Abundance

Sufferers of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, COPD, are classified as either blue bloaters or pink puffers.  Blue because of diminished oxygen-carrying capacity of the lungs.  Pink because of normal oxygenation.  Anecdotally, the blue bloaters, despite having little oxygen, tend to talk.  A lot.  Little roly poly people with little reserve to talk, still they talk, and gab, and fill the air with their words.  Wonder why that is.  And where all those words come from.

Any why the words of this entry do not fit the picture of the treasure found in the drawer yesterday.  Sweet!  There will be stickers on all the light switches, the refrigerator, envelopes, doorways, lamps, chairs, cars, breakfast plates, airplane, and flight log books.  For today is Jim's biannual flight review, overseen by his personal flight instructor.  Goob Luck!

New Digs

Of the 41 possible New Year's resolutions that I listed, only 5 seemed lofty.  The remainder is housekeeping.

The first is; Make the air sweeter around you.

See, if this is practiced with sweeter words, kinder actions, and more positive thoughts, not only does it benefit me, it also makes things better for others.  And the sweet air doesn't stop in New England.  It circulates all around the planet.  This reminded me of a little book (copyright 1989) that I recently dug out and read again.

Measurable, not airy-fairy.  And the first in this book is "Stop Junk Mail".  Sweet!
Back then, the address to opt out of junk mail was to Direct Marketing Association at a NY PO Box.
A 2007 article from MSNBC showed several websites to opt out, depending on the type of junk mail received.

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/18530707/ns/today-money/t/sick-mailbox-full-flyers-credit-card-offers/#.Tww77oE4SSp

These days I send back the junk in the prepaid envelopes, writing on the front GO AWAY, or something to that effect.  Not very sweet.  But I have a year to practice.  Goob Luck!

Rearranging the Furniture on the Titanic

The Novelist is going down!

Not to worry.  The spirit of the blog lives on.  The Coaches have become fellow travelers, and Julie becomes an Adventurer.  The title could be changed to "50,000 adventures in a month".  That's about 2,273 adventures per day for the remainder of January.  But for now I'm not letting go of the title.  It's like clinging to a life preserver in freezing waters and singing warm songs.  Words are easier to come by and often safer than adventures.  Nevertheless, words make adventures, for in the beginning...

There were the 50,000 words.

Jan 8

There are some people who cannot suspend, for even one moment, a staunch belief system, when doing so would allow a chance for the scariest or the most beautiful ideas to appear.  And there are others who have no belief system at all, no boundaries, who fly off like the lightest of cotton fibers at the whim of the wind.  The day is dawning here, light slowly crawling down the trees.  Time to decide which of these, the anvil or the wisp, will provide the greatest benefit today.

Jan 7

The ice fishermen, those obnoxious insensitive ones, invaded yesterday before we could get our skating rink identified.  They plopped down their tip-ups, drilled holes not twenty-five feet off our dock, and made a mess of the smooth ice.  I warned the fish to stay away, and tried to get the rain to drive them off.  But they only stayed and stayed.

Dog one, fish zero.

Maybe if we shovelled off a rink, they would stay away next time.  For some reason they feel entitled to the spot directly in front of the house.  So do we.  A conflict ensues.  A story is born.

Epiphany

Looks like yesterday would have been the day to ice skate.  Almost a perfect glassy surface.

Today the snow surprised us at daybreak, just a dusting to an inch predicted.

But it is enough to hide the cracks and divots in the ice beneath.

Last night I thought of the Path of Fire and Light, today the thoughts are of sitting in front of the Lighted Fire.  Today is a celebration of the Day of the Light, the lightbulb, the Magi, the manifestation of spirit in physical form, the sudden realization after hard labor; The Epiphany.  The chemical structure of the benzene ring was said to be a fireside epiphany to the scientist, Kekule, in the form of the Worm Ouroboros, a snake swallowing its own tail.  My fireside reveries will probably be romance novels and Dr. Zhivago in winter.

Twelfth Night

Twelve drummers drumming...

This coming night is supposed to be one of merriment, celebrating the final days of Christmas.  Which means this is the last day of Christmas.  Which means that tomorrow you must - Drum roll, drummers

TAKE DOWN YOUR WREATHS!

and move on.  Otherwise the mad inspector will be required to finger shoot all the leftovers hanging on barn doors, fences, window treatments, icehouses.  It can be exhausting as an inspector.

Frosty night

A couple days ago we had a night of rain on top of the frozen lake.
Now it is 6 degrees and the ice is booming, "makin' ice" Jim says.

We visited Evelyn yesterday, nearly a month old, weighing 9 pounds.  She ate, pooped, cried, and slept, about what one would expect.  Jim was very careful with her, having high hopes for a new Packer Backer.

Unlike the 5 pound bag of peanuts he tackled and manhandled later on.

Jan 3

Samana jayaj jvalanam.  Y.S. 3.41

By mastery over the vital energy that equilibrates (between assimilation and elimination), the body attains radiance, sometimes depicted as a halo or aura.

The coffee spot on the shelf is empty but for one lone coffeecup exhibiting a halo.  Mastery this morning involves gearing up, driving out in the cold to the nearest coffee shop drive through, and running my errands while drinking coffee that someone else made.  Heavenly!



Jan 2

Udana jayaj jala panka kantakadishvasanga utkrantis cha.

Y.S. 3.40

By gaining mastery over the upward moving energy, one can successfully levitate over water, swamps, thorns, and the like, and leave the body at will.

Levitation

Photo by Matt Sartain

Disruptions in the upward moving energy include coughing and sneezing.  Recently I have been doing that a lot.  The lightness of being is playing coy, avoiding this watery, phlegmy space.  My chest sometimes feels like it's slogging through swamps and thorns, unable to dance or breathe.  Gaining mastery is fine, but how does one go about it?  This week I am eliminating wheat and gluten from the diet.  Maybe next week I'll levitate.

Rabbit Rabbit

Hippo Gnu Bear!

The incredible lightness of a new year!

The heavenly peace of thin ice and no ice augers drilling holes out front at 8 AM on New Years Day!

Things are looking rosy, peachy, bowl-of-cherries, glass full rather than half full.

This prediction cannot fail;

Expect communications today from someone you love.

Eve

The reins of reigning rain, this time in the form of freezing fog, prevents much safe travel in these parts this morning.

The rooster crows to a cloud-covered dawn.
"Bugger off!" I say to him, clutching vainly to the departing dreams of an old year.
Even though it is tempting to spend the day drinking martinis, sitting in front of the fire, eating peanuts in the shell and reading romances, there are these new ideas floating around yet to be put into form, whispy tendrils brushing up against the canvas to be painted, viewed and spotlighted.  One more day.

Dec 30

Tidying up before the year turns its page, the five bad attitudes of aviation rear up:
Resignation; "What's the use?"
Invulnerability; "It won't happen to me."
Impulsivity; "Do something quickly!"
Macho;  "I can do it."
Antiauthority; "Don't tell me!" (how to live my life).

And of course, like snake venom, there is an antidote to each bite of bad attitude.  The first antidote is acceptable; "I'm not helpless.  I can make a difference."
But I don't like the last four;
"It could happen to me."
"Not so fast.  Think first."
"Taking chances is foolish."
"Follow the rules.  They are usually right."

ATC to the rescue

Dec 29

What now?

Walk more.

That was yesterday's tally of steps at the end of the day.  Today will be less walking, more driving back through the I-84 corridor, through Danbury, Waterbury, Hartford, then Worcester, etc., snow tires roaring on the bare pavement, weaving in and out between cars and trucks.  Just in time to craft some resolutions that are measurable.

Dec 28

Wednesday in PA.  Freezing rain at the end of the year.  Woke late; missed morning activities, meditation, yoga class.  You can bet I won't miss breakfast.  Saw who I needed to see the first two hours of arrival.

Now what?