Intermittent rain, for days on end, makes all the paths muddy, until we wood chip them, which thank goodness, Dan has mostly done. Alex did a few more today in the rain. Even so, the dogs bring their muddy paws inside . . .
One grace note this morning: I actually started out walking the dogs when it was NOT raining. Briefly not. Once we were one-third into our three-mile route, of course it started up again. But we got our exercise, and nobody’s the worse for wear.
So actually, it’s not that hard to stay cheerful. The key is to exercise daily, walk the dogs in rain if necessary, and do my usual daily yoga/chi kung/tai chi routines. In fact, I’m surprised that I haven’t needed the Happy Life Sunshine Simulator Deluxe all that much, though did pull it out this morning for a spell.
That was after I did my first exercise routine, jumping on trampoline on screened in front porch plus a few other warm-up exercises; after I made a fire in the pellet fireplace and ate my usual luxurious breakfast: coconut oil and avo on toasted gluten-free bagel, two fresh eggs from our chickens, one half of a gorgeous, gigantic Honeycrisp apple and my usual single cup of ganoderma-infused coffee with ground cardamom to neutralizes the acidity . . .
So very very fortunate in life!
And yes, and all that came after I told one of my young housemates that I would email her a longish essay that documents my evolution in understanding the nature of LOVE. Here it is, for your reading pleasure, in case it’s raining where you live, too.
A.K. Reader: A Discourse on Love (2007)
This afternoon I will go out for lunch with son Colin of the Garden Tower Project, where he will, no doubt, show me his latest conceptual drawings for his newest invention, one that solves the usual problems of those who prefer to grow food hydroponically. So much fun to be with this hyperactive, intensely curious little boy who morphed into a brilliant problem solver! And, so amazing that he and I share values around local FOOD as the single most important subject matter to address if we wish to transform this world.
Oops! No, he didn’t show me anything. And this was finally published after I returned home from both lunch and the next event, below. But what we did do is have a suddenly triggered moment inside a conversation about political triggering in a very public restaurant with hardly any space between the tables. Long story, no time to tell now, but we got through it.
And yes, he and I also share a fascination with “connecting dots” re: the darker aspects of what’s going on globally, both geopolitically and spiritually. In fact, he’s one of few people locally with whom I can actually speak my entire mind and not freak the other person out!
At 3 p.m. Colin and I and several other villagers attended beautiful and immensely talented Green Acres Village podmate Andreas’s final piano recital at the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University, where he is completing his doctorate. Magnificent. Rippling with fullness of human feeling and total precision, both. His final piece (of three), Tre Sonetti di Petrarca, S.270 by Franz Liszt — utterly to die for. As Colin said later: “I don’t see how a pianist could get better than that!” Nor do I.
(Whenever Andreas and his fellow housemates John and Dario, both also doctoral students in piano, do manual work around here, I worry about their hands, joke that we should insure them . . .).
And coming right up, this evening, I will attend an annual benefit for Middle Way House:
Middle Way House works to empower survivors of domestic violence, human trafficking and sexual assault by providing shelter, legal services, housing, and advocacy services. Crisis Line Phone: (812) 336-0846. …
Love Songs for a Lasting World
Let us remember, IT ALL TURNS ON AFFECTION. So if you’re blue on a dreary day, you might remember to direct your gaze into another person’s soul, and smile.
