A kind of dream

(Slippery Rock Creek, PA. October 2007. © Robin)

You could find that courses of action appear to you out of nowhere just the way the next moment does. Your navigation could unfold by itself, and the universe might provide the beauty and happiness you seek. When you forget your carefully assembled fiction of who you are, you can find a natural delight in people, in the planet, the stones, and the trees. There is no observable limit to this beauty, and no one is excluded from it. Then, if you are fighting an enemy, you may be fighting them as well as you can, but you won’t be a true believer. You will know that an enemy is not truly other and that the fighting is some kind of misunderstanding. The worries that lead to quarrels may still be present, but they are not the main thing. Your problems could be a kind of dream, very powerful when you are in it, and yet a dream. You might notice that, even deep in dreaming, you are near to waking up. And the more you are awake, the kinder the world might seem.

~ John Tarrant

Visit the Pacific Zen Institute online for more of John Tarrant’s writings.

Neutral ground

(Jogger at sunset.  November 2007.  ©Robin)

The sea-shore is a sort of neutral ground, a most advantageous point from which to contemplate this world. It is even a trivial place. The waves forever rolling to the land are too far-travelled and untamable to be familiar. Creeping along the endless beach amid the sun-squall and the foam, it occurs to us that we, too, are the product of sea-slime.

~ Henry David Thoreau

Tidepools

(Sea anemone and other creatures. Photo by Robin. November 2007)

Every time we walk along a beach some ancient urge disturbs us so that we find ourselves shedding shoes and garments or scavenging among seaweed and whitened timbers like the homesick refugees of a long war.

~ Loren Eiseley

While in southern California, M and I visited Cabrillo National Park to see the lighthouses (old and new), do a little hiking, but mostly to visit the tidepools since we were lucky enough to have timed our trip when there would be a negative tide.

We spent most of our time at the tidepools which provide a fascinating glimpse into a small part of sea life. I took the camera with me even though I wasn’t sure that would be a good idea (warnings to visitors include “expect to get wet”). Even with it hanging around my neck, I forgot to use it most of the time. The park rangers were wonderful, explaining what to look for and where to go. I was so busy listening and looking (and trying to keep myself from slipping on the rocks), but did get a few photos along the way.

Tagged again: 7 Random Facts

This seems to be one of those memes that keeps coming back around. I’ve done it a couple of times (not on this blog, but elsewhere), and I’m finding it difficult to come up with 7 weird or random things to share. It’s not that there aren’t 7 weird or random things about me. Plenty more than 7, that’s for sure. But I blog here under my own name. Family and friends visit. There’s only so much I want to share, if you know what I mean.

Barbara of The Seeded Earth, who tagged me, is a nice person and I enjoy her photography so I’m going to come up with 7 weird or random things even if it means sitting here all day.

First, The Rules:

• Post these rules on your blog.
• List seven random and/or weird facts about yourself.
• Tag seven random people at the end of your post and include links to their blogs.
• Let each person know that they have been tagged by posting a comment on their blog.

A look ahead: I’m going to break The Rules.

Here goes. Seven random and/or weird facts about me:

1. Every year I set a mileage goal in an attempt to challenge myself to exercise (walk and/or run) on a regular basis. This year’s goal was 850 miles. As of today, I have walked and/or run 859.75 miles. I mostly walk, but break into the occasional run because it feels good to run. The amazing thing about this accomplishment is that due to extensive back injuries I could barely walk half a block at the beginning of 2007.
2. I’ve worked a lot of different jobs. My first job was picking blueberries. I was 9 years old. It was hard, hot, and sweaty work, but I enjoyed having my own money. Other jobs include: bus girl in a fine dining establishment; low on the totem pole gardener/laborer on the grounds of an estate; cashier; the girl in the t-shirt booth who irons on the decals; sign printer for a discount store; secretary/bookkeeper for an independent insurance agent; day manager at a miniature golf course (Putt-Putt); typist at a factory that prints checks (night-shift job); secretary in the Physics department of a university; secretary and lab technician for a Psychology Dept. professor at the same university; clerk typist who worked her way up to accounts receivable analyst for the U.S. federal government; housewife (for about 13 years) which includes more job titles than I want to list right now; accounts payable clerk/receptionist at a nursing home; and last, but not least, pharmacy technician for the Evil Empire (Wal-Mart). I’ve worked my way back around to housewife. Even without young children it’s still the toughest job of them all.
3. I strongly dislike country-western music, with very rare exceptions (none of which I can think of at the moment). I like all other music (even the heavy metal my youngest son blasts when he’s home; I’m even beginning to really like Dream Theater).
4. I was a gymnast for about 10 years of my life. I participated (and medaled) in the Junior Olympics. I was on television three times as part of an acrobatic act called The Poodles. We were dressed in pink furry, scanty costumes, and chained together (each of us wearing pretty rhinestone collars around our necks). One wrong move meant someone got choked so we avoided wrong moves as we did all sorts of aerial and contortionist acrobatics.
5. I like rainy, foggy, misty days.
6. I love to cook, but hate to bake.
7. I haven’t yet figured out what I want to be when I grow up.

I’m not going to tag anyone. I’m not being nice or anything like that. It’s just that I think everyone I read has already been tagged and completed this meme.

But if you haven’t, feel free to consider yourself tagged if you wish.

Detachment

(Perspective. Photo by Robin. November 2007)

There are always moments when one feels empty and estranged. Such moments are most desirable, for it means the soul has cast its moorings and is sailing for distant places. This is detachment — when the old is over and the new has not yet come. If you are afraid the state may be distressing, there is really nothing to be afraid of. Remember: What ever you come across — go beyond.

~ Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj

Pumpkins and palm trees

(Seasonal decorations. Photo by Robin. November 2007)

Creativity involves breaking out of established patterns in order to look at things in a different way.

~ Edward de Bono

Launch yourself

(Surfing competition. Pacific Beach, CA. Photo by Robin. November 2007)

Now or never! You must live in the present, launch yourself on every wave, find your eternity in each moment.

~ Henry David Thoreau

One step at a time

(Oceanfront Walk. Pacific Beach, CA. Photo by Robin. November 2007)

Some people walk with both eyes focused on their goal: the highest mountain peak in the range, the fifty-mile marker, the finish line. They stay motivated by anticipating the end of the journey. Since I tend to be easily distracted, I travel somewhat differently — one step at a time, with many pauses in between.

~ Hannah Nyala, Point Last Seen: A Woman Tracker’s Story, 1997

Cat’s Eye

(Izzy. Photo by Robin. November 2007)

Cats are rather delicate creatures and they are subject to a good many ailments, but I never heard of one who suffered from insomnia. 

~Joseph Wood Krutch

Thanksgiving

(At the market. Photo by Robin.)

Let us be grateful to people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.

~ Marcel Proust

While the pumpkin pies are cooking, I thought I’d swing by and wish everyone who is celebrating it a happy Thanksgiving.

So, you know…

Happy Thanksgiving!