"We judge others by their behavior.  We judge ourselves by our intentions."  - Ian Percy

 "I have scarcely touched the sky and I am made of it."  - Antonio Porchia

silently sitting to view sparkles in the sky
i can't yet fathom being on a ball moving in space
no matter

This last month or so, I have changed my normal routine. I used to just be grateful to be safely home after work, ready to be inside with door locked behind me=time to relax, refresh alone.

Now, I have taken to sitting outside communing with the night sky, trees, passing breezes, clouds. It is such a peaceful feeling, feeling connected to something so large and beyond my measure. When I was younger, one of my favorite things was to go sit by the ocean late at night or in the early morning hours. Watching the night sky brings on a similar feeling with the clear sky like the calm ocean, and clouds like the flowing tides. Both amazing and wonderful views of the infinite world around us. I'm not sure if it calms, feeds or just plain pleases my soul. No matter,

"Unknowingly, we plow the dust of stars, blown about us by the wind, and drink the universe in a glass of rain". -Ihab Hassan

Change?

does change always feel lopsided
i see new wonderful interesting things
something discomforts me - it's bad


I was trying to post what is written below yesterday, but as I am still learning about change I had no luck and strange new error messages. (Insert heavy sigh here).


The clients scheduled to appear yesterday didn't. They should be online with us today.Still unnerved that their names did not make it to our department prior to them going "live".


Yesterday was uneven yesterday. Another couple of victories for me. Discovery that greatly assisted a client. Noted important missing information in another situation that will be updated and save us from a potentially serious problem. Followed by two emails to the boss with a typo in each that changed the meaning of the emails. Titter - totter.


And, I followed up by potentially offending a new employee as I felt I need to point out that form being sent clients really needed to need Los Angeles instead of FLos Angeles.




a wearing night of confusing dreams
gifts of the magnificent friendship of wolves
balanced by the ire of snakes




I am wondering if my unconscious is dealing with today's unknown. Last week, we had new clients as issues ensued that are not totally resolved. While I was amazed to identify one of the issues "myself", I am still unnerved at the thought there are supposed be more new clients today. Last week, we had list of new clients given to us several days prior. This week, no list. Only the mention that "they" want to migrate hundreds new clients to us as quickly as possible. As this will more than double our current client base, I am apprehensive.


All of life is a cycle of change with every breath with take, rotation of the planet, the entire lives of butterflies lived in days. Yet, we seem so emotionally troubled by change. Even what we think is an ill timed change of a stop light can set us off.


I just finished reading the book Sacred Visitations by Ceci Miller this morning (which I loved about her personal experiences with Siddha Yoga and her teacher Gurumayi).


The last sentences of her book were as follows:


"When life presents some surprising or challenging new person or event, Grace is asking, "Do you want to understand even more? Do you want to grow in compassion and love?" My advice is say yes."


Ok, personally, I think I am often shifting back to maybe. . .

"No object is mysterious. The mystery is in your eye." - Elizabeth Bowen

"Nothing is yet in its true form." - C.S. Lewis

"Be careful how you interpret the world: It is like that." - Erich Heller

"I thank you God for this most amazing day, for the leaping greenly spirits of trees, and for the blue dream of sky and for everything which is natural, which is infinite, which is yes."  - e.e. cummings

Wow, some unexpected minor triumphs
me calculating solutions to technological issues
well, not solutions, but resolutions

"The real mystery of life is not a problem to be solved, it is a reality to be experienced" -J.J. Van Der Leeuw

beleaguered by effects of corporate expediency
reluctant to return to new technological challenges
lacking immunity to overwhelm and struggle


“The greatest challenge to any thinker is stating the problem in a way that will allow a solution." -  Bertrand Russell

am i one of the harried urbanites
whose metal companions sit silently waiting
quietly in rows on painted tar fields

"It's hard to take over the world when you sleep 20 hours a day." - D. Conley



puddle of slush
fly in the ointment kind of week
with a beautiful fall backdrop

Skywatching

I spent a long time watching the sky when I came home tonight, the moons, the clouds, an unusually bright "star". After coming inside and reading the email below, I now know I looking at interesting planetary phenomena. When I was outside, I was having wistful thoughts about wanting to sleep under the "stars".

Here is an excerpt from an email from Monday. September Kathleen forwarded to me from spiritual teacher Peter Berry

CLOSE ENCOUNTER WITH JUPITER: Tonight, Earth and Jupiter converge for their closest encounter until 2022. The giant planet will soar overhead at midnight, outshining everything except the Moon itself. At this time, even a small telescope pointed at Jupiter will reveal the planet's moons, cloud belts and swirling storms.

If Jupiter is up at midnight, it must be opposite the sun: diagram. Indeed, astronomers call this "Jupiter's night of opposition."

In a coincidence of interplanetary proportions, Uranus is also at opposition tonight. This rare double opposition of two giant planets is a once-in-a-lifetime event. Unlike Jupiter, Uranus is barely visible to the naked eye, a result of its smaller size and greater distance. It looks great, however, through a small telescope. Just point your optics at Jupiter and you will find emerald Uranus about 1o away.

"Everything is a teaching. Nothing happens." - Ceci Miller

I.

coming home head wobbling
new technologies clash & fall in my lap
but, then i saw the sky

II.
what could be more peaceful
night sky cotton balls woven into a blanket
gently covering all my world

III.
and we, under one sky roof,
sleep, sing, cry, dance, love
in this earth house

"Do your little bit of good where you are; it's those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world." - Desmond Tutu

I just heard a short news story on TV - Greg Mortenson's book Three Cups of Tea was read by General David Petraeus. And the this book is required reading for all senior military personnel on Afghanistan.


I am between surprised and fascinated with fact the my Book Club friends and I have read something that is required military reading. Such an ever unfolding incongruous, mysterious world.

Suggestions below from http://amillionminutesforpeace.org/act-in-peace.shtml


Eleven Ways to Act in Peace


1. Believe peace is possible. There is great power in thought.


2. Meditate or pray for peace. Reinforce your beliefs with prayer or meditation.


3. Greet every situation with an open heart. Embrace life as a wonderful adventure to nurture and grow. Walk with peace in your heart.


4. Speak kind words. Tell those you love how much they mean to you. Find occasions to give compliments. And when you encounter negative words or actions, let them challenge you to rise above and respond with kindness.


5. See things through the eyes of others. Live with compassion. Imagine the experiences of others and it is likely you will gain insight into how to treat people more lovingly.


6. Respect all those you come into contact with. Celebrate the beauty in all of our differences. Pray for your enemies so they are no longer enemies. Love all of humanity.
7. Practice Forgiveness. Forgive people for their faults and shortcomings and learn to forgive yourself as well.


8. Lead by example. Show others how to be peaceful by living a peaceful life.
9. Share the wealth that is yours. Each of us has something to give. Look inside and find what you have to share.


10. Pay it forward. Commit random acts of kindness whenever you can.


11. Live the "Golden Rule." Just about every religion has its own way of expressing the Golden Rule, "Do Unto Others...." Can you imagine if everyone did this?

"I've dreamt in my life dreams that have stayed with me ever after, and changed my ideas: they've gone through and through me, like wine through water, and altered the color of my mind." - Emily Bronte

hearing the sweet fall rains
they sound exquisite and nourishing
when i am tucked inside a soft bed

“I would sooner live in a cottage and wonder at everything than live in a castle and wonder at nothing!”   Joan Winmill Brown

Just living is not enough. One must have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower. Hans Christian Andersen

Christina's Brownie Recipe

I haven't tried these yet, but everything she ever cooked for me was delish and usually healthy to boot. And, that is avocado that you see in this brownie recipe


Brownie's




Dry ingredients:
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour (add calories for white)
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt (I always use sea salt in my baking. I love biting into  
something and having a big chunk o salt in it!)

Wet ingredients:
1/2 cup of unsweetened applesauce
1/2 an avocado mashed up until it's paste (the original recipe called  
only for apple sauce. After making them, I decided they could use a  
little fat, so hence the 1/2 an avocado)
1 cup baking cocoa
1 cup honey (you're more than welcome to use any combination of sugars  
you like, but honey is a natural preservative and refined sugar is the  
devil :) )
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs (preferrably salmonella free)

Mix the dry ingredients in one bowl. In another mix the wet, then beat  
until it's smooth, but don't over mix. Then mix the two together. MAKE  
sure you grease the pan because there's not enough fat in these to  
keep them from sticking to a non-stick baking pan all on their own.  
Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes. Let cool and enjoy!

Prayer for World Peace

Lord, we pray for the power to be gentle;
the strength to be forgiving;
the patience to be understanding;
and the endurance to accept the consequences
of holding to what we believe to be right.

May we put our trust in the power of good to overcome evil
and the power of love to overcome hatred.

We pray for the vision to see and the faith to believe
in a world emancipated from violence,
a new world where fear shall no longer lead men to commit injustice,
nor selfishness make them bring suffering to others.

Help us to devote our whole life and thought and energy
to the task of making peace,
praying always for the inspiration and the power
to fulfill the destiny for which we and all men were created.

Amen.
                                                         ~~~~~~

Above is from Prayer and Prayers.info

"Ninety per cent of the world's woe comes from people not knowing themselves, their abilities, their frailties, and even their real virtues. Most of us go almost all the way through life as complete strangers to ourselves - so how can we know anyone else?' - Sydney J. Harris 

''A time comes when you need to stop waiting for the man you want to become and start being the man you want to be.'' - Bruce Springsteen

Rosh Hashanah - Blessings For A New Year

...."take advantage of one ancient tradition's ideas and practices to relocate the person you most want to be and enjoy the renewal and liberation that come from finding that person once again." - Rabbi Hirschfield


This time feels ancient, sacred,and primal to me. I am enjoying a moment of reflect and the resonance of the Rabbi's words.  


Excerpts below and quote above are from an excellent article in the Huffington Post by Brad Hirschfield entitled -Rosh Hashanah 2010: Liberate Yourself, Renew Your Life and Help Others Do the Same:


In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall observe complete rest, a sacred occasion commemorated with loud (horn) blasts. Leviticus 23:24


Rosh Hashanah 2010, the Jewish New Year, begins at sundown on September 8th. And while it marks the turn of Jewish calendar year 5770 to 5771, it also celebrates the fundamental human need for liberation, return and renewal.


The Jewish holidays, especially Rosh Hashanah, are not only for Jews. In fact, they celebrate the most basic human quest -- the quest to make our lives richer, happier and more productive. They also invite us to think about how to help others achieve the same things.


Without ignoring the centrality of our own happiness and fulfillment, these holidays, especially Rosh Hashanah, remind us that we humans share a common past, present and future -- that we, in the widest sense, are in this together.


..........


Rosh Hashanah invites us to do the same thing -- to be free to return to our holding, to what we feel is most deeply our own, to be the person we most deeply feel we ought to be, not the one we may have become due to the inevitable complexities of life. Rosh Hashanah reminds us that is the person we really are, and that if we stop long enough to remember who that person is, and to get reacquainted with that person, we can be that person. In fact, it is our destiny to be so, no matter what others may say or how often life seems to get in the way.


...........


So this Rosh Hashanah, whoever you are, and wherever you may be, take advantage of one ancient tradition's ideas and practices to relocate the person you most want to be and enjoy the renewal and liberation that come from finding that person once again. Here's how.


1. Go Back To The Beginning - Imagine that you are actually the first person in the world, that it was created for you. Who do you want to be, regardless of who others expect you to be? What is it that you want to accomplish? Experience? Create?


2. Take Stock Of What You Have - What values, relationships, skills or possessions do you value most and how can they help you achieve that for which you hope?


3. Repair What Is Broken - Reach out to those whom you may have hurt. Seek their forgiveness. Even if they are not ready to grant it, seeking it will help you move forward.


4. Offer Forgiveness - You need not forget the past, but the more able you are to forgive those who have hurt you in the past, the freer you will be of the pain they have caused.


5. Taste Something Sweet - Take a moment to savor something delicious, something that reminds you that even if life is not always sweet and good, we can always find something which is.


6. Make A Plan - Create two lists to carry with you this year. On the first, list a few things to which you feel genuinely entitled and treat yourself accordingly. On the second, list a few things you feel truly obligated to do for others, whether it's convenient or not.


7. Take It Slow - Our lives are all a work in progress. Often that progress is slow, sometimes we stand still, and we even slip backward from time to time. When that happens, simply return to step one.

..............

Back In Edmonds

And for the perfect message at the end of our unusual journey

What Else

And what else could be as exciting as dried paint. Let's see, the net, the "ferry Bumper", a tail light

Details

And while Jan was spotting the Sounder, I became fascinated with being able to see the details of paint of the
side rail of the ferry. The wonders of a stronger "zoom" feature. The last picture of this trio is probably my favorite picture of the whole trip. It looks so calm, soothing and peaceful almost like a winter scene or maybe even ice cream starting to melt

Sailing East

And then, Jan spotted the Sounder train in the distance. I wasn't quick enough to get a decent picture

Almost On

And, why did I need to document this car length by car length, it was just that kind of trip or possibly the new camera or the luxury of having Jan drive

All Abroad

Kingston Ferry - It Was A Long Wait

Waiting For The Kingston Ferry

Jan Spots The Ferrys

Jan spotted a "parade" of cruise ships (well 4 or 5 heading north, huh) while we were waiting for the eastbound ferry at the end of our Olympia junket. And she took these great shots.

Rain

Wildlife Spotted On Roadtrip

Heading Back To Kingston

Quote if the day on quotelady.com is just perfect to start my work day.


ll work is empty save when there is love.
And when you work with love, 
you bind yourself to yourself, 
and to one another, and to God. 
~ Kahlil Gibran

From the quotelady.com:


Seattle is a soft city, made up of soft light and hills and water and growing things an a sense that nature is truly accommodating. … There is no day in the year when it is too hot or too cold to work or get around, and few days when one cannot be outside, in a boat, walking, playing golf or tennis or going fishing. ... Seattle's colors are gray and green.--Roger Sale (Seattle Past to Present)

A Couple Of More Side Roads

Two deadend roads beat miles of driving and not reaching a vista or town.