Day #58: May Spring Creep In

#58

cowbells . . .

the pasture view

never the same

Vince Tripi

Meet Vince. Vince is a poet and a Coop Community member. Today we had a really wonderful conversation about my book, his book, the world and its problems. He told me a really poignant story about when he was with Family Services in New Jersey a while ago. It broke my heart. I'm trying to get him to write it for this blog. We'll see if he does it.

Meanwhile, I have had about five or six sweater stories given to me this week. Keep them coming folks. They are really fun to write, and if you can, take a photo of the sweater, too. I have a photo of me wearing the sweater in college somewhere. I'll try to scan it. I really do think it would make a nice small book.
Spring is coming. 9 days before we set our clocks forward and light prevails. It was really sunny today, I sat in a sunny window for 2 hours and read. I've been doing a lot of writing this week like I said I would. These stories are complicated and they are other peoples' stories to be treated with the utmost respect. It's hard not to get a little paralyzed around it. But they are coming and that is partially due to the sun's return.

A reoccurring theme this week has been learning to be in the moment, or being present in a given moment. I, too, am working on this. It is part of my forgiveness work. I still feel that I am so unaware of what it is I need to forgive; one believes they know and then all of a sudden something different is in one's face. I think the older we get the more cluttered our brains get, or the fuller our brains get and that taking moments to meditate or be in prayer or do something intentional that takes you out of your own mind, like playing an instrument, becomes essential. Doing these things erase the static or the chaos and let one start thinking again in a clearer manner.
Recently I have been doing palates in the water with a teacher who treats it like yoga. I leave the pool and get into the hot tub and it brings me back into balance. I am ready to work on the book. I am ready to be present and listen. I have to remember to intentionally breathe during the day, too.
I am looking forward to Spring. I am looking forward to using all of these methods of being in the world when there is more light, warmer temperatures and new pictures to take. I am ready to go back to singing and I am excited by the prospect of beginning to write up my interviews. Spring holds many new things for me this year. Very cool.