This is Pino doing his morning exercises. He runs back and forth across the house, it’s the cutest thing. He started this routine a year and a half ago when recovering from a car accident that damaged him badly. He was then a city kitty. He walked with a limp for a long time. Regardless he tried to run, although at first he limped after 2 steps. He kept at it and after about 5 months he was his speedy self again with no limps. He does this daily, keeping his kitten figure. He spends most of his time in doors. In the city he had cars to contend with. In the country, its lions, and tigers, and bears…
Practical Life
Today I went off island, also known as state side, for the first time in 66 days. I put on my armor, stayed present, and all went well. However, I skipped the first store, WinCo, because of the 50-person line to get in. I breezed over and into Costco, with surprising few shoppers there. Then slid into Trader Joe’s, and Fred Meyer. Grabbed a burger at Mikie’s, with curbside service, then back to the ferry and home by 7:30. The larder is full, it better be, I spent $500. The only thing I couldn’t find on my list was feline pine cat litter. Not bad, considering how weird things are.
Everything is put away and now time for some rest, aka TV.
BodyMindSpirit
Our daily 5-minute meditation. The Moon will be full Thursday.
Meditation
Gratitude is easy when we see the beauty in all things great and small. Acknowledge the beauty everywhere, thank it.
Poem
waiting waiting for the wisdom sweet, sweet wisdom in gratitude we wait
The picture today is titled, “Burial of a Bird”. I grew up with this picture hanging in my childhood home. Love comes in many sizes.
You know how your gut tells you don’t do it, and you do it anyway and then regret it… Listen to your gut.
Yesterday I encountered drama. It was recommended I share my Bert story with a NW birding group. My gut said don’t do it, you’re going to face controversy. My gut was right.
A few people liked the stories, a few did not. I was told it was illegal to foster a wild bird without a license. I said I did not know this. The comments got ugly and so I removed the post.
I thought for a while about how easy it is on social media to misconstrue things or be flippant especially if you don’t know a person. I decided to make a new post asking folks to be kind when responding to posts, to educate those of us not in the know… Well that got ugly too.
A naysayer replied, “You’re new to this group and your very first post is to scold people?” Ugh, not the result I was going for. I responded it was my second post, hence the request. They replied “she took down her post because I caught her in a lie…”
Then a bunch of people started sticking up for me. The owner of the group told the person to back off. To which they replied. “You guys are sticking up for the wrong person. She’s the one with the cutsy blog who let the hummingbird die because she didn’t take it to Sarvey.” This was the second time they posted I had let the bird die. Ugh, that really hurts. I loved that bird. And yes, there is truth in their statement, I am guilty for not taking Bert to a rehab center. I’m hoping this person didn’t realize I had an emotional connection to Bert.
The day before this drama, I had been talking to a friend who was upset about negative comments they had received on Facebook. I counseled, if it doesn’t come from Love, why listen to it? why give it power? That it usually is a reflection of the other persons unhappiness. I believe in this statement, I am working on taking my own advice, almost there.
I’m constantly amazed at how things show up in our lives. I can be mean, and I always regret it. I do it much less than I use to. It’s usually the result of some insecurity, often a fear of inadequacy.
I say all this because we never know what is really going on with people. Its best to Be Kind, even if they are an asshole. Meeting people with the same negative energy they put out only perpetuates unhappiness. If we are to thrive as a species, we must act from Love.
Truth requires a conviction of love and will. Look the heaviness in the face, see it for what it is, then give it space, learn from it. Enemies become friends. Stand firm in love.
Release ideas of what things are supposed to be and accept what is. It is a death, a crumbling of old ways, a release. It’s a path to rebirth or rebirth itself. Release the cultural baggage and conditioned mental constructs.
Even if it’s just for 5 minutes, release will allow for expansion- in your soul you know your truth. Sit with it, visit in comfort, ease and grace.
Sunday mornings we connect with family which is always pleasant. After, we did a bit of gardening. We worked on the wetland path. The horse tails, canary grass and cat tails are once again taking over, which is their job. However, we enjoy being able to walk into the wetland, so maintain a small path. I planted 4 varieties of chitted potatoes. I had to look up the term “chit potatoes” after looking at planting instructions. Still learning, luckily.
I hung Bert’s feeder outside my office, and we have customers. We have another feeder on the other side of the house. Hummingbirds can be territorial so its good to have more than one feeder as males tend to claim ownership.
BodyMindSpirit
Our daily 5-minute meditation. The waxing Moon is Gibbous.
Preamble
This time right now need not feel cruel. Consider this time a luxury. A moment to come to our center, to bring clarity to what matters. Want what’s best.
Quiet the mind. Sit peacefully and listen to every aspect of ourselves. What is the loudest thing we hear or feel? See where it leads, give it space to just be without labeling it good or bad. There is and always will be something vying for attention, use our power to know what deserves focus.
Meditation
Move into our hearts, there is no shadow there, no cruelty just Love. Basque in your Love. Seriously, spend 5 minutes experiencing your Love.
Today I went to the Saturday market and got a few starts, greens and goodies. It was raining, but the air was warm enough making it easy to stay outside. I picked up a peanut butter cookie from the Hummingbird Bakery stall. I mentioned I had recently fostered a bird. They went on to say that they too had the pleasure once, although for them it just one day. It had made such an impact on them they also named their baby Colibrí, Spanish for hummingbird. Theirs too was an Anna’s Hummingbird. It was for them, as me, a once in a lifetime experience. A gift of fairy magic.
I came back to the lane to plant 2 small rows of corn, 8 starts and the rest seeds and a squash between the rows. I also planted 2 small plants near the fairy garden. I wanted to plant them in the fairy garden, although got a strong vibe this was not my garden, to back off. So, I planted them near it.
BodyMindSpirit
It’s been 3 days since Bert passed. Daily I have been putting fresh flowers at her resting spot, stopping to chat. While she was with us for only 9 ½ days, she Is sorely missed. I have been grieving. I think about the term Good Grief, an idiom to express surprise or annoyance; its origins are questionable.
Grief like sorrow, are aspects of Love. If we experience either, we have had the good fortune to have known Love. I am reminded of the time my friend, while holding her newborn, looked up in desperation and said, “I Love him too much”. Such is the burden of Love. It is Good Grief.
The Where is the moon now? Above me? On the other side of the world? Never forget where we’ve been. However, what regretful anchors from our past are we ready to dump?
Meditation
There is a sliver of darkness that still holds on. Thank it. Give it wings. Feel the silky soft space of release.
Poem
As the light chases the dark, the dark gets more concentrated.
Happy. Did you know the act of smiling can trick your brain into happiness? In the right conditions we shine. Find the light.
Smile on!
P.S. Gratitude is the new black.
BodyMindSpirit
The waxing moon is still in its First Quarter. Our daily 5-minute meditation.
Meditation…
We are each on a hero’s journey for our personal truth. No other person, place or condition determines our truth. On our journey, only accept that which comes from Love.
Recently I wrote about how we will never walk about the earth in the same way as the past, that our homes are different too.
To continue, as I was watching the finale of “Making the Cut” I kept thinking about the concept of home. I kept pausing the show to jot things down. Funnily, as I was jotting, I imagined channeling Bert; she was at the time still in physical form.
For some, the circumstances of today have not changed much. For those of us who have had the fortune to flit about the world, our wings have been clipped. We’re not in Kansas anymore, we need a yellow brick road.
Some back story… I used to work on the home of the future, a home aided by new and coming technologies. There were clear trajectories for the concepts that our team created. We always started with human needs, either solving a problem or making enhancements. All was to be easily accessible and scale to the masses. The future we had designed to, is no more.
Until recently, I worked on the home of the present with an Airbnb in our basement. I loved creating user experiences for our guests. This also is no more.
I have joked about my next gig being the home of the past, imagining I might volunteer at an historic site. Again, this likely too is no more.
As I was watching Heidi and Tim, I had an epiphany that the time for the home of the past is Now. We talk about history repeating itself and, and in a sense, it has, simply different than I ever imagined. I’ll try and explain.
In 1900 and farther back, the world in which humans physically participated was relatively small, geographically. It was limited by access to transportation, especially $, and there were no jet planes, so it was slow going. While the greater world beyond was known about, it was rarely experienced.
Fast forward to 2020, in the developed world, until recently, those with means had the choice of how to participate in the world, through physical travel or in living rooms. We aren’t going to lose the living room part, but what it means to us is different. We are more dependent on what can be brought to us, a kind of reverse scaling. Location continues to matter more, our local resources will determine much of our experience, our survival.
We will still have access to the big world, having things shipped to us, the internet, etc, although we are tethered, geographically. Life will continue, cities and towns will still be there, but the way we experience them will be different. We will be asking, is it safe to go? Should we get on a plane?
With this sea change, we are defining a new future. The current circumstance has us retreating into our homes making our worlds again exceedingly small. We’re reevaluating whether we needed everything we had before, so much of it was based on ego and brainwashing. This is such a unique moment in time, an opportunity, a much-needed societal reboot. The past has a lot to offer, to help us understand how to live successfully, locally. I’m not saying we will all be homesteaders.
We will draw on past principals for values, discipline, emotional support… We are no longer impressing others with our material successes; our kids don’t care about that Prada bag. Depending upon their age they need our attention, to eat, or pay the rent. Now is the time to look inward to what truly matters. Many answers are in the past.
While it might be a painful transition, this is good for humanity and our Earth. Although I miss hugs.
BodyMindSpirit
Our daily 5-minute meditation. The waxing Moon is First Quarter.
Observe where your focus is now. How does it feel? If we want a new result focus on something different. We know the power of our mind; use it.
Meditation
Be here now, pay attention and feel any newness. This is our time to contemplate our existence. Be here now. Pay attention to the waves of our breath. With each breath give thanks to our body from our toes to our head. The expansion is coming be patient with the reveal.
We are sad today. Berty died in the wee hours this morning. She was really struggling last night, she kept falling onto her back injuring herself further, unable to turn over. I held her for a long time feeling her tiny heartbeat. The last time I set her in her cage she gave a few weak chirps. She just wanted to be free. I brought her outside and set her under the big fir trees in a spot that has always felt like a fairy kingdom. She drank a little, scooted a bit and then sat. I said goodbye and went to bed to have hummingbird dreams. She was a little fairy and rests under a carpet of beautiful flowers.
I am grateful for our time together, and that Ruby could share it. It was truly magical, although not the fairytale ending we had hoped for. This was a once in a lifetime experience for us all. We’ll likely see again Berty out of the corners of our eyes flitting about in the fairy kingdom.
It’s ok to be sad.
BodyMindSpirit
Our daily 5-minute meditation.
Waxing moon increasing in light the First Quarter Moon is tomorrow.
Preamble…
Our theme today is “Welcome and Release”. Welcome our best intentions with no attachment to how they show up. Listen carefully to our higher will, surrender to change for the best and highest good. See our ego, and release what we can shake off and make peace with what we can’t. If met with muddled thinking, imagine moving up and the confusion falling away, leaving us only with our vision. Now is the time to embody letting go and Welcome – balanced spirit, emotion, and intellect. Be in alignment and create a flow towards our intentions.
Today was quiet on Sunshine Lane. I called the local vet again and spoke to the receptionist as the Dr. was in surgery. Turns out they are nursing a hummingbird with a broken wing too. They said it might possibly heal, it depends on the bird and injury. They say if the bird doesn’t heal, they’ll euthanize it. I did not like hearing that but can understand. They also said its possible to keep a broken bird if they are not suffering. Meanwhile I have been ignoring outdoor chores…
BodyMindSpirit
I spent a lot of time contemplating whether Bert might be suffering. While she is desperate to escape, I don’t think she’s suffering. But how can I really know?
Perhaps Bert is like a little fairy here to teach us. She is a magical creature to marvel at. So tiny and delicate. I think about how her circumstance is much like ours. In captivity, wanting to be free. But the risk for her if we let her go is certain death within hours.
For us, we have new insight to the dangers of the world beyond our homes that has changed us forever. This is a sea change. We will never walk about the earth in the same way as the past. Our new consciousness for our safety makes us different. In fact, we are more present. We’re forced to be. This takes time to get used to. Our homes are different too. They have a new role; it needs to support most our needs now. Especially that of sanctuary.
As I was meditating earlier, I imagined myself as Bert, with her beak coming out of the top of my head. She often reminds me of a fractal in certain positions, hence today’s picture.
“I am he as you are he as you are me And we are all together”– John and Paul
Our daily 5-minute meditation. Waxing moon increasing in light moving toward First Quarter.
Preamble
You may have noticed we are repeating the same mediation as last month as we follow the phases of the Moon.
As we move toward the first quarter, it’s a good time to make decisions and act in alignment with intentions. Stay in the flow, step over fear, no scab picking. We are changing and change disturbs fear and our murky depths. Don’t judge it, just hear it, feel it, sit with it. Part of our truth is our shadow. We are not trying to fix anything; we are perfectly imperfect. We are the magicians of our life, formations conceived from love will succeed.
Ruby left for Seattle today, boo. We had a great week quarantining together. She continued to work while she was here. In the mornings I would wake up to her singing to her Montessori class as she zoomed with them. She teaches primary students which range in age from 2 ½ – 6 years. She also gave individual lessons with a few of the kids each day. I would hear their interactions. A few of kids practiced reading, another geography, and one practiced writing. The writer wanted to make a list of tools because they were making a playhouse and their Dad. They ran out of things to put on the list so Ruby started making suggestions. She suggested “nails” the kid said emphatically, “why would we use nails?” Turns out they had used screws. It was funny at the time. After work was done, we sat around and played games and puzzled the entire week as Bert looked on. We also took walks and worked in the garden, because we can only sit for so long…
As soon as Ruby left, I cleaned like a mad woman. A typical reaction to deflect the grief. Tom helps, Berty helps, Pino helps. But still, boo.
You may be wondering why Berty hasn’t flown away? She has a bum right wing, fingers crossed it heals. The good news is she can feed herself, sort of, if the food is in front of her. We still need to check on her a lot because we find her on her back a lot. Boo.
BodyMindSpirit
Our daily 5-minute meditation. Waxing toward first quarter.
Meditation
We balance and adjust as the moon continues to illuminate our truth. Ditch the party line. Find the light.
This morning we zoomed with family from sea to shining sea. We played a lot of games again. Ruby cut the top of my hair. She says I look like a Sesame Street character, or David Lynch, I’m keeping it pinned.
Berty still tries to escape. We keep her on a red napkin on the table when the cat is out. She mostly perches on sticks. But when she face plants, she then rights herself, clumsily, and does a combo of scooting and fluttering. This propels her in an awkward motion across the table. It looks surreal, like rowing on dry ground. She continues to get new skills, including learning to feed at the feeder. She still likes to be fed though. Tonight, I plan to set my alarm for 3 hours for feeding and see how that goes.
We made rice crispy treats then forced ourselves outside to transplant seedlings. The fresh air felt good.
Ruby leaves tomorrow, boo.
BodyMindSpirit
Crescent Moon
Meditation prep
As the moon continues to wax, it illuminates more of what is, including those clinging thoughts of dis-ease. Stuck like burs, imagine something stickier rolling through and taking them away… or use a flame thrower, rake, hammer… Perhaps ask why we hang on to them? If surrendering or a truce feels better do that. Sometimes just acknowledgment, releases us from its grip.
Meditation
Our shadow is part of us. It will take all our attention given the chance. Bring on more light. The brighter our light, the less shadow there is.
