Treetops and Rooftops

Out my kitchen window is a lovely eastern golden morning view of treetops and rooftops

that sometimes actually glisten.

and then, of course, as I knew when I made the decision to live there,

the inevitable relationship with the alley.

It’s an alley; people use it as a bypass or a hiding place.

This morning I saw a young man walking slowly up the alley,

dressed for a Sunday afternoon on a Monday morning.

I adjusted the blind so he wouldn’t see me looking

and plugged in the coffee pot.

Was he calm or lost in thought?

Out of a driveway a car crept up the center of the alley behind him, super slowly.

I turned to put the bread in the toaster and set the butter beside it.

I went back to the window. The car had stopped.

He had stepped in front of it like Superman. But I couldn’t read the mood—

he walked around to the driver’s open window

and leaned his hips full contact with the door to talk.

I got the milk for the coffee.

I looked again. Now a woman was out of the car, embracing him.

She was dressed for work.

Did I hear crying? Murmurs.

Consoling? Arguing?

Pleas? Admonishments?

It all just sounded so watery, distant.

But then she sobbed pain and hurt or was it anger?

I looked down to butter the toast

and when I looked again she was back in the car,

and there was some kind of continuing exchange…

“Don’t drag it out,” I said to no one but me, “Just drive away.”

It really was none of my business so I ate my breakfast.

I don’t know what she did.

But when I brought my empty dishes to the sink,

there was no sign of either of them,

just the view of the treetops and the rooftops,

colors sharpening in the day’s advancing light,

and the alley of course.

JO'S/ 2016

Walking to the Store

Waiting at the red light to cross the big street,

I always step back from the curb to be visible, as I am vulnerable.

Across the several lanes of traffic

a silver car slows to make a right (it has the light).

I catch sight of the woman driving with smooth confidence,

steady agency,

and it occurs to me,

(perspective: historically)

fearlessness reigns

with the car as the apparatus,

as there and there and here and there they go,

finally, the commoners have attained knighthood status

each and all

(ostensibly so)

clad in a suit of armor.

Gift from the Gray

Toward the window:

what is that funny sound

crackling against the pane

it taps in rapid staccato

what phenomenon? It's the rain!

It seems that I forget it happens

between dry lengths of day to days

and even as the clouds gather

habitual thinking says

expect nothing. So joy ensues

when the song begins--

clapping introduction to a hymn

of falling, refreshing

rain.

Let the

soothing

soak

in.

Looking Up

Tonight I looked up

And zeroed in on one star

Missing the wonder I used to feel about stars,

Not even the internal dialogue about

How the light I see tonight emanated long ago.

That conversation wasn’t there.

There was no magic

Just a feeling that the stars,

Well there they just are—

At least the ones we can still see

In our light bleached night sky

And they might be all gone to us eventually

And what if we get used to it?

Once, one spoke to me, offering good sense and comfort as my heart was being broken

But I dismissed it and ran headlong into the night of trying to unravel, undo the reality that was presenting itself; that actually he was gone to me already.

Tonight this star with its clear blue sear 

Said ha, you wonder why you are not wondering.

This time I said thank you.

On a Day

In the end, everything turned out okay,
The grasses grew where the bodies lay,
The sun would bring another day,
The atmosphere filtered fresh in its timeless way
But the mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and insects had gone away
With the final exhalations of the whimper.

It didn’t have to happen like this;
Free will came in every culture and form
As did prayers, meditations, contemplations and charms
But Intimidation was let to rule the day

• A thug for Greed and soullessness
• Shining like a beacon calling all to exhausted surrender.

And no, you are not here to read this rhyme,
Unless, of course, the wearing-down failed,
The good was hailed,
The thugs were jailed,
And Love won, and in time.

A Brief Inventory

Please keep the shadows long
and the afternoons golden and green
and our conversations relaxed and easy
remember the birds, they flit from branch to branch,
I like that, too.
And the slow sunset,
and the fresh colors of dusk and twilight,
oh, and night. Dark night, sparkly with stars
and a moon sometimes
but sometimes not.
Mornings gently occur
with a softness to the light of day
a hint of blue and a subtle yellow
and green hills
and fluffy clouds
and sometimes no clouds
and sometimes rain clouds
and sometimes rain
and sometimes snow for some people if they want it,
or wind that doesn't fight anybody very hard
but maybe musses hairdos and clothes a bit
and causes people to duck slightly as they step outside from inside
and makes sparks jump from person to person
or person to thing just a little and always by surprise.
And let's keep storm systems
that clean and wash the sky and rivers and oceans and forests and streets
without making the news.
Yes. All that.
Thanks.

Resting on the Wheel

Driving along a little side-street at fifteen-twenty miles per hour
There's no traffic but you, and it's a good thing I see you coming, big white panel van
veering over across the center
still a good 30 feet away from me.

It's all early morning slow motion
nothing to be alarmed about but hey--maybe so:
Shouldn't you be staying on your own side of the road?

I beep. Your trajectory does not change.
I honk. Your trajectory does not change.
I honk longer.

Now I can see your face, directed downward
but don't worry. I don't think for a moment that you are
dead in there, unconscious, having a health event;
I know the behavior too well
and ah, now maybe you heard my noise,
Yeah no, you still veer, and I am observing in the slo-mo-moment momentum
the diagonal line you defaulted to is unchanging.

I lay on the horn and adjust steering toward the shoulder of the road to make a bay-line around you
and I watch for the eye contact.
Your face lifts slightly and there it is, yeah no:
you raise your face to the direction of the road ahead,
that trick of timing, that tick to tell your conscience you're doing fine, little phone in one hand,
the other resting on the wheel.

Ode to Camping

No hot shower. No soft bed. Sunlight glaring in your face before you are ready to wake. Noisy trailer generators hum at varied distances, masking the sounds of birdsong you wanted to hear. Sap on tabletops. Your ancestors strived to live indoors. Conestoga wagons in the hot sun.

Now there is a caveat: a hike too far from civilization to plug in anything, a remote location where the stars at night seem to arrive in shifts as your eyes adjust to the darkness, a cool snow-melt lake, waves gently curving to shore as they have been since before humans took over, bare basics of food packed in, trash packed out, peace, quiet, observation, near silent walks on soft fallen pine-needles, conversation with like-minded companions, birds that flit, swoop and sing.  Raise the food high away from bears and deer, wrapped well against the squirrels.  Stare at the sky through branches, boughs even, rest. Of course there is a reason to camp. Do I want to go?  No.  But do I want to be there? Of course.

The Spider Feels

That feeling when you’re not afraid of spiders and go out of your way to put them outside when you find them in the house, but as you walk to your car in the summer night you’re pretty sure you walked through a web so you run your hands down your arms and feel that perhaps you’ve brushed off the web and that the spider is not with you, but you feel a little bit like a bad actor who doesn’t really commit to the role and you know you’re not certain that you’ve accomplished the task—if there was a spider at all.

That feeling that feels like a three quarters truth that there was no spider; it was just a stray hair falling along your bare arm, you get in the car and begin the drive home, a block or two a tickle: is that the light touch of spider feet on your hand? Can’t look. Traffic to contend with no it must be that hair.

That feeling as you recognize in no uncertain terms spider tracks on your hand so you fling and shake the hand outward toward the passenger seat and figure you’ve launched the spider away to somewhere else in the car. You don’t want to open the window and kill it, but please stay in your own territory Spider, now you have your place.

That feeling as you drive down the boulevard that maybe there was no spider and the lady on the radio is talking about her life so the subject is now in the past, irrelevant.

That feeling as your peripheral vision captures, as if a cartoon silhouetted against the driver’s side window, a really big spider dropping from the ceiling working its web line for dear life and you flinch (and you drive safely!) and though you know that spider is more disrupted and more scared of you than you are of it, still you're sent into the throe of a squirm, wiggle and a vocal pitch of a “whoop-whoop!”

Focusing on driving skill you make your turn and turn again into the alley to slow by tree branches so you can open the window and let the spider out and you finally get a good look: stripes like a zebra, spotted like a leopard, the size of a nickel! Relief it’s not the orb weaver whose boundaries you’d been so bent on respecting all week.

That feeling where you hope you didn’t just accidentally crush it between the window and the frame, and you haven’t, and you introduce it to its new home but it now knows only you and tries to stay, or maybe it’s confused because it is rushing toward you as if panicked so you open the door and with the motion it drops on its line to the alley floor so you close the door and race away. That painful suspicion that the spider is still attached to the car, hanging on for dear life like James Bond on the rail of a helicopter in the Alps.

You don’t have much farther to go and you pull into the garage, park and close the garage door. You open the car door and there—it—is. It has made it through so much, still trying to get a semblance of place it perches on the bottom of the car door frame. Is it catching its breath?

That feeling as you get out of the car and look to the shelves and grab for something to capture it in and you find the lid of a spray paint can. Now you can catch the spider and put it on a plant. That is all you wanted.

That feeling as it quickly drops to the garage floor and runs under the car and away. Fair enough.

That feeling as you leave the scene to go into the house that spiders are crawling on you. That sense persisting as you take care of a few chores. The quick spin and brush of the arms, pats of your shoulders, slaps at ghosts of spider webs as they suggest themselves again and again.

How sensitive we are to these ages old relationships. Human to spider, since forever ago I’m sure—sudden surprise entanglements that linger.

The Super Guru on the Fence

"Ah Wise Children, in your hurry to sound profound take care to avoid jumping to conclusions." - The Super Guru on the Fence

I am the Super Guru on the Fence-- at least for today.

Sports Thoughts

I have tried many times to discover an appreciation for sports, but this is as far as I ever get:


"Hmmm... the shape of the play area is interesting. The colors are pretty. I wonder what the fabric is. I hope they aren't getting brain damage... wow there are a lot of logos around the field. Are the color commentators gonna ever stop talking [when watched on TV of course]. Hmmm... look at the sky. The stars are out during the daytime, we just can't see them, except the sun. The sun is a star. The universe is so big... it's infinite. What is infinity? Those are nice outfits the athletes are wearing. What time is it?"

Ode to a Republican Tax Plan

The devil will give you candy
and pat you on the head
and make you think you're better off
by following his plans.
He'll show bullet points on paper
but stop you from turning the page
"Just take your sweet treats and we'll take care of the rest!"
Is what he always says.
But the rest isn't a sweet nap,
It's a long and twisted night.
and no matter how you reach and lurch
you can't turn on the light.

Mettle

We dance and we leap,

paint fine facial features, sing arias,

build bridges, streets and cityscapes.

We tend to our children

and the weakest among us.

We kill and we creep,

go along to get along, justify,

demolish subtle ideas.

We abandon ourselves

like an addict exhausted.

Capable of everything possible

we can be magnificent,

and also we can

lose conscience and tenacity.

Calls for optimism become

some long lost book

of famous last words

found buried deep in rubble

by anthropological sorts

in a future to be determined.

No mettle, compassion, or commitment to love

constitutes a cycle of abuse.

Look at pictures of armies for tyrants

and civilizations that fall to the will—

some for lack of support, some may surmise

that some dictated end justifies

fueling the hate, and Hate lies.

So: No.

Mettle, compassion, and commitment to love.

Break the cycle of abuse.

Look at pictures of activists for peace

and societies that stand up to the cruel—

some for show of support, some may surmise

that what speaks for our species thrives

in nurturing empathy, and Empathy arrives.

Yes.

Mettle.

Compassion, and commitment to love break the cycle of abuse.

We dance and we leap

in a future to be determined.

Underneath a Stormy Sea

Underneath a stormy sea
that'd pitch a ship and wobble sealegs,
that'd hitch a hip to bend to nausea
that'd already shifted the seabirds inland for shelter
fish swim
in beautiful caverns.

12-19-2016:

Swimming hard to the surface to break the skin of the nightmare and awake into daylight

with sun shining, birds singing, a fresh breeze.
The roar--a memory to shake; an exaggeration of a fear raised by the unconscious
But no.
the world has dipped its head under
and decided to stay.
Inhale the inky water
and begin a dream
that flips the world on its head.
Sleep is the new
awake.
Awake. Hushed at parties, careful until you know
who you can talk to
and who
is only
for polite smiles
and swift escapes.

Perspective Adjuster Piece

Somewhere right now there is a shoreline with a sand crab working its way into the wet sand to avoid the gleeful child who keeps picking up double handfuls of soaked sand to watch the sand crabs emerge. The kid always sets them free, but the sand crab doesn’t know that. The seagull does though. Somewhere right now there is an apple on a tree in the sun. There is a dog barking in a yard. There is mailman hopping back onto his truck. There is a musician practicing scales.

10/21/2014

Opportunity and Destiny

When life gives you lemons, make lemonade--don't just piss in the water pitcher and cry about how lemonade is a horrible drink.

-just came up with that one today. A little note to the "Bernie or Bust" gang.

The Tilting Right and the Teetering Left: A Steady Stride to Sanity

At the DNC--and throughout the rest of the 2016 Presidential campaign--I hope Hillary Clinton continues to describe her policies and details where they lead. I hope she speaks beyond her loyal audience and reaches out to both the tilting right and the teetering left.  

I am not talking about convincing extremists to come to a place of moderation, I am addressing the uncertain. Both the tilting and teetering can come to points of balance in time for the election in November. This is my diagnosis and prescription:

The tilting right are caught in the spell of drumph's* empty bragging points and boasts for "change." Because they have sincere wishes for democracy to function, they're not sure how they'll vote but they're feeling pressure to go along with drumph because he's gotten under their skin. His tactic is to make people think they're dumb if they don't agree with him and it may be working.

But, when drumph he uses the term, "government", he's including the US Constitution and Bill of Rights as part of the problematic system he perceives. When he says "establishment" he's not talking about the 1%, cronyism, US policies in global politics--he's just talking about "government" as a broad and blind generalization.

The tilting right are frustrated about government. Traditionally, the right sees government as something outside themselves. Hillary's challenge to communicate to the tilting right is to finesse a message that invites engagement. We the people are the government. The more people get involved, the better the government reflects the will of the people. If Hillary can empower this group to participate in this democracy they will come to abhor the one man show drumph is offering.

The teetering left are grieving Bernie Sanders' loss of the primary. Much of their complaint has been that they don't like the "establishment" either, and they are talking about the 1%, cronyism, US policies in global politics (and Big Oil, too). They believe the "system" has become corrupt. The ideals they hoped we would all embrace in the form of Bernie have been counterbalanced by voters seeking a different pace or strategy.

The teetering left are the group for whom it's most crucial to find their footing by November. Hillary is prepared and equipped to serve as President of the US.  Bernie's supporters, dislike her though they may, have got to bite the bullet, participate in the election and vote for Hillary.  At the very least, they'll have to cast it simply to counterbalance drumph. Opting out means their votes fall to drumph. If they think they're sad now, how might they feel upon realizing that drumph manipulated their dislike, or even disdain for Hillary into all out paralyzing hatred? drumph's tactic now is to stifle both the teetering left and the tilting right because he really needs that inaction, and he needs it bad!

Hillary's challenge at the DNC is to evoke enthusiasm for democracy, participation and life itself.  We all need to walk straight into this election, eyes open, with a steady stride. We can overcome this scary phase of our nation's development.  And we need to help Hillary Clinton win the US presidency in 2016. Our nation needs us to support her so we need to balance this one together and remember that it takes a village.

*The name drumph is intentionally left uncapitalized.

The Appetizers That Tried Too Hard

As a dog
just having had a peanut butter snack
thrusts tongue forward and back and forward again to clear the stickum from behind large molars,
I attempt to remove a taste from my mouth
a mere illusion: inspired by a picture
of 
sardine salad
stuffed into lemons
topped with olives
yet displayed to appear
as
cupcakes.

To Lend a Book

To lend a book

is to lend a daydream

to share a world

to imagine what another would like to think about

--what might enrich,

or satisfy.

To lend a book

is an act of trust

that foremost in the mind 

is the notion that the relationship with said book is temporary.
--you may get it back,
might not.

To lend a book

is a risky thing;

Books absorb into minds 
and into shelves.

We Are All Immigrants. All of Us.

We are all immigrants: not just Americans, Canadians, Australians, but all of us. Even the traces of the oldest ancestor in Africa, as far back as genetics could reach, were found in a man in Asia. Sometimes we migrated for adventure, but usually we migrated because of some kind of external force. What I love about the better qualities of the US is the way we embrace our heritages. We talk about them, show them off, brag about them as if we created them. Except for those who were forced to be here, the rest of us got in because someone, somewhere, held a door open for us. It is ethical then to hold that door open for others, and not only welcome, but show some gratitude for the descendants of those who were forced to be here. We are all immigrants. All of us. Here are some good sources:

Spencer Wells: Journey of Man (video, 2 hrs)

Spencer Wells: A Family Tree for Humanity (video, TED Talk, 20 minutes)

I Didn't Know Kids Could Still Skip

Walking into work, an ordinary day but it's going to be too hot
and the sun imposing over the top of my sunglasses
I'm all too aware of all the world:
the civil servant who wants to pick and choose which parts of her job she does
the comb over guy with the fish lips shouting and
global struggles and 
cultural tensions and
refugees refugees refugees and
fishery slaves on ships they can't escape and
bear poaching lion poaching and elephants and lost dogs and
yoga class is coming and juicing kale prevents cancer and
look a kitten!
And
now a new big fat corporate mall is opening in my town.
And
here she comes
skipping along,
a red-headed girl, maybe nineteen,
a slouchy backpack lifts on the hop
bounce hefts on the slide and
she has a smile on her face
like she knows it's a little silly but so
I imagine
something good just happened
or maybe she is making something good happen
simply by skipping.
How much can I influence?
How much can I influence?
How much can I skip?

jeanosullivan, 2015 September 9

Faux and Soul

In a world of faux and soul,

The former live to gain favor;

The latter to live fully.

The foes lack soul:

Life is a strain to impose, force the will, in hopes of some kind of relief

that will never come

from that tactic.

Sinewy necked and sweating, teeth gritting grimaced all that.

The soulful align to remind each other

The best that can be accomplished in the faux world

is to clutch at straws.

Night time, heads on pillows,

Love embraces the soulful, refreshes, reinforces connections intangible but more solid than a mountain.

c.2014jeanosullivan

40 Days of Posts that Make Life Better: #6: Ears!

Thanks to tremendously detailed and delicate instruments inside a hard candy shell (our heads), we get to hear.  Here's how it works: Auditory Transduction (not my own video).  But, that is my own ear. And while I'm on the subject, I made that earring and another one just like it.

40 Days of Posts that Make Life Better, #5: There are Sages Among Us

We live in a culture that promotes snaps to judgement. We like to think we know what's going on inside someone's head based on where we might be in ours, and how they might appear to us as they go along down the street.  That imposed notion can make us miss a lot.  Humans of New York is one of my favorite sites for breaking this illusion. Like, for example, the wisdom this guy had on this day at this moment:

From the album: Timeline Photos

By Humans of New York

"I'm learning to be more careful with my words. Words that seem meaningless at the time can end up having a lot of power. Seeds that you didn't even intend to plant can fall off you and start growing in people."

40 Days of Posts that Make Life Better, #4: We are more than just our memories

We are the present moment. We are our feelings, sensibilities, mannerisms. We endure in the curl around a laugh and the instinct for comfort. We are alive and progressing always, heart and soul---and don't you forget it! 

40 Days of Posts that Make Life Better, #3: listen to where the flow does go

We live in a world of rhythm--heartbeats, breathing, waves on the seashore, wind in trees, cityscapes, birdsongs, dropping things that bounce a couple of times before going quiet. So in life, as we go with the flow, we can also listen to where the flow does go.

Here's a take on Dave Brubeck's rhythmic play in an article in Scientific American.

40 Days of Posts that Make Life Better, #2: Bees!

Walking along today enjoying the sunlight on the dandelions, I was also happy that it's so common to have a camera handy these days.  You can stay in touch with friends, manage the manageable events, and snap a photo of a bee on a flower!  So, our first two posts are the birds and the bees.  What a perfect foundation for a theme celebrating what's good about life: start with the start!

By now in history you don't need me to tell you how important bees are to humans, but in case you are not in the know, follow this link on wikipedia.  Or this one from the Humane Society about how to befriend bees.

When I was a teenager having lunch at a sidewalk cafe with a friend, a bee landed on our table, walked in circles and resigned to exhaustion. My friend poured a little fruit juice into a spoon and set it in front of the bee who drank and drank and flew off merrily.  That is how I learned bees sometimes don't pack enough lunch. They respond well to a little help.  That's a good reminder of how to be.

Ha ha how to bee.

40 Days of Posts that Make Life Better: #1: Birds!

And here we are, Ash Wednesday, the day Lent begins.  Not being religious, but appreciating the idea of moving toward springtime with 40 days of something positive as a reminder of compassion, sacrifice, commitment, gratitude, optimism and of course love, here comes year 3 of: *40 Days of Posts that Make Life Better.

Number one: Birds!  We have birds on this earth!  Birds!  Beautiful musical, pollinating, acrobatic, birds!  See or hear one and wonder what it is? You can identify through lots of sources but I just found this one, and it also has a map for locating the ones birders have logged: http://ebird.org/ebird/map/

Now, last year I kind of dropped off the map after day 17. This year I plan to be 23 times more dedicated to 40 Days of Posts that Make Life Better.

*Sundays off, there's where I'll follow the rules of Lent, unless I decide to do bonus posts.

Take a Picture: it lasts longer

A Public Service Announcement from the Sea Creatures: If you see a beautiful starfish and just have to have it among your collection of possessions, remember: 

A starfish will never be as beautiful as it was alive, aglow through the sun shimmers or suggesting perceptible motion through reflections of clouds on the water's surface, if you abduct it. Verily yes, this will forever remain true--even if-- even if--you make it into a... a... "thing." Thank you.

2014 Begins

I shan't be so neglectful of my webpage now this year
Over the last year I did drop the ball
but until facebook posts become searchable
the important stuff goes here,
at least some, if not all.

Here is an orange.

Thank You, Bill Watterson and Gavin Aung Than

I fell for it. Thank you, Bill Watterson and Gavin Aung Than, for this kind, insightful cartoon: (When you get to the image, click on it to make it bigger.)

http://www.slate.com/content/dam/slate/blogs/browbeat/2013/08/27/watterson_advice_large.jpg

One of my refrains as an adult has been "I'm not a climber." But aha! That's exactly how the predetermined imaginary ladder of success traps those of us who are not corporate (or institutionally) minded and causes us slip on the rungs and bang our chins. The steady discomfort convinces us the climbers' lie is truth so when it comes time to pursue the development of our own talents, we're so busy scrambling for band aids and ice we've talked ourselves out of the idea that we can succeed at all. I am a crawler, a walker, a hiker, a dancer, a mover, a jumper, and yes, sometimes I like to climb, too.

Mindfulness Meditations I Like

Here are some nice mindfulness meditation videos. They’re not dogmatic or magical, just using your brain to stay centered – like being in the middle of Fortuna’s Wheel instead of all over the spokes and rim and ups and downs.  The basic neurological principle is that the more time you spend in this state of mind, the more easily it will come to you when you’re in the midst of chaos:

I love this Irish guy Sean O’Tarpaigh’s meditations, especially this one:

http://youtu.be/It-PdYC8h98

Here’s his YouTube channel:

http://www.youtube.com/user/LifeLightCounselling

And then there’s Lori Granger, who is also great.  She’s in Fresno and has several that I enjoy:

http://youtu.be/iUd5cWSVonA

http://youtu.be/qBbf8SvM2Bw

http://youtu.be/1CDZGXlHYp8

http://youtu.be/H72t3kMrA_A

And here’s her youtube page:

http://www.youtube.com/user/centerformindfulness

Sometimes I just listen to these as I do my morning stretches, but for best effect, lie down and listen and follow what they say. Each one's 10 - 15 minutes so they can easily fit into the day.

Courage

“Courage is the price that Life exacts for granting peace,
The soul that knows it not, knows no release,
From little things;
Knows not the livid loneliness of fear
Nor mountain heights where bitter joy can hear
The sound of wings.”

- Amelia Earhart

I had heard the first line of this as a quotable quote and had it on a bulletin board for some time, and in my head, but today a friend asked for "tips for courage" and I thought of it, wasn't sure anymore who said it so I looked it up, and dogged if it ain't a full poem!  

40 Days of Posts that Make Life Better, #17

40 Days of Posts that Make Life Better, #17: We've found a way to look at the sun without hurting our eyes.

http://news.yahoo.com/photos/image-provided-nasa-shows-image-captured-nasa-solar-photo-195607067.html

40 Days of Posts that Make Life Better, #16

40 Days of Posts that Make Life Better, #16: The right to vote comes with a subset of rights which we protect (or lose) by exercising our right to vote (or not)!

40 Days of Posts that Make Life Better, #15

40 Days of Posts that Make Life Better, #15: We can increase productivity by viewing cute things!

40 days of Posts that Make Life Better, #14

40 days of Posts that Make Life Better, #14, Sometimes there you are, minding your own business, and somebody reads you a beautiful poem; life sweetens:

40 Days of Posts that Make Life Better, #13

40 Days of Posts that Make Life Better, #13: Sympathy, empathy, telepathy, musicality, humanity.

40 Days of Posts that Make Life Better, #12

40 Days of Posts that Make Life Better, #12: There is magic all around us! And where there isn't, if we're lucky, there are really, really, really clever people!

40 Days of Posts that Make Life Better, #11

40 Days of Posts that Make Life Better, #11: We have so many art forms! Think about it. Here is a contemplation for today: 

"There is not a single true work of art that has not in the end added to the inner freedom of each person who has known and loved it." -Albert Camus

40 Days of Posts that Make Life Better, #10

40 Days of Posts that Make Life Better, #10: Thanks to the internet and related technologies, no longer do people have to climb to the top of a mountain of business to share a funny little show:

 

40 Days of Posts that Make Life Better, #9

40 Days of Posts that Make Life Better, #9: Pocket Parks!

Listen/Read: NPR: Pocket Parks Start Popping Up All Over LA

40 Days of Posts that Make Life Better, #8-A

40 Days of Posts that Make Life Better, #8-A: (woops, I made two number 8s!) When we're patient and observant, we can find out really neat stuff:

40 Days of Posts that Make Life Better, #8

40 Days of Posts that Make Life Better, #8: Take a moment to appreciate the building blocks of life, whether they be amino acids, proteins, or legos:



Lego Dance by Annette Jung from Talking Animals on Vimeo.

40 Days of Posts that Make Life Better, #7

40 Days of Posts that Make Life Better, #7: Every thought, rushing, careening, crashing nagging vying for attention and even forgetting what they want can be allowed to rest from time to time. It's a luxury to enjoy some moments with only the responsibility of breathing.  I love this meditation from the Center for Mindfulness in Fresno, California. Lori Granger:

40 Days of Posts that Make Life Better, #6

40 Days of Posts that Make Life Better, #6: We can face hard realities, even the problems we've created for ourselves out of short sighted fascination with how clever we might be. We can admit our mistakes, seek balance, and begin any mad creative scientific or spiritual scramble possible begin to UNDO UNDO UNDO!!!!  Method cleaning products company is using plastic recycled from the Giant Pacific Garbage Patch to draw attention to how dire it is that we stop throwing plastic "away".

http://methodhome.com/ocean-plastic/

40 Days of Posts that Make Life Better, #5

40 Days of Posts that Make Life Better, #5: Logic helps us make sure facts add up properly.

40 Days of Posts that Make Life Better, #4

40 Days of Posts that Make Life Better, #4: We can always reconsider:

40 Days of Posts that Make Life Better, #3

40 Days of Posts that Make Life Better, #3: Of course there is such a thing as "try." It's on the way to being able to "do."

40 Days of Posts that Make Life Better, #2

40 Days of Posts that Make Life Better, #2: We can take matters into our own hands and accept help at the same time: 

Slow: Present Moment Passing

Tired may call for

a variety of responses:

a nap, a walk, a bird that sings

and as you listen

the sky gets more blue

and the trees more green

as your soul comes to you

then a melody to mind

and a knot may unwind

and a burden unbind

a notion

like an ocean

lets a wave

come to shore

to chill your toes to wiggle

and rush refreshment through your bones

and along with it the present

interrupts the complexity of frayed nerves' machination

and thusly in this instance

begins

rejuvenation.

40 Days of Posts that Make Life Better, #1:

Mardi Gras and Ash Wednesday have come and gone, that means today is the start of another installment of "40 Days of Posts that Make Life Better" (Sundays excluded, as is with Lent). 

Post #1: Sometimes you go outside and surprise: you get to see the blimp!

Intermittent God

Like an intermittent sound tone
or light through intermittent fog
we pray intermittently
to an intermittent god.
Sometimes he is in our corner
and sometimes far away
so sometimes he says nothing
and at others, says "Okay!"
We claim he knows what's good for us
or swear he doesn't care
but what if he travels all over,
and can't be everywhere?
Neitzsche said that "God is dead,"
others swear by free will
but maybe all along he's been intermittent.
              That would explain a few things.

Where the Grass is Greener

Deer image by a photographer named Deb, I found it when I Googled "deer grazing."  Here's her flickr page: http://www.flickriver.com/photos/kywoody/201299871/

O deer, grazing as the
flies named in your honor do the same upon you
chomp and step
gently tugging at the grasses
twitch an ear unsettle a bug to buzz
and re-approach inches over.
Suggest to disturb their activity
with the little wind whistling swishes of your
tiny tail
listen for predators
(larger than the flies that is)
and continue.
Over a fence
in a corral
a horse sees you, snorts,
thinks he's got it so much better
than you, for he can outright swat!
Step, step tug,
you found
clover.

We Humans, I Mean

This is not
rocket
science:
This is about
how much longer
we will entertain
a primal fear:
Kill or be killed!
Obsolescent
vicious behaviors
reveal
a deeper conflict
within us, we humans I mean:
to be
or not
to be?
That
is the question
at the
heart of our
collective
decisions,
we humans, I mean.

Today's Poem: On Food Pictures

Photo by FranLa

O food pictures
taken in super high definition close up
early morning sun casting a breakfasty light on the plate
fresh new day of hope and possibility
and garnishes
of grated something savory,
fatty, salt to the sweet, sweet to the salt
making results of fine recipes appear much more distinctly than they ever could
to last far longer than they ever, ever, ever would.

A Democracy is Not a Business

A democracy can't be run like a business because a business is a dictatorship. Businesses are at the mercy of their presidents and CEO's. If they're humane, good. If they're not, well, that's why employees unionize. Banding together makes a louder voice to insist on respect for civil rights. A democracy is not a business and people are not products or pawns.

The Potato Poem

The staff of life for my ancestors who had to escape the famine

imposed by their would-be masters who forced the choice

to stay home and die or go elsewhere,

potatoes are in a mesh bag in the lower cabinet

a cool dark dry place, protected.

I will too easily forget them if I don’t eat them soon.

I was handed down a hunger for the flavor and sustenance

the sense of a comfort and safety that warms the body

lifts and evens mood

nourishment with butter, salt

and the character of music and hearty laughter

I was handed down a hunger

for love and kindness that makes life fulfilling.

So here’s to the Irish

and a background to be thankful for

and here’s to the success of the migration

and wishes for good health and happiness 

to friends and loved ones now from every walk and way.

And if I do forget the potatoes in the cabinet

As it is with the deepening of love they will grow roots, not rot;

As it is with the watchful and wise they will grow eyes, not moldy spots.

Unless I leave them there just too darn long.

Of the People, By the People, For the People: doing our homework

Someone complained that there was too much political stuff on facebook lately. Someone responded, "'tis the season!" I've been thinking about that: It is the season. 

This is part where we adults do our homework, a little soul searching and research, make sure we're comfortable with our decisions and their ramifications. Read. Get mad. Read, get reassurance. Have discussions that make social bridges and choose your best approach to solving the world's problems. Get ready to vote, and vote with your best presence of mind and benefit of experience - represent yourself as you select your representatives! Tis the season, right now!

We're All In This Together

Private funding is fleeting because private interests are personal at heart - and limited to a subjective funding source (i.e., those considered important by "the rich guy in town" and/or his board who rely on him for whatever perqs come with their service). That's why projects that affect all of us, such as fire and police departments, garbage collection, road infrastructure, equitable healthcare, call for civic collaboration (also known as tax payer support) - we are all responsible to each other!

Permanence Lost

There was a
beautiful idea
a
perfect notion of
the confluence of all good
and everything
peaceful being con-
nected.  A sigh, warm, smooth, inspired,
inner dawn;
urge to action
but my cellphone
jingled a text had come.
I had to write
"ha ha"
(I don't say "LOL").

Now:
What was I about
to

do?

What "Back on Track" means to RXR

Romney and Ryan were on  60 Minutes last night.  They kept saying they wanted to "Get America back on track," but wouldn't explain what that meant or how they'd do it.  Then this image popped into my head so I drew it.

NASA and How to Make Your Own Space Vid

NASA lets you download video to make your own compositions. Just another nice thing about the fact that NASA is a public agency.

Wishes for Good Fortune

Never heard of Todd Snider before today. Now I want to learn this song:

How to Feed a Buzz

An interesting look at Buzzfeed, how it compiles, and where it gives credit (and that its staff tends to build upon what it finds on reddit).


"Once you understand how central Reddit is to BuzzFeed, it’s like spotting the wizard behind the curtain."

Now is Good

For the sake of simple conveyance of this idea, let's accept reincarnation as reality: Sometimes I wish I could be in touch with who I was in past lives and how I lived because if I lived before today, no matter how well I did or how much influence I had, I could not have had more comforts and conveniences than I do in this life. Even if I was royalty, I would have had to wear dirty clothes most of the time. No washing machines! Even if I lived in the pristine woods I would have had to weather storms. And the food? Butter unrefrigerated? Don't get me started.

Whether I was nothing or someone or an ant or a creature from another dimension I can't imagine right now, I am thankful for the comforts I have in this life. This comfort has a flipside, which is the fact that we've been damaging the environment and, like royalty our comfort relies on standing on the backs of those who do the dirty work. So there's a little guilt with the appreciation. To move forward, I have to look for the positive, and it's there: I am alive at a time when humanity has indulged so much in all of the above that the experience of conscience is something we can share; thanks to the internet, the good guys can collude. And with that, I conclude.

Ethers

Stay with it - they are not tiny missiles, but maybe the sense of vulnerability, when the animated elements first appear, is intentional.

Relax and watch in high resolution, big screen. This has a happy ending.

Passing Through from Olafur Haraldsson on Vimeo.

Bryan May

I was going to say here's ten minutes of music to play in the background as you write or create, but it's really worth watching.  He knows how to engage with his audience.   He is present with the crowd, the night, and himself.

See "Each Moment is the Universe"

This is a beautiful story of subtle profound redemption. It is a favorite for a life-time. Watch it in hi-def on the full screen.

Each Moment is the Universe from bruce thierry on Vimeo.

NASA's Venus Transit Timelapse

Go lit'l planet! Go!

Transit of Venus: An Homage

And this is my homage to the transit of Venus today:

Here Comes the Sun


(I'm Your) Venus

Flash and the Grand Canyon

I love this joke. The setup (first video below) is about 20 minutes before the almost incidental punchline at the end of the episode (second video below). It's better to just see the whole show, but I made this because I love this joke.