Tea Bag Advice


This is the view from the corridor just outside my office door. On the left is the Tax Court. On the right, is the homeless shelter where Mitch Snyder, advocate for the homeless, committed suicide. In between, the highway emerges out from under our building. At rush hour, especially on a rainy day, it is completely congested. Even on a cloudy day, not much light comes in the window. It is a north-facing view, and the windows are tinted.
If I were to be standing at a window on the other side of the building, it would be bright with sun. On the left would be the Capitol and the west lawn. In the center, the National Botanical Garden’s graceful contours would gleam on the far side of the reflecting pool. To the right, the National Mall, flanked by museums, would stretch in the distance to the Washington Monument.
What is important to remember is that both sides are always present. When we are facing harshness, demands, suffering, and challenges, we need to remember that beauty and light are still present. When we are filled with abundance, beauty, and light, then we must remember that there are others who are challenged and suffering and make efforts to extend to them our own abundance and light.
When I saw this on the sidewalk, I wondered whether it was litter–the content of a note unless autographed by someone famous is still litter if it is discarded on the street; or was it a note that slipped out of someone’s hand who would miss having the phone number and the reference; or was it intentionally placed on the sidewalk so a do-gooder who routinely picks up litter from the sidewalk and walks it to the nearest trash can would be given a message?
Peace and light, E — Posted with WordPress for BlackBerry.

I don’t know how I missed this pickling cucumber before it grew to such enormous proportions. I’ve scooped the seeds and pulp and added some water to ferment for a couple of days. Then I will dry the seeds that don’t float and save them for next year. This plant has been more successful than prior efforts to grow pickling cucumbers. They may have cross-pollinated with the Persian cucumber, but I’m trying to expand my seed-saving beyond the easy herbs and greens.
I won’t know how well I’ve done until next year, when I try to grow cucumbers from these seeds. There is a sense of connection to the cycles of life, with such required patience with the changes of season.
And the cucumber falling from the vine, ripe, and ready to go to seed, is a line in the Maha Mrityunjaya mantra, chanting to release and aid the passage of spirit from this realm of consciousness.