Skip to main content

Year Two, Day 286: Hear Me Roar!

Today's fruit of the spirit is "faithfulness". This morning I really got this. How my emotional state is more balanced when I just let go of all the worries and "what ifs" and simply trust in God.

Because He is faithful. He continually opens up different, unexpected routes in my life when I feel I am trapped by roadblocks.

It is early yet. On a drizzly, gray Tuesday morning. It is fitting that I am sipping a London Fog. Gazing out the window at my regular Starbucks joint.




I love the rain: the sound, the smell, the sight of the drops making ripples in the puddles on the pavement.

After our big snowstorm recently, our roads are torn up. Many potholes to be seen. Which make an abundance of puddles! When I played the piano for the Penguin Musical last week, I laughed out loud walking near the playground. A group of boys were purposely seeking big puddles to stomp in. One of them actually looked up at me and said, "There are a lot of good puddles around here"!

I don't even mind walking in the rain. If it is not too cold or windy, I find it refreshing!

Already this morning, I have been the recipient of two random acts of kindness.

As I was walking to my first bus stop, a car was in the crosswalk trying to turn right on Foster near the I-205 on ramp.This is a very busy intersection weekday mornings. I am quite used to drivers not seeing me in their rush to get to work, or wherever it is they need to be on such a hurry.

So I was prepared to wait patiently until she turned. But she saw me standing there, probably looking dejected with me limp umbrella.  She put her car in reverse and backed up, allowing me to cross. It's the little things in life. I gave her a big smile and a wave of gratitude. She smiled back.  My heart warmed.

The second one was a bus driver.  I do seem to have a connection with bus drivers in Portland.  I appreciate them and feel compassion for them at the same time.  This one was a middle aged man driving the #72, perhaps one of the busiest lines.  I always get off at the stop right before Starbucks. I had rang the bell and was standing up and he whizzed right on by my stop. I gently asked him if he was going to stop. He apologized. I said, "It's ok, I'm just going to the Starbucks up ahead".

So he pulled right on up in front of the Starbucks building!  I thanked him and raced off, trying to avoid raindrops and quite thankful to just have to dash a few feet rather than a whole city block!

But now, I need to grab my London Fog and catch my next bus.

To be continued....



It is now 2:20 p.m. I am eating Moo goo gai pan at the Canton Grill while listening to David Bowie singing, "This is Ground Control to Major Tom..."

A pleasantly surreal experience. I am eating plenty of hot mustard. Hoping to open up my nasal passages.




Still sniffling I am.

On my way to a piano student's house.

Will check in again later...

It is now 5:00 p.m. I taught two students- a mother and daughter. The mother is learning the 12-bar blues. It tickles me to see how she enjoys our jam sessions. She is quite good already. She had been struggling with note reading, but she soars with the blues! Her daughter is crazy about Harry Potter and is working on "Hedwig's Theme", the theme song from the movie.

I found out right before their lesson that the student immediately after them was suck with the flu. So before I started considering tea and chocolate, I high-tailed it to the gym for a 29 minute gym break. I did about 8 minutes on the treadmill and then did some weights, focusing on my back. I am starting to crave exercise again. I had such a setback with my back injury and being sick, the snow storm and then working more hours.

One can always make excuses, but I have proven it to myself again and again, that without exercise, I am miserable. But when I work out, I am a tiger!


Hear me roar!

I am home now.  My evening ended with a lovely choir rehearsal. We are working on several movements of Bach's g minor Mass.

This music is ethereal.  I float the rest of the week and find myself wanting to sit at my piano and play Bach for hours after each rehearsal.  The older I get, the more I am drawn to his music.

Words cannot even describe the peace it brings me. So I will not offer any more words other than:

Happy Tuesday! :)

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Year Four, Day 328: Success at Last!! This is What I Do

Hello My Long Lost Friends! Or, perhaps it was I who was lost? And now I think I am beginning to find myself!  Under layers of fat, and self loathing!  How's that for an opening line!  Or perhaps the title of a novel:  Layers of Fat and Self-Loathing! Today I stepped on the scale.  I am weighing myself every morning these days. I was shocked! I told my partner the scale must be broken!  Yesterday I weight 186. Today 185! I have been on a strict intermittent fast for the past 10 weeks. I have officially lost 12 pounds!  And the best news is I think I not only can stick to this way of eating, I am actually beginning to really enjoy it!  And look how far I've come! I've been writing since May 12, 2015.  Over 8 years now!  I know this blog post says Year Four, Day 328, but there have been many pauses in blogging. For instance, when I am not pleased with progress or simply have no words! I was 53 when I first began blogging. I am now 61. I honestly feel better than I did 8 years

Year Four, Day 335: "Crisis Fatigue"

Hello Friends! I have missed you! I have been so utterly exhausted and downright depressed, that I couldn't summon enough energy to even lift my fingers to this computer keyboard to write.  Apparently there is a mental disorder for people going through crises.  Crises such as pandemics, systemic racism, political division, unemployment, police brutality, civil unrest.... It's called "crisis fatigue". When humans are presented with a threat, adrenaline is released to give us quick energy. This is called the "fight or flight syndrome". But when threats are overwhelming, and perceivably continuous, like this year, it overwhelms the system. People can feel numb, depressed, anxious and irritable. Yup. That's me.  I guess I'm quite normal after all! I found an interesting article that describes crisis fatigue, especially in relation to current events.  But it doesn't really address how to take care of ourselves during these unsettling times!

Year Two, Day 313: Most Excited Am I!

I almost started today's blog with my standard, "Most tired am I" And I am. So tired. And ready for spring.  But tonight when I got home, my wonderful housemate told me that I had a package waiting for me on the counter.  So I ran in and found the book I had been waiting for: Open Mind, Open Heart , by Thomas Keating. Most excited am I! I put a bag of popcorn in the microwave, filled my water and was heading downstairs to open my new book - but I had to detour around the cat who had just killed and attempted to eat a spider. Good kitty! :) I ordered this book the day that I was inspired to turn my introversion into a positive. To use it as a stepping stone to a deeper relationship with God. To go up to the next level in my spiritual path. Thomas Keating is known as "The leader within the Catholic world in the task of recovering our Christian contemplative heritage" Ewert H. Cousins, General Editor, "World Spirituality, An Encyclopedic Hist