A wide variety of precious and semi-precious gems and stones have been gleaned in Aroostook County, Maine.
The return to nature takes time.
Tag: Wonder
Rude awakening? Like at dawn?
All this time spent online is not at all what I anticipated in retirement.
Perhaps, you know, rather than the lingering over coffee and an open newspaper or even a Bible and or deep meditation in front of a candle first thing each day.
I’m still seeking an ideal daily routine, or perhaps even a weekly one.
What are my goals at this stage of my life? I’d still love to have a champion for my literary ambitions.
For that matter, how will the renovations to our dwelling impact me? It should be easier to stay up later or take afternoon naps, for one thing, or even listen to music. Things were getting pretty crowded.
Many of my activities weren’t on the horizon, back when I was thinking ahead to my years of freedom. Blogging, choir, photography, and, for a while, swimming laps all came along after I left the newsroom. As was moving to this remote fishing village on an island in Maine, where 8 p.m. is the local midnight and dawn can start appearing around 3.
One option just might be rediscovering the joys of “simmering” abed in the morning, likely with (decaf) coffee and some light reading or journaling.
Now, if I could only purge some of my deadline-driven dreams that trouble my sleep.
This can be truly disorienting
You’re streaming a TV series or a movie and the subtitles start running out of synch, either ahead or behind.
And then then the commercials start running in Spanish, usually more than I can easily translate.
Wolf tracks
These in Maine may have been left by an interloper from Canada. My car keys give you an indication of size.
Ointment? I was skeptical
When my plantar fasciitis and related ankle pain kicked in again, I assumed that the only real healing required extended rest.
Shoe inserts, a few exercises, and ibuprofen seemed to provide some relief, but I really don’t want to be taking one more pill in my daily regimen and, frankly, I wasn’t so sure that anything that would cover up what my body was trying to tell me was such a good idea.
Finally, I did cave in at my wife’s suggestion of Voltaren nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory ointment. I just couldn’t see how something applied to the surface of the skin could really reach far into the muscles. I guess all that Bengay smeared on me in my childhood hadn’t convinced me.
We buy ours in Canada, by the way, where the tubes that are offered are stronger and longer-acting.
So far, as I’ll crow, my attitude’s changed.
It even has me reconsidering some of the traditional treatments in the healing circles of our neighboring Passamaquoddy tribe. Pine tar, anyone? They say it works wonders.
Ever play with a Proust questionnaire?
For years, Vanity Fair closed each edition with its own Proust questionnaire of a celebrity, which I always read even when it was my introduction to the celebrity in question.
Turns out Proust merely prompted what became a popular party game and perhaps more.
Still, I’ve found that these can be a fine prompt for self-reflections, especially when I was drafting contributor’s notes to accompany my literary appearances in small-press periodicals.
Here goes.
What is your idea of perfect happiness? Being centered in the Holy Now within a circle of those I love and trust.
What is your greatest extravagance? Dining out. Or entry-level boutique wines.
What is your current state of mind? Littered across too many fields.
What is the trait you most deplore in yourself? Actions rooted in a sense of duty or obligation, rather than passion or desire.
What do you consider the most overrated virtue? Patriotism.
What is your favorite occupation? Deep writing and revision when the act becomes a form of prayer.
What is your most marked characteristic? Serious, with a twist of lime.
What do you most value in your friends? Spiritual warmth.
What do you most dislike / deplore about your appearance? Aging, and all that comes with it.
Which living person do you most despise? Besides Trump and his toadies on the Supreme Court?
On what occasion do you lie? Not lies, exactly, but less than full disclosure under uncomfortable conditions.
Practice, practice, practice – or not
I’m not writing poems lately
but I’m not praying much, either
Let me elaborate:
Consider the act of writing as prayer. Neither is done for outward compensation, much less any guarantee of results, but rather to open one’s heart and mind to what is eternal and true – and attune oneself to that, regardless.
When the sky’s ablaze in wonder
I was looking at one of our typically outrageous dawns or maybe it was a sunset and realized it was as amazing as an aroura borealis.
Crow footprints in snow and ice
Now I’m wondering about the gulls.
A few things I’ve celebrated over the years
(Prompted by artist Jane Kaufmann.)
- Acceptances for publication large and mostly small.
- When newcomers return to Quaker meeting.
- When meeting for worship settles into warm silence.
- Fires in wood-burning stoves.
- Truly fine pizzas.
- Wines and cheeses.
- Appearances by bald eagles and osprey, some of them over my yard.
- My wife’s Christmas traditions – especially the observation of Advent and the 12 days after.
- Retirement and the opportunities it’s opened.
- Viewing whales from shore here.
- Whale watch cruises, no matter what we wind up observing.
- A week’s windjammer cruise. Twice now.
- Great classical music performances, including opera.
- Part-singing in choirs, chamber choirs, and Mennonite circles.
- The renovation of our 1787 homestead.
- Small-town life in Eastport and Dover.
- Sunrises and sunsets.
- Riding big-city subways.
- Full solar eclipses and Northern Lights.
- The Greek Orthodox festival and community.
- Mount Rainier.
- The election of Barack Obama.
Jnana's Red Barn 