If only wishing could make it so, this yearning of a few for so many countless generations. I will be examining, for the new year, what I can do to diminish conflict in my own life–because that I can do.
What more is there to a full existence?
It should come as no surprise to those who have taken my classes or have been reading this blog with some regularity, that an incredibly important source of inspiration is my library. At the suggestion of my fabulous web designer, who is currently in graduate school for library sciences, I have gone live with a library page. Given the nature of a blog; everything I have read is really part of its bibliography; this is the much edited version. I am using Library Thing, which is a fascinating space for book nerds in the electronic universe. I hope that you will enjoy this opportunity to expand the dialogue about books in our lives, our studies, and our practices.
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.
How we collectively yearn for the light, though we seek it in different ways! For anyone who can tell me exactly where I took each of these photos, I will give a donation to charity in your name (total for all persons guessing correctly $250). Hint: All photos except the last, which was taken this morning, were taken on the solstice, and I did not go out of my way to take the photos.
For finer photos, take a look on line at what photographers with big lenses and tripods (or maybe even telescopic cameras) have done. If I’d gone for a walk, I could have taken a picture of a big red moon over the dome. I’m just imagining that I did that (imagination sometimes being as good as the “real thing”), as I get ready to get back into bed under a cat for another hour and half of sleep before getting up to practice.
