29 July 2011

Writer's block - is pandora's box is empty or overly full

I have been struggling to write lately. I cannot figure out if I have just said all that I need to say- aka- that my life is not that interested to capture on paper or...... do I have so many thought swirling in my head that I'm afraid of what would come out if I actually did sit down and write.

I am absolutely terrified of the blank page and find that when I do sit down to write I usually can't write fast enough. So, I am guessing it is the latter issue.

Thus, I will try to write for 10 minutes a day and let out what lay inside inside in bite-sized amounts.....

Showing up w/ Snowflake

I would like to show up more.

Show up more with myself and as a result (I think) those around me. Maybe in showing up more for those around me I'll end up finding that I am there for me more as well. Which order is which?

Snowflake's modeling his profile
One new addition to what I find myself consistently committing myself to lately is my cat, Snowflake. We have a routine now but this is a new phenomenon, maybe due to the fact that I am showing up for him and building some kitty trust that I will be there the next day and the next. At first, he did not distinguish me from anyone else at the coop willing to feed him. But, through the dance we all play in coming together into relation with each other, we now reciprocate a "being there"-ness that evokes joy and love I never thought I would understand about pets.

He has two dinner times - one around 5-6 pm and one later... between 9-11pm.  Why these times, because that is when I come home usually to eat dinner and exercise (at my house or at yoga, etc) before heading back out for work / study/ who knows what pt. 2 of my work-day at coffee-shops around town. Without fail the past couple weeks he is waiting for me on the steps up to the my unit at the cooperative looking out at the parking lot. When I ride up on my bike he purrs his deaf cat sad/scary sound that I know equals sounds of love & excitement. He prances into my house and eats while I pet him for 15 minutes or so. If I stop petting him while eating he'll stop eating and follow me around the apartment so I go back to petting him because I want my skinny Snowflake to eat a full dinner.

Whereas he used to run out as soon as I'd open the door and let him, now he usually lingers as long as I'm doing something. He plays with his simple, cheap dead mouse toy, the only I've bought that he shows any interest in... and plays with it for hours. I love the playfulness he brings to the house and that he brings out in me. I reminder not to take life so seriously.

Yes, I pet him while he eats. He is a well-loved
(read: semi-spoiled cat)


But also a reminder of the love that comes after lust. My lust phase passed quickly with Snowflake as early on he bit me a lot, did not use the litter box and would tear my house apart if I'd leave him inside to go out for an errand. I was still enamored but it definitely kept things real. I never planned to have a pet so I guess I don't have the same expectations and sense of the ideal  that I do for people and so it's much harder for him to disappointment me. But more than that, I think there is a pleasant contentment factor at work that keeps us both coming back for more than is overlooked today.

Snowflake shows up for me and I show up for him and there is a comfort in that. A contentment, dare I say. It is not complacency as there is too much happiness and love wrapped into our nightly interactions. I wish that more people I knew were interested in the bonds that can form through merely consistently being there. I may not give the highs of lust, romantically or first meetings between friends but it is the subtle positive feeling that lasts and that is there day after day. And there is an excitement as I pull up to my apartment on my bike to see Snowflake waiting for me.

In this one example, I see how much my initial efforts at establishing a connection and instilling a loyalty around that connection have paid off. If I was there intermittently he would not wait for me in the evenings. If I was not there almost every night then I would not experience this shining bright light that illuminates the end of my day long after the sun has gone down. I love my cat and I think he loves me and in showing up for him, it generates the candle wax that allows me to burn and be a light for others more than before I had him.

Maybe there is something to this showing up for others then. Maybe it is not ecstasy but the simple joys that yield the lasting, powerful connections in life.... or life lines, really.

24 July 2011

SWF seeks light

27 yr. old single female seeking light. Enjoys long walks during dim light of the beginning and ending of the day. Candlelight dinners. The rays of sunlight shining on me at the beach. Seeking one with the imagination capable of feeling the brightness of stars, the reflection of light all around, and (en)lightening flashes (literal and metaphorical). Enduring burning a plus especially one who self-generates the fuel to burn. Burning at the end of a cigarette is not a plus. Burning to be light in the presence of others or to illuminate reality is a plus. Serious replies only except for the (de)lightful playful variety. Inquire within.

22 July 2011

An amphibious transformation

Albeit working 20 hours a week and taking some classes here and there at Duke now with a semester graduate class planned for the fall...... I am applying the "yama" of "tapas" to maintain a depth of engagement in the working world.

I have finally, after 27 years, realized that placing my effort on the balance instead of flowing with societies riptide pulling me out far into the sea. Being an amphibian might just be the key to a sustainable healthier and happier life. When I do feel the pull, instead of fighting the current, I'll just glide effortlessly over to the side until the urge or pressure passes.

Not making much sense.... let me jump back six months to my very unhealthy, busy aquatic life..... (read more)

11 July 2011

A window from heart to heart - arms waving

Friend,
there's a window
that opens from heart to heart
and there are ways of closing it 
completely, not a needle's eye
of access. open or shut, both ways
are sometimes appropriate 
the deepest ignorance is not to know
about this window. when houses live
side by side with windows open, 
that's the embrace we want, a place where great souls
can stopover and rest. i'll say just
one more image and not explain. 
when david works with metal, he likes to melt down
locks and chains and forge them
into new shapes with his art. 
a shout comes from my room
where i've been cooped up.
after all my lust and dead living
i can still live with you
you want me to.
you fix and bring me food
you forget the way i've been. 
the ocean moves and surges
in the heat of the middle of the day
in the middle of the thought
i'm having.
why aren't all human resistances
burning up with this thought? 
it's a drum and arms waving.
it's a bonfire on the top edge of a hill
this meeting again with you.

- RUMI