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    Windows That Open

    ByElizabeth

    When I first got to my room on the fourth floor of the hotel, the airconditioner was straining noisily, and the room was very stuffy. To My great delight — the windows not only open, but have screen and look out onto an unveveloped tract of land with trees higher than my window. I immediately opened the windows and let in the smell of fresh air and the sounds of the forest. There is occasional car noise, but it is muffled by the sounds of wind and rain in the trees.

    I thought this morning how often I end up in an office building or hotel where the windows do not open. That cutting off access to the realities of nature, of what is greater than our little world, in order to have a controlled climate seems like much of modern life.

    Many I know do not even notice that the windows do not open. Others of us, see the windows and want to know what is outside and to be with the greater energies. We seek to oprn the windows and know. Those who are able and so moved and who are able — rare beings — leave behind the buildings and go entirely on the renunciate path. The rest of us who live the life of householders, seek to have windows that open and spend time each day breathing in the sweetness of what is greater.

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    Guacapacho — or is it Gazpamole?

    ByElizabeth

    Puree in a blender or food processor:

    peeled cucumber (seeded if necessary; use peels to garnish drinks if peels aren’t bitter)

    tomatoes of any mix of colors:

    assorted garden herbs and greens (based on taste and availability);

    a sweet pepper of any color or variety (and a jalapeno or other hot pepper to taste)

    a little minced sweet onion, white of scallion and a hint of garlic if desired (even if you are a garlic junky be gentle with the garlic lest it overwhelm the subtlety of the other flavors)

    avocado

    chilled vegetable stock or water

    a little fresh lime or lemon juice (the acid in the juice helps keep the avocado from discoloring when the soup is chilling; a splash of white wine would also serve)

     

    Chill the soup for 1-2 hours; do not let sit longer; garnish with chopped herbs–chive flowers are nice

     

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    Walking Holiday

    ByElizabeth

    Walking has always been my preferred form of getting from one place to another; if time and distance require it, I intersperse a lift from bus, metro, or taxi on one end or in the middle of a walk.  All I really wanted to do with my time off–I don’t have to go to the office or teach class until January 3rd–is to walk and practice and visit with friends and family and look at art and cook and read and study and eat and play with the cats and write and photograph and dance (an open-ended term) and maybe knit or draw.  For me, walking is walking in itself; time to practice bhavana — deep contemplation; time to practice japa–repetition of mantra; opportunity to open the mind and senses to allow the flourishing of creative projects–mostly writing and photography; a way of going from one place to another for shopping, working, visiting, etc; and sometimes an activity to share with friends.  And of course walking to get food is wonderful both for stimulating the appetite and for aiding digestion.

    Yesterday, we were given 90 minutes of administrative leave.  On leaving the office at 3:30, I walked west from my building to the last Thursday until spring of the Penn Quarter Farmer’s Market.  I didn’t really need anything, but wanted to support the farmers who were braving the cold, so I bought a wild oyster to eat while I stood there and a bag of arugula and a few apples and pears.  From there I walked back east, traversing the Capitol grounds to East Capitol Street and stopped in and browsed at Capitol Hill Books.  It was turning dark when I walked east into Lincoln Park before turning north to go home.

    In less than an hour, a good friend will arrive at the door in her walking shoes.  We are going to head out on foot to the Mall to talk and to look at art and to share a meal in Penn Quarter or back on the Hill.  Later in the day, I will walk along the bus route to Dupont or walk to the metro to go to a Christmas Eve potluck dinner at Friends Meeting of Washington.

    Tomorrow, Christmas Day, I will celebrate Christmas in the manner of New York Jews (Chinese food and a movie).  After walking through Lincoln Park and down Kentucky Avenue SE (where are some of the most beautiful trees in the neighborhood) to get a massage, I’ll walk to the U.S. Botanical Gardens to meet a friend I have known since third grade who is town with some of her NY friends for the holidays.  We will probably walk up to Chinatown after that.  Then I’ll go see a movie.  Whether I walk or take the bus will depend on whether it is dark by the time the movie lets out.

    On Boxing Day, I will go to Georgetown to volunteer at the Lantern Bookshop.  I will walk some of the way and take the bus the rest of the way.  The length of the walk will depend on the amount of time I spend making breakfast, caring for plants and cats and house, and writing.  How much of the return trip ends up being on foot will depend on how many books I decide to take home from the Lantern.  Sometimes I only get one or two.

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    Square Dancing (and Spacial Awareness)

    ByElizabeth

    Last night, I hopped on the bus and went from Capitol Hill to Columbia Heights to go square dancing. I haven’t square danced since elementary school, when we had two week sessions every year from third through sixth grade (I doubt, somehow, that they are still teaching square dancing as a needed physical exercise these days). It was interesting how much of the kinesthetic memory was still there, but it would not have mattered if I had not remembered. There were a lot of beginners, and the emphasis was on enthusiasm and enjoyment, not on getting it exactly right.

    One thing that was noticeable about both the complete beginners and those who were very interested in demonstrating that they could do fancy variations was how little awareness there was of how those dancers related to the room as a whole or their squares. Even if there was some awareness of their partners, the beginners were to busy trying to figure out what to do at all to be able to think outside themselves or their partner, much less outside of their own square to the relationship of their square to those around them. Those that were eager to demonstrate their prowess took up as much space as they wanted to do their own dance, making it so that others had to move out of their way.

    The truly skilled and aware dancers fostered the fullness of the dance, mindful of their own technique, their relationship to their partners and squares, and how their square fit into the dance hall as a whole, thus optimizing the freedom of the flow of the dance for everyone.

    I think this dynamic in the dance reflects how we want to live as an individual within the fabric of being. If we are sluggish with ignorance, we will trod on others, when we could have a better relationship by making the time and effort to learn how to live more rightly and in alignment with the whole. When we just strive to show how great we are, heedless of how we impact other beings, we also disrupt the flow of being. To be truly engaged in the wondrous dance of being in a way that makes not only our own lives fuller, but enriches and enhances life around us, we must not only study and practice for ourselves and develop sensitivity and awareness in our intimate relationships and our relationships to our family and community, but also understand and act from a cognizance of the flow of life and energy outside our immediate world.

    Peace and light, E — Posted with WordPress for BlackBerry.

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