Signs Around Town
Peace and light, E — Posted with WordPress for BlackBerry.
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Best Possible Holiday Walkabout
I may have a nagging cough from a cold that started over a week ago, and it might not have been the ideal of a walk in the woods with a beloved, but I had the best walkabout possible today. The air was mild, and the rain held off until mid-afternoon, leaving plenty of time to get out and appreciate the day. Enjoying that I did not need hat or gloves, I walked for a couple of hours around the neighborhood before I went to the Sunday jam to dance. I picked up a few things that I needed, said hi to neighbors who were also out walking, and looked at trees and clouds and invited myself to be filled with gratitude for what I have.
I was thinking about the exhortation to have the “best possible day.” Before I started my walk, I got an email from a friend about setting a date for lunch, and she said that she’d had the best holiday possible. I think it was in response to my wishing her such–the best holiday possible, that is.
I’ve long stopped exhorting people to have a happy holiday or a merry christmas because I have no idea what might be going on with them (or, I do have an idea). I have enough friends, neighbors, co-workers, and acquaintances who are facing serious challenges–illness, difficulties with work or difficulties getting work, kids stumbling to get through life, relationship complications, elder care navigations, loss of a loved one, or loneliness–that wishing a happy holiday might be kind of clueless. And then there is the state of society and the world.
Thus, I wish that we are able to recognize and experience what we have that is good (while working to make healthier and more life-enhancing choices/changes for the things that are not good that can be changed) and bring out the best in ourselves in navigating all of life–the best possible holiday, day, year, etc.
Shiva Lingam?
This fountain is at the main entrance (not on the Mall, but around the corner) to the Department of Labor. It is only on every once and a while, and I do not usually use this entrance, so the fountain is not a main part of my relationship to the building.
One day, a couple of years ago, when I was sitting quietly near the fountain to get some soothing energy from the sound of the water and being outside, I thought about how much it resembled a shiva lingam. Was I seeing symbols that were not intended? Was the artist pulling one over on the government by submitting a design that carried symbolism that, in 1974, would not have been acceptable to many in charge? Was the symbolism there and understood when the design was permitted to be implemented? Do the answers to any of those questions matter with the fountain and all its imagery present in all its effusion?
Whether It Feels Too Soon or Not (Day Light Savings Time Is Arriving)
It still does not seem right to have daylight savings time start before the equinox. I remember it used to be the first night I cooked outside. Now it is always too cool and not quite light enough, and my morning meditation goes back to finishing before it is light. Whether it matches with the weather or my mood, though, it is here this weekend. I’ve had a much more intense work week than usual, which is resulting only partly from having been out of town for the previous week. The coming weekend promises to be very full (assuming all goes as anticipated) with teaching my own class and studying with Ross Rayburn up at Willow Street both Saturday and Sunday, trying to go out to see some friends dance Saturday night, going to the contact improv jam on Sunday, and then having dinner with neighbors.
To try and not get too off cycle by getting a socially induced equivalent of jet lag, I am starting to get ready for bed an hour early tonight and planning to get to the office before 8 tomorrow morning. Try doing the same things you would do if changing time zones. Get plenty of rest, drink lots of fluids, keep down the caffeine intake and if you really want to have caffeine, make sure you stop drinking it earlier in the day than usual; have any protein in the morning and then dine lightly on grains and vegetables in the late afternoon or early evening. Don’t eat anything heavy at night. That way you will have energy when you wake up too early and be sleepy when it is time to go to bed way before you think it is.
And most important, use the change in time as an opportunity to celebrate the respective joys of shadow and light by having extra attention brought to them whether you will it or not. It is always exciting the first night, particularly if it is warmish and bright as is in the forecast, that it stays light unnaturally late.
