There’s a book I haven’t read in a while

Coolest Thing

What’s the coolest thing you’ve ever found (and kept)?

I love cool things. I love finding cool things. I’ve learned to let most things go after awhile, even if they are cool. I used to feel terrible about giving things away or throwing anything out. Especially if it was given to me.

Over the years, I’ve had so many start-over times in life, that I’m better with letting go of things that I still love.

My life is an ongoing lesson in non attachment, but somehow I’ve managed to hang onto a very impracticable, clunky, crazy cool balloon mold.

They don’t use them anymore, not this type from what I understand, which is fine, since I have no reason to make balloons, I just happen to love it. I imagine a different time, when balloons were rarer and probably all the more magical and fun for kids.

I like odd vintage things and fell in love with this immediately. I’d never seen one before, but I knew

Cool balloon mold

What do I try to skip?

Well. Hmm. I don’t try, I either do something or I don’t, but sometimes I really don’t feel like walking or going to yoga or eating decently.

I know it’s bad when…

It’s been off and on difficult here for so many reasons, but I usually rally and do the things that I know will help me in the end.

Some days or weeks do feel extra hard and this has been one of those. I won’t go into why, but there are some disturbing energies wafting around in the incessant November wind lately.

And speaking of the wind, I do not enjoy walking in it. It’s cold, it’s blowing in every direction, and it makes it feel even colder.

I hope it will blow some of the energy away, but mostly it just swirls it around.

The leaves are pretty, dancing across lawns and roads, and flying down to the earth from nearly bare trees.

I wonder if in a few years I will look back and wonder how I managed. The days are so long. I wonder if what I’m doing is what I should be doing. I mean, I’m here, I’m doing it and there doesn’t seem to be other choices, but man, I wish some days that I could go to sleep and not wake up until it’s over.

Instead, I get up, go to yoga, go to work, go walk, make a healthy snack, keep moving, keep smiling, keep looking for the joy, tiny instances of joy and love that occur in every single day. Even the extra charged and extra difficult days have tiny moments of grace woven in. I’ve learned to look hard for them or make them up myself.

Today, I made soup with root vegetables, carrots that I went out and pulled from my garden, onions and garlic from a neighbor’s garden, locally grown sweet potato.

Someone at yoga said that it was a good way to ground myself, so I gave it a try. Andrea Boteceli blasting in the background, it was a glimmer of light in an otherwise trying day. Yoga was too, light, sweet, another bright spot. I’m so grateful for these.

Probably

Joe Walsh

I don’t tend to run into celebrities. It’s never been a thing with me.

But a long time ago my first husband was in AA with Joe W.

He came home one day from work and said we’re going to a bar.

Part of the reason I’ve lived this life is that if I doesn’t ‘feel’ off, even if it sounds off, I tend to be curious enough to show up.

That’s how I ended up in a tiny bar in Encinitas three feet away from Joe on guitar. Then later being introduced. It was a weeknight. The only people in the audience were guys in the program, Joes family and a few stragglers.

I remember no details about this impromptu performance, except that I was witnessing pure talent like right there! Talent, years of practice and more bravado then anyone else in the room, (which if you know anything about the AA demographic, is saying a lot).(sorry for the generalization, I’m sure there are plenty of super humble people in AA too, not so much that night though)

It was sooo cool.

Pets…

remind us to live in the moment and have some fun.

They get us up and out of the house. They make us go for walks. They make us laugh.

On this cold windy November Sunday, I pass many people walking their dogs through a shin deep swish of leaves. Hair blowing in every direction, the dogs don’t care about a chill in the air. It’s good to be out even when the sun isn’t. It’s nice to appreciate the beauty of the day.

We hit a rough patch with problems around the house. Stress over things that I’m not stressed about, but others are, is stressful! Things I would normally not think too much about have given me many bizarrely and unexpected grief filled moments. So much unpredictable oddness.

As if the week wasn’t already energeticly charged.

I leaned heavily into yoga. There’s a wonderful studio and community here. They offered lots of little extras this week. Very much appreciated. Just like pets and windy fall days, and the beginnings of problem resolution.