Plan B

A fairly good idea I've had in the works for awhile now got a few holes shot into it earlier today. Over the past several years, I've learned to not only to accept that things normally don't work in their first draft, but I've more or less learned to expect it. Writing goes through a series of drafts--why shouldn't life?


Time for Plan B.


People have all kinds of reasons for seeing that things just won't work; this is an inherited skill that we humans have honed over thousands of years. We're pretty good at it. However, there are some of us out there that are either too stubborn or too caught up in the "what if" to stop at the first juncture.


We have a Plan B.


Plan B is a lifesaver; it keeps the world moving forward. It doesn't allow for stagnation or, worse yet, losing progress earlier made.


Interestingly, when I returned to my computer and the Twitter feed, a TED talk appeared. TED talks are amongst my favorite things. They're intelligent, forward thinking, and those giving the talks have a Plan B. This particular talk was entitled, "The Antidote to Apathy". I stopped and listened; it was 18 minutes of pure gold. If you'd like to listen and be encouraged and inspired, it's at http://on.ted.com/96iN 

Life will hand us roadblocks...we can survive and thrive in spite of them...with a Plan B.

Layers of Life

Happily, I am able to head back to the deck to do some meandering today. Specifically, I headed to the hammock on the patio by my office to do some thinking. While taking in all the silence of humans and cacophony of nature, I heard one of my favorite sounds. There was a bird nearby by that was performing in its best voice, which is always enjoyable. But what really set it off was that great sound of a bird back in the woods, singing its heart out as well, but adding that element of a slight echo that filled the surrounding area in the woods. You know that sound? Listen for it the next time you're close to a woods. Fantastic. Nature's sound system. 


It's that layering effect that makes everything in life a little sweeter, a little softer, a little easier on the ears and eyes. It puts our lives into stereo. The aesthetic touch that makes a human a little more human.


I've been a parrothead for many year; for those of you who aren't familiar with that odd fellowship, it's the folks who enjoy Jimmy Buffett's songs and stories. I have very few collections since I'm not much on keeping on one subject, but I have amassed quite a bit of Jimmy's music. He's one of those artists that has created some iconic music throughout the years. However, one of my favorite songs he wrote and performs comes from a less than memorable attempt at a musical. This song speaks of those layers of life in a vernacular I can also easily identify with--cooking: "Layers and layers of spices and flavors are finding their way to my brain." When I first heard those words, it made perfect sense to me. It IS all about the layers.


As a lover of being behind the camera, I look at life in layers. It's the photographers' eye that is always looking for the layers through the lens. It's the layers that bring focus to the subject of the shot. Even the extensive void of white or black as a background creates a layering effect that envelopes a specific focal point.


Our lives are richer when we celebrate all the layers. Don't squander time picking and choosing single events; let it all be a part of the sounds, the smells, the sights.


Have a fine day.

The Hesitancy of Spring

We all reveled in the beauty that was spring at its finest early last week. Daffodils, hyacinths, forsythia, and crocus practically sprung from the ground and scented its surroundings with a fragrance that is unique to this time of year. There was some heat in the sun, and we all reacted accordingly like cats in a sunbeam--we stretched, we smiled, we purred with happiness.


Then came last weekend and reality of how spring can be so hesitant in its ownership of this time of the year. The wind blew, the temperature dropped, the snow fell and covered all the wondrous signs of spring. The green grass became once again a lawn of white; the flowers became white misshapen piles of snow. Our moods went from lightness and warmth and airiness to darkness and chills and the urge to hibernate came once again. 


Ah, the hesitancy of spring; it peeks through and gives us hope, only to shy away once again at the first inkling of the forces of winter wanting one more day in the spotlight.  Just when we think that spring has regained a foothold over its old nemesis, it disappears and the cold wind, the cold rain, and the dampened spirits return.


Keep the faith, dear friends--every day that takes us one day further into the season of spring brings the promise that the warmth will stay, the trees will leaf out, and our spirits will soar once again.

Wintertime

Wintertime is a rough time for many people. This winter has been particularly miserable for many with all the ice, snow, sub-zero wind chills, etc. These extremes in weather have caused a great many people to hibernate in their homes, many times against their better judgement. People are social and this weather doesn't encourage sociability. I've seen many folks--young and old and in-between--fall into a true case of the winter doldrums. It takes getting out, getting moving, and getting with others to turn this around. What to do in the meantime?
Remember all those lists compiled (either on paper or mentally) of things that we would be doing once we weren't out doing yard work, home repairs, vacations, etc.? How about tackling that list? Most people just look at the list and decide they're just not in the mood or don't have enough energy to do this. The truth of the matter is that we DO have just as much energy; our brains are just telling us otherwise. We're full of cobwebs this time of year. We need to feel a warm breeze, see a sprig of green, have a few more minutes of daylight. But we DO still have energy.
So...let's use that energy. Look at one item on the list. Re-arrange the photo albums? Clean out a closet and take the clothes to a local charity shop? Pick one job. DO IT. You'll feel great! Your energy will return, you'll turn the corner of cob-webbiness and, before you know it, you'll have many of these chores done just in time to step out into the first warm breeze and feel that spring sunlight on your face.
Have a fine day...

Why Reward the Expected?

I was reading an article the other day and found something to be somewhat surprising and, at the same time, odd. It was a discussion about school-age students and their behavior. It was actually being stressed that kids should be rewarded--and quite often-- for their good behavior.

When did this happen? Time warp...back some 30, 40+ years...we "middle agers" are kids. What on earth would have been thought of our parents if one of them suggested that we be rewarded for behaving? Right. After being laughed out of the room, they might have been shunned, at least for a time, for such an outlandish idea. And, as a result of being expected to behave, we grew up and learned to behave pretty well as adults. We knew we wouldn't always get our way, we knew we wouldn't win nearly every contest or competition, we knew that the world didn't revolve around us, and we knew that our parents truly loved us without the need to prove it in materialistic ways. We knew we were expected to behave--so we did. End of story.

I truly hope that this phenomena doesn't last much longer; it's not healthy for anyone. Not for the parents that become somewhat crazed by listening for every microbit of information that might present itself as a child not being told how wonderful he/she is on an hourly basis. Not for the kids that think that behaving is something that presents itself as a suggestion to be considered. Not for society that continually cleans up the messes of these fractured ways of thinking.

Guess what...no matter who you are, no matter what you are...you have to learn to behave. No rewards. No pats on the back. No atta-boys. Just plain behave.

Year-End Meandering

2010 will soon be a memory...or memories. As we sit here all cozy in our Highbanks nest on this New Year's Eve, we are watching a special on John Wooden, a man who graced this fine planet for close to 100 years. One rule that his father gave him as a young man was to "make each day your masterpiece". What a lovely thought. Upon waking each morning, rather than wondering what will be faced as a reaction to the world, we would awaken with a pro-active presence of mind of what we can do, be, or say to create a masterpiece of a day not only for ourselves, but for others as well.

Thinking back over the year, there are certainly more masterpieces that could've been created...perhaps 2011 will be the year of our best masterpieces. Happy New Year's Eve!

Keep It Simple, Turkey

As I was sipping a cup of coffee Sunday morning, I was listening to the morning news program on NPR. The topic was recipes for the Thanksgiving table and the guest was a cookbook critic. She was asked first what was the most elaborate recipe she’d found for turkey preparation. She sighed and then went into a long, somewhat laborious overview of a “project” that would take, in all reality, at least 72 hours to do well. Just like the first Thanksgiving, right? In a way, yes…

The Pilgrims, of course, didn’t have the stress of getting the bird thawed in time to make that little red button pop at just the right time for cooling and carving. They did, however, need to actually find the bird, kill it, pluck it, pick out the buckshot or arrow, etc. Then there was that issue of the heat for the cooking of said turkey. Cutting wood, building a fire, keeping it going (did it snow during the cooking process thus dampening the fire?)…misery, in a word. All this is the most extreme conditions.

And so, some 400+ years later, here we are “stalking” our birds still (some ordering from some far-away farm for the “just right” bird), brining, thawing, wringing our hands—the 21^st century version of extreme conditions. Just how often does the basic cook tackle cooking something that has 20 pounds of girth?

The best way to honor our ancestors is in gaining wisdom from their travails. So, let’s keep it simple this Thanksgiving. No orange/pomegranate/coconut/curry stuffing that 90 percent of the guests around the table will politely taste while secretly yearning for a taste of oyster, or sage ,or whatever simple dressing is made faithfully year after year after year.  Let’s save the extravagant and questionable recipes for a separate occasion. Thanksgiving is the one holiday that has probably been the least adulterated—let’s keep it simple, turkey.

Have a fine day.