Live and Let Die

Live and Let Die

The concept of Live and Let Live has been circulating a lot in my brain and energy sphere for over a week now. Aside from being a nice bumper sticker for some,  I like the whole concept of keeping my own O2 mask on first and letting others do the same, if they choose. Too often I find myself offering “help” in one form or another when I sense potential danger or heartache or trouble down the way of someone else’s path.  Operative word “potential”.

Sometimes I just hold my breath and bite my tongue and “let live”, other times, particularly when it comes to business or those really close to me I’ll “speak out” from my sage place of wisdom and “offer unsolicited advice”.  Sometimes this is taken, other times I get the polite nod and folks go about their “living”.

Business is a trip, because I am supposed to be entrusted with people’s money and vision. Of late, when I offer suggestions that could save ga-zillions in man hours or money, the suggestions are flushed fairly summarily and they go on “living”, albeit from my perspective a bit poorer and lot later than I think they should be. Operative word “should”.

I am a HUGE James Bond fan. When I was a kid I would read Ian Fleming’s books and was thrilled when I got to see my 1^st Bond film. (BTW – Did you know Fleming also wrote Chitty-Chitty Bang-Bang….neither did I…) Anyway, the tuxes, martinis, women all appealed to me and I was certain that British Intelligence would certainly want a guy like me should he ever retire.

Fast forward a couple of decades and I found myself in France on the Rivera. A short morning drive took me through the magnificent countryside with the sea on my right. Soon I shot through the last tunnels to Monaco and then into Monte Carlo, THE Monte Carlo.

I spent a day checking out all the “hot spots” including the castle, port and casinos. As I strolled through town I marveled at the architecture, couture, cars, boats and bejeweled beauties of each sex. It was a magical day, ending with sensory overload.

 At the end of the day I can offer all the suggestions, advice and guidance in the world to whoever I choose and no one is obliged to take any of it. Sometimes I forget this, despite being paid for just this “input”.  My thinking today is that I need to take a cue from 007 and give the advice only when asked, only without attachment and be prepared to ……………..“Live and Let Die”…..

Then stand back and observe what clues emerge next……………

“Red wine with fish...Well that should have told me something”

Ctrl-Alt-Del

Ctrl-Alt-Del

It’s been over a week since my last post. I’ve written a bit on other topics for the future but have not felt the “spark” to keep up the flow on my daily posts.

My “misunderstanding” seems to have been worked out agreeably for both parties. It escalated, then waned, then escalated again until I just Ctrl-Alt-Del/ re-booted my brain & heart and went back to a blank screen with my internal command prompt and started from scratch.  Sometimes it’s best to just gesso over a canvas and start again, add in some humans and it gets a bit more complex. I remain positive.

Edy and I took some time this morning to visit the zoo. Reasons were also many but the primo was because we can and it’s only 15 minutes from us. The day was lovely with full sun and a slight breeze with temps only in the mid 70’s.  

We cringed as the local mom’s and grandmom’s smacked the crap out of their kids for various reasons. I think it’s a southern thing  (like bigotry) that just keeps being passed along down the gene pool…………Both make me sad.

To contrast this we found a group of elephants having breakfast. As the hay piles dwindled the matriarch took it upon herself to give a bit of home schooling to the youngsters before it got too hot and the food all gone. She casually took a trunk full of hay down to the watering hole and just stood there with it. She kicked it a bit than moved it right, then left a few times until the two babies got interested and came over to see what the heck was going on. As the two “toddlers” stood close she wadded up a bit of her hay and soaked it in the water and slurp-ate it. She then did it again with both youngsters looking on. First the older then the younger tried it with clumps of hay that were either too big or small or too wet or dry. “Momma” was very patient and let them figure it out for themselves again and again until the hay was gone.

The next lesson was how to cool yourself off with water in your trunk. “Momma” took a big trunk full and sprayed  up her right flank, then left , then showed off with a grand “over the top” move that got them all wet. Sure enough the youngsters started mimicking her, first with minimal success then with greater and greater success until the little guy above just plopped down on his side directly IN the pond and showed that HE KNEW another way…………. It was charming and just what we needed.

Of course the redneck families were nowhere to be found for this event. They were probably hiding in the bushes to take a smoke, toke, nip or offering out another smack so the little ones would “act like a #*ucking lady”…………………….ugh. I once knew a guy in France who would do a perfect “American Impersonation” by screaming at the top of his lungs…. “ BRENDA !!! – BRENDA !!! Where the Hell are those GD KIDS !!! ………….It sounded just like my cousin in MO,  I’m so embarrassed of my white-trash roots !

So, as a little treat for those of you that may ever have to deal with humans I offer the following link:   

5 Love Languages

http://www.5lovelanguages.com/assessments/love/

You’ll figure it out as you delve into it. I have found it fascinating and very helpful and added it to my arsenal of tools for human interactions. Sometimes it’s just easier on everyone if I too “know” what the heck is going on and avoid the Ctrl-Alt-Del scenario as much as possible.   

Preminders



Preminders

 

I read of this word earlier today and it could not have come at a more perfect time. Essentially it means just what it says – It’s a pre-warning to a reminder. It was first coined by a Mom in a parenting group as an ease into for children but I have taken it and will be using it a lot.

It was one hot motha’ today – In the 90’s outside and over 100 in my head as I was fuming for most of the day. Hot Yoga and a hotter bike ride moved the energy but did not dispell the lump in my heart.  Human nature continues to be better than TV when it comes to anyone who enters my sphere of influence of late. I have been feeling for a long time that things have been shifting and frankly have always equated the discomfort with “bad” as it requires introspection and magnification and heaven forbid change. One after another folks are brought into my fold to test and retest me . I am now seeing and more importantly feeling that all of this shedding of old ways is actually allowing something quite new to emerge and although it is still uncomfortable I am less resistant …….(a teensy weensy bit less resistant).  

It’s easy to point the fingers at others when things go wrong but another thing entirely when I bear a part of the responsibility too. The good news is that I no longer take on the full load which I will give myself a high –five for right now.

I currently have an ongoing mis-understanding with another human. I know it’s not unusual but this one escalated rapidly into messiness. Yes, it’s just a misunderstanding but it has already taken up way more energy than I am willing to give it and now I need to find a way to resolve it. My preference is for it to go away with a resounding “Hell YES !!” for both of us …but, at this moment I am at a loss as to how to get there from my end ……….(which is the only one that I have any control of anyway), and continue to seek guidance on the subject.

The crazy thing about this whole situation was that I pre-minded myself about it as my “gut” knocked gently, then harder then harder ………..and then others pre-minded me about it too. “Hey, isn’t this just like ….x….y….z….???? “Perhaps” , I said moving forward full steam ahead. .”Perhaps, BUT, “I’m keeping an eye on it so that it doesn’t go the way of x,y,z”……(cautious, sensitive, wonderful communicator that I am)……………..driving straight into the rocks !!! "Autopilot" will get me everytime.

There is a saying I use which is sad but sometimes true. “Humans don’t change unless it hurts bad enough”. This comes in handy while waving my scepter over the masses…………but takes on a completely different meaning when looking in the mirror……………ugh.

So, if by chance you ever see me looking like I want to drive toward ….x, y, z – Please do your best to pre-mind me and I will do my best to pre-member and adjust accordingly………(fingers crossed) .   

Clarity

Clarity

We’ve had a whirlwind Easter and are winding down for the evening. French Toast in the AM followed by an Easter egg hunt and special surprises and then on to the swimming pool for another 5 hours of sun and fun. Wow. I blew off yoga but said my prayers anyway.

Our favorite five year old dolphin girl hardly took time to eat lunch as she honed her skills from one end of the pool to the other. Mask and fins are a slam dunk already and the snorkel is working its way into the show more and more each day. Her 6 month old brother watched the happenings intently and took a few chances to let his feet dangle in the water while being held. The water feature at the other end of the pool spurted out about as much water as the drool his teething mouth emitted so it was a competition all day as to who could be better in the flow. The six month old was a shoe in.

One awkward grandpa moment was when I asked the dolphin girl to spit into her scuba mask to decrease the fogging only to find out that she did not know how to do it. “Spit” I said and she did a raspberry. “No Dolphin Girl, get a bunch of moisture in your mouth and spit it into the glass, wipe it around and then rinse it out of the mask before you put it on”…………………more raspberries……..I took the mask turned my back to her so as to not spoil her innocence and “did the deed” for her and for the sake of “clarity”. The Grandsons and I would already have a distance game going; I could not bring myself to explain further to the “flippered one”.

I was in and out of the water with her during the day, going through our doubles routine(s).  Distance swimming, spins, shoulder stands and other forms of showing off for Grammy and Mom……… Oh, yes, she showed off too.

We were very fortunate to have Dolphin Girl and her Mom living with us from 0 to 4 and are so happy to have them back in the fold after some time apart. The “commercial interruption period” feels at times to have been a “blink” and at other times “endless”. Having the new bonus of the 6 month old “King” as part of these new visits is an added plus we are savoring minute by minute.

During these visits there is a lot of cuddling, storytelling and questions. Cuddling reminds us all what our love feels like, the stories confirm what we feel in our hearts and our memories and the questions offer a bit of clarity for those times when things are just not adding up………

Throughout the afternoon while I lay out on the Chaise getting some sun, I would glance over at dolphin girl taking the mask off and trying her best to spit. Time and time again she would work intently at it and then just shake her head, not fully understanding the “why” ,  until she decided to try it again .........and again ..........and again……………for clarity.

Easter, et al

Provence                                       "Tilting with Jesus"                                                         c-2003

Easter, et al

Our visitors’ arrived yesterday and we have been having a blast swimming, coloring and hanging out. Edy and I took shifts today for yoga and I took off later in the morning to make the noon class. My 5 year old playmate was not thrilled about the departure but she gave me a nod nod as I left, knowing full well that more good times were in store for the rest of the day.

I ran into a fellow yogi on my way in to class and since we were both early sat out in the sunshine watching the butterflies and doves and chatted a bit about family and group energy.

I’m a big fan of sacred spaces as you know and I also dig when people gather for ceremonial occasions be it cultural, religious or just a pow wow. I respect the history that such ceremonies represent and can feel the vibe of the group. Certain self help groups are like that too and heck yoga is another perfect example.

When religion is involved it’s hard not to get off track into a negative spin about all that is negative about it and I try extra hard to just stay with the original intention of ceremony at hand and leave the other blah-blah at the door. In fact the same can be said for two humans in the same proximity so I just leave that for others in dark and smoky establishments to figure out because I stopped trying a long time ago.

The ritual and ceremony that revolve around Easter and Passover are among my favorites. I like the stories and the messages of hope and salvation and understand how they have continued as long as they have. Of course torture, slavery, generations in limbo and crucifixion are not the best examples of human behavior but our forefathers still had not learned that lesson not so long ago either…………….current fathers are not doing too much better IMHO…………….but let’s not go there, OK ?

Tomorrow we get to see all of our neighbors out and about in their finest yellows, pinks and violets.  I think there will be a lot of white hats and shoes too as the fashion marker shifts from deep to pastel pallets for the next few months. We plan to lay low and hang out more. We’ll hide a few Easter eggs and then swim, color and fit some yoga in before the sun sets. While in yoga I’ll say a few extra prayers for our Village, the ancestors I’ve never known and grandchildren yet to arrive and acknowledge their roles on the path.  Namaste’

Blooming

Blooming

I went to yoga solo this morning as we were expecting visitors from the west and Edy wanted to stay and prepare. Class was sparse at that hour and the instructor and I were the only representatives of our gender.  The 2^nd pose of the 26 is always the Half Moon Pose. I cannot remember the Indian name for it so we’ll just call it Demiluna-assana. Essentially you begin with your arms straight over your head with your fingers interlocked and your biceps at your ears (think steeple) . The dialog then tells you to stretch UP and out of your waist and then slowly to bend right. Bend deeper, waist forward, body back. Weight on your heels, breathing normal. Now push your left  hip forward and turn your shoulder out “like a flower petal blooming”………push down deeper and deeper…………change (do the same thing bending left).

Like most of these postures, they look pretty simple from a distance. They are actually quite complex and as a devoted yogi of almost 90 days I can assure you that it will be at least another 90 until I master them.  ............(joking…………….kind of)

The staff has been ribbing me lately because I seem to be  un-aging. In fact they said they were going to have to card me soon. I certainly do feel great. Rotator cuff issues have disappeared and my Achilles tendon is repairing itself. I can breathe full lungs and what was soft around my middle is firming up (slowly). I am enjoying it a lot, particularly with Edy and look forward to it daily.

I needed to run north to a project after class and hummed Bob Dylan’s  My Back Pages on my way up the interstate. …“Oh, I was so much older then, I’m younger than that now….”

The survey crew was fixing a flat tire when I arrived and I thought, “hum…. bad omen, ugh #1” as I walked past them toward the acreage of partially cleared land.  Underbrush was cleared but the dead wood was still standing, “ugh. #2”. Live Tree inventory will have to wait until next week, “ugh, #3” . As I continued around the site I turned to “follow my gut” and saw with pleasure that the good news was that the crews did NOT rip into the buried gas line that ran through that parcel as I was beginning to dread. So,  we’ll call it even and remove all of the ugh’s from today.

The first time I was on the property it was in a horrible state of drought. Last month it was a swamp and mosquito infested. Today through the magic of a big yellow Caterpillar we have diverted the water away from the site and can now begin our green spaces for our new park and sanctuary spaces.

As I was walking off the site I noticed that areas of ground that had dried out already had plants poking their heads out of the newly dried soil. Some had gone so far as to send out blossoms to get the life cycle started………………………like a flower petal blooming…

   

GROK revisited

GROK revisited

It’s pretty overcast today. Thunderstorms rolled through early this morning and I got up in the yellow pre-dawn and shut off the computer so as not to fry the electronics should a rogue bolt of lightning aim our way.  I walked out on the balcony a bit ago and can feel summer rolling in. So much for the survey crews I had scheduled for this morning.

Plants 1 – Project  0.

Edy and I took a spontaneous drive to the coast yesterday. We were looking for alternate beaches to the ones we already know and thought one particular area would hold promise. The drive was easy and we found the place without incident.  I spotted what I thought was a good Seafood restaurant and pulled in to see that it was not only a restaurant but also a fish market. Catch(es) were fresh and that started the stomach grumbling for what might be in store above in the dining area. It was an interesting set up as it was Viet-Cong owned (inside joke) and all the offerings of seafood  did  NOT have a Vietnamese twist but a bad Chinese twist and the experience turned out to be less than pleasing. The fact that I loaded my buffet plate like pre-yoga days of yore had nothing to do with it…………….I think.

As usual Edy and I had ongoing conversations about a myriad of topics and kept returning to our current favorite – COMMUNICATION.

Earlier she sent me two videos I really enjoyed; one on ants and the other on plant communication.    I found both quite fascinating and wondered further about the ability of the ants to intercept the plant signals and then “adjust accordingly”. This thinking continued through the night with me recalling that soil is mostly silica and therefore a crystalline transmitter and also the base of our computer chips today. This then branched into my currently reading a very good book on an IPAD and the fact that the glass (silica) used for the face of this tablet was 1^st invented in the 1960’s by Corning just about the same time Stranger in a Strange Land was written by RA Heinlein. It was in this book that the word GROK was 1^st used.  I particularly love the protagonists description of GOD as “one who groks”

I feel there is a great awakening occurring that is allowing me (and others) to move from verbal and written communication toward a more intuitive and familiar place of old where “gut feelings and more importantly “heart feelings” override what we see, read hear or “touch”. These “feelings are not tactile, they are part of the old web of interconnected transmitters we knew when we were just energy. Of course we are still energy we just forgot how to tune in and grok.

Edy and I have set April as the month to be shown where our “communication pipes” need tightening. It can be frustrating at times when we discover place we thought were tight are not, but more and more we give a “high five” at every leak or drip as it points the way toward stronger “connections”.  The exercise in itself has a touch of silliness to it from the start as given all we are learning the thought of “disconnect” is actually an impossibility at this point anyway.

Grok?