Bravery

Movies and books contain, for me, some quotes and sayings that seem to have a message.


"Peaceful Warrior," movie:  "Only the bravest souls come to earth to learn."


Dr. Wayne Dyer, Facebook:  "Every day, do one thing you fear."


"Joe Versus The Volcano," movie:  "Why not do the thing you are afraid of doing and see what happens?"


"Ratatouille," movie:   "If you focus on what you left behind, you will never be able to see what lies ahead!"

Living bravely and fearlessly.  In doing so, I think the governing aspect whether or not to do something might be to consider if it will hurt anyone.  This means being honorable with your intentions. Determine the purpose of your actions.  Be honest.  Be brave.


I think it takes a lot of soul searching and being honest with ones self to truly deal with the fears that deter us from being brave   Programmed since childhood on how to behave and act can lead to some deeply seated ideas of ourselves and those around us.  Who is the person that said "such and such" is normal?  What is normal anyway?  What if I choose to live in a round container rather than a square box?  As long as I keep from hurting anyone, what does it matter?


I am working on taking many leaps.  This whole Adventure is a leap.  Parting with my "stuff" is a leap. Being away from familiar surroundings, friends and family is a leap.  Giving up a schedule (and I'm going to really like this one) is a leap.  I think I want all of my life to be leap.  That step that makes your stomach feel as though it is full of butterflies and your heart pounds a bit harder because of the unknown.  Just being amazed at everything in front of, behind, above, below and all around.  I am excited to experience whatever presents itself.  Definitely an Adventure. And I am already practicing ......being brave!


So, hence, mismatched plates, bowls, mugs and glasses.  And who knows, maybe even bed sheets.  I love seeing little children wearing different colored socks and clothes.  It seems to me they are simply expressing being creative.  Perhaps it is their way of saying," this is how I feel today."  Polka dots with squares and plaids with prints.  And who is the one overall person who dictates that certain things don't match or do go together?  In what kingdom do they rule?  Oh, how our forefathers would be rolling in their graves if they could see all of this today.  I hope they are laughing because it is, after all, pretty silly and definitely fun.


I am glad to report that the Robbers Fire is 50% contained and the fire lines are holding.  There have been twelve injuries to fire fighters, with the worst being broken bones.  One vacation home and four out buildings have been destroyed.  The efforts to this event have been addressed twenty four hours a day since the start of the fire.   The local fairgrounds has opened its gates to the animals of those who have been evacuated, for free.  It is awesome to watch a community come together and help each other out when the need is there.  It would be great to see this out pouring of caring on a regular basis. So, thanks again, to all those assisting and working so hard to ease the difficulties of those in need.   For more specifics the Cal Fire web site is:  http://cdfdata.fire.ca.gov/...incident_details.  Or Google search: Robbers Fire (Placer County) CA.


I started the process of washing the things I can to eliminate the smoke smell.  Walking in to the house and having it smell like a campground is a bit much for me and it gets old after a while.  Sofa and love seat covers, the curtains that are washable and all the throws are now clean and fresh again.  Next is to sprinkle baking soda on the carpet and then vacuum.  That is the best I can do for now.  And then, of course, letting the windows open as much as possible until it reaches the predicted 95 degrees by Saturday.  Which means closing the house up again with the air conditioner running.  Never a dull moment.  And always something to do. 


Enjoy being brave!

Smoke

This area woke to smoke again.  Hoping the wind comes up just enough to clear it out.  Too much wind fuels the canyon fire. The Cal Fire web site provides updated information on the happenings of the fire.  Sad to say one home and three out buildings have been burned and eleven firefighters have had injuries.  Lots of people are still evacuated from their homes and several roads are closed.  Cal Fire reports 2,250 acres have burned and they are holding at twenty percent containment.  This is a difficult location for them to work and continued blessings and prayers to all of them.  Hopefully the wild animals have made it to safer locations and out of harms way.


I have held off washing and drying the sheets outside due to the smoky air but I think I will just need to do it, and soon.  The dryer just does not seem a good alternative when it is hot outside.  I also will wait to wash curtains and such until the smoke is no longer an issue.  I'd rather just do it once.  One person I talked with said they woke up (smelling smoke) thinking they were camping.  That is what I call a deep sleep and wishful thinking or dreaming.






The Home Goods store is a very amazing place.  Since I have decided to use mismatched dishes, bowls and glasses, etc. in my motor home (which, of course, is still eluding me) I went there yesterday and discovered some great finds at inexpensive prices.  All of the pieces I obtained were made in Italy, Portugal, Turkey or England.  It was wonderful to find these amazing pieces and I am grateful they were made somewhere other than China.  I must admit I know several people who would be appalled by the fact that none of these items match.  The way I see it is that I can use whichever plate, bowl, glass or cup that suits my mood at the time.  I have given up on being a conservative!  From here on out, I choose to do as the moment presents itself.


The motor home search continues and I have several emails out to dealers with queries on units they are showing in their inventory.  One is actually located in Fresno.  I think it would be hysterically funny if that is the one I end up buying.  Fresno is one of my least favorite places to go because of the heat in the summer and the "tule fog" in the winter.  I went to high school in Fresno and my Mom used to live in Clovis, until she passed in 2010.  I also have an older brother and some of his family still living in Clovis.  So, we shall see.  Thanks, too, to all those who continue to contact me about wandering rv's they come across.  One of these days it will arrive.  And I will be ready!


I also am continuing to organize and sort things for the estate sale.  I obviously need to sell the other dishes, bowls, mugs, glasses, etc.that a currently use, in order to justify the ones I have just purchased.  I am probably doing this all backwards, though I have learned over the years it is best to seize the moment.  When something presents itself, action is needed.  Although, sometimes there are many things presenting themselves at the same moment and it gets a bit difficult to determine what action to take.  I continue to practice and  I consider myself a work in progress.  Heaven forbid that I should ever be done with working on myself.  That's a scary thought!  


I have stalled long enough.  There is a slight breeze and the air seems a bit more clear, so I am going to be brave and wash the sheets and get them out on the line before anything else impedes my progress and good intentions. I do have to go out and wash the clothes line off first.  I am sure it is covered in dust and particulate matter.   It is predicted to be cooler tomorrow and that may be a less desirable day to get this done.  Taking action.


Enjoy taking action!

The Robbers Fire

Wednesday afternoon a fire broke out in a canyon about ten miles from where I live.  That night the wind shifted and smoke enveloped the area here and lasted most of the day. Many people with lung issues have gone down the mountain to escape the particulate matter that has filled the region.  There are many homes and families threatened by the fire, which has now split into two fires heading in different directions.  People and animals are evacuated and in fear of the unknown. As of this morning, the fires, which has burned over 1,150 acres, are still only ten percent contained.   Holding good thoughts and offering blessings and prayers to those affected by this event, as well as, to all those providing effort and support to extinguish this fire.  


I can still smell smoke and, according to the news this morning, it may be in and out of the area here off and on all day today.  After that, unless things get worse, they expect the winds to carry the smoke north and up.  The temperatures are predicted to be lower also, which is greatly anticipated.  Think I will wash and hang out the sheets tomorrow.  I still need to remove the smoke smell from inside of the house.  Probably have to wash curtains and other material things to remove it completely.  It is amazing how it permeates almost everything.  I can't image what it must be like where the homes are closer to the fires and smoke.  


Yesterday morning I was preparing the room for a session and saw something at the window sill.  I thought it was a large brown moth.  So, I went to get something to capture it and put it outside.  When I got closer to it, I found it to be another tree frog.  He was trying to blend into the surrounding colors and was beige, brown, rust, and almost orange colored.  He was beginning to climb up the screen so I had to move quickly to cut off his escape route.  He fell on the sill so I swiftly covered him/her with a plastic container and slipped a piece of cardboard under her/him.  I released him/her out in the orchard where they had just finished watering.  I am clueless as to how he/she got in the room.  However, I am glad to see they are still around and hopefully eating all the bugs that seem to be bountiful this year.


Only one market in my area is carrying seeded watermelons this season.  These are my favorite because I think they have the best flavor and texture.  My mother-in-law, years ago, introduced me to cutting the watermelon up and removing all the seeds so that we could simply enjoy eating it without fighting with the seeds.  I do this now and love it.  It takes a bit of time to remove the seeds, but the end result is worth the effort.  I have it down to a science so it doesn't take much time at all.  Yum!  Love this summer food.


Well, will go down the hill today to load up on needed supplies that are unavailable here.  Trader Joe's, Whole Foods and Costco.  These are probably places I will be challenged to find during my Adventure.  I think I will Google search and see where they are located throughout the US so I can plan my routes accordingly.  There are just some things that only these stores carry.  Whole Foods carries 100% grass fed beef.  Costco carries my favorite albacore tuna in water and canned pineapple in its own juice.  And Trader Joe's has great nuts and frozen fish that is Alaskan wild caught.  Have to watch where the fish comes from though, because it is not all caught in the US.  Reading the labels is a must for just about everything these days.  Doing my best to buy organic.  As well as, buying US made.  Both of these can be challenging at times.  Need to get moving!


Enjoy your fresh air!

"Joe Versus The Volcano"

This movie is a quirky romantic fantasy that was made in 1990.  Tom Hanks (One of my very most favorite actors!) and Meg Ryan star in this rather goofy firm.  However, the message, for me, is all about doing what you are afraid of doing and taking the Leap.  Really living life and stretching ourselves by doing things we may have never done before.  Doing one thing at a time, with conscious awareness and presence of mind.  For me, that is eating, while I am eating.  Watching television, while watching television.  Crocheting, while crocheting.  Although I must admit, I do listen to a movie while crocheting.  And slowing down.  It seems almost everywhere I go anymore, everyone is in a hurry.  Lives are so crammed with things to do there is little time to get all of them accomplished.  


One of the problems, though, is we are continually doing the same things.  Day in and day out.  We wake up to the alarm, get ready for work, do the work thing, lunch, and home for dinner and chores and go to bed, only to wake up to the alarm again.  "Groundhog's Day" was a perfect example of this.  We appear to be repeating the same actions every day.  So we become unconscious of what we are actually doing.  I find myself in this situation many time during the day and evening, so I am currently in the mind frame to change this behavior.  


I remember what it feels like to go somewhere I had never been.  The trees seemed greener and more animated.  I noticed the architecture of homes and buildings.  I saw more wild animals in their natural habitat.  I smelled new flowers and different foods cooking.  The sun felt warm and comforting, the breeze was more welcomed, the clouds were fluffier, and I was discovering all things new.  I wonder what it is like to live each moment with this newness? This is part of my new quest.  


I know once I am out on my Adventure, everything will be new.  Now, however, I want to attempt to live each moment with the intention of discovering what it truly is.  To savor the taste and flavors of a dark chocolate covered caramel as it melts and spreads its wonderfulness in my mouth.  To wake to the sounds of the morning birds and try to identify who is singing.  To marvel as the sun rises and shines light on the top leaves of the trees across the street and watch as it spreads to engulf the full tree as the sun rises further.  To imagine how my sheets feel as they are gently blown dry in the breeze.  


So all of this is old news.  Heard it before.  Said it before.  Take a different route when going to a usual place.  When putting on socks, put it on the other foot first.  When hanging out laundry, starting from the opposite end.  When watering the lawn, drag the hose around in a different pattern.  It is simply doing things differently all the time so we can be more aware of what we are doing.  I do think, however, that I will continue to shower from the top down rather than reversing it.  But maybe cleaning the ears before putting on deodorant.  Mix it up.  Stay aware.  Pay attention.  Truly live!


As I am typing this I am aware of a robin sitting on the corner railing of the neighbor's deck. When it scratched it's neck it stuck it's wing out.  He/she is perhaps surveying the lay of the land for food.  Maybe an unaware insect flying by or maybe some movement in the leaf litter indicating a worm is restless.  A robin's life seems uncomplicated.  Sing, sleep, soar, take baths, have and raise babies and eat.  And also stay aware so it can stay alive and out of the mouth of the local cat.  They say animals in the wild rarely take the same path.  Something to think about.  So much to think about and to be aware of.  Better get started.


Enjoy living!

Hawks, Humming Birds and Robins

Several days ago I washed down the vinyl siding of the house.  All of the wind blown dust and the cobwebs seemed a bit much.  There were also some left over droppings from whatever birds flew over, doing a fly by.  It looked as though someone had flicked a splotch of mud on the wall.  It is amazing to me how much can accumulate on a house.  Then, yesterday, I was at the kitchen table and the humming bird came to the corner where the cobweb had been and hovered, realizing his food source had vanished.  How could I have forgotten about this?  I think I get a little obsessive/compulsive sometimes about cleaning.  I must remember to leave some of the cobwebs for the humming birds.


A few days ago I was outside hanging sheets on the line and I heard a hawk calling from the top of one of the nearby cedar trees.  I looked up to see it take flight and come towards where I was standing.  Suddenly another hawk flies toward me from a different direction and lands in the cedar tree just next to me.  It was carrying a snake dangling from its feet.  The first hawk continued to call and landed near the hawk with the snake.  It was just like a scene from a nature show, only I was without a camera to catch the action.  They stayed about a minute and then both took off in the same direction, with the first hawk still calling.


I suspect the first hawk was young and the other hawk was a parent catching breakfast for the younger one.  It was beautiful to see the under side of both of these hawks when they were so close to me.  Gave me the shivers.  A couple of my neighbors have recently killed four rattlesnakes between them so I think the snake the hawk had may have been a rattlesnake.  I have seen other kinds of snakes in my yard, almost stepping on one once.  Fortunately I have been successful in avoiding the dangerous ones.


I love watering the lawn because the sprinkler provides a much needed water source for the various birds in the area during the hot summer.  The robins are happy to play in a puddle as they take a bath.  Then there are these nondescript brown birds that just sit under the water droplets and periodically shake it off.  Humming birds will hover in the water spray, either catching a drop of water or getting wet and then flying off.  Blue jays, well, they just do the blue jay thing, which sometimes is chasing everyone else away and then leaving themselves.  They can be annoying sometimes.





The Dogwood trees have finished blooming and now are in the process of making seed balls.  Last year was the first time I ever noticed these seeds.  They were blue.  Totally surprised me.  I had to Google search about this because I thought something might be wrong with the tree.  It turns out they are seeds and can be red or white.  I just Google searched again and was unable to find the site I found earlier.  Typical.  User error.  Anyway, they are in their process.  Maybe I can get a picture of them once they turn color.


Enjoy your summer days!

Sad Movies / Hidden Messages

Why is it that when watching a movie I have already seen many times, and I know a sad part is coming, that I still cry?  It fascinates me that I have this whole dialogue going on in my head about my being in control of my emotions while watching a sad movie.  So I know the scene is coming and I attempt to get my self ready to just watch it, without emotion, and there it is anyway and I find myself crying, again.  When the sad part is past, I laugh at myself and shack my head and am still confused by the whole thing.  I enjoy watching other kinds of movies too, yet a few favorites, such as, "Steel Magnolias,"  "Forrest Gump." "Peaceful Warrior," and "Somewhere In Time" are ones I will continue to watch again and again, and cry, again and again.  So it is! 






"Peaceful Warrior" is a movie based on the book "Way of the Peaceful Warrior" written by Dan Millman, a world gymnastics champion.  I first read the book in the mid 1980's and read it again and again over many years.  (Yes, I read books again and again, also.)  Several years ago I discovered the movie.  After watching it I simply had to read the book again to see the differences between the two.  For me, reading the book and then watching the movie makes more sense.  However, the ritual for this movie and book is to watch the movie several times in a row and then read the book.  


I love to look for the hidden message or the underlying meaning or the suggested idea, that is the foundation for every book or movie.  The spark that caused the author or writer to do their thing.  "Peaceful Warrior" seems to have two messages.  First, to pay attention to and enjoy the journey.  Using all of the senses to truly enjoy the journey.  And how that original journey includes many, many side journeys along the way.  And to enjoy them as well.  


For me, that is enjoying hanging out the sheets.  Smelling the freshness of their being clean and watching as the breeze gently blows them dry.  When it is really hot, they just hang there as though stuck in the air.  And when it is really windy, rescuing them before they are torn from the pins holding them to the line.  Once they are dry and I take them down, I feel the crispness of the material and folding them brings a sense of neatness and once they are all put away on the shelves, a satisfaction knowing they are all ready for their next use.  


Second, to experience unreasonable happiness.  Being happy without a reason in the world.  Being happy during the journey.  And the journeys and journeys within the journey.  To simply be happy.  This takes a bit more practice, I think.  A greater sense of how I feel inside at all times.  And adjusting it if need be.  "Don't Worry, Be Happy!"  Great song.  


Enjoy your journeys and journeys, within your journeys and journeys!

Amazing Horses and Riders!

This was my first time to actually attend a Regional Competition.  I have watched these amazing horses and riders during the Olympics and have been amazed.  Up close and personal was a great treat.  Hearing the rhythm of the hoofs as they impact the ground, the breathing of the animal as it passes by and the sounds of the saddle as the rider is posting, all remind me of days long ago when I owned and rode my own horse.  This is a much greater level of skill and technique than I ever had and it causes me to wonder just how this is all accomplished.





The training and patience of those working with these animals must be tremendous.  I heard many unfamiliar terms and  I watched as horses were warmed up before their performance, wet down after they rode and then stabled.  The attention to detail and care of these animals is wonderful.  


And the riders.  The focus they must maintain while riding has to be immense.  Watching this particular rider, when not riding, showed her very intense on every aspect of the care and preparation of each horse before she would ride.  She has ridden several horses in championships and is a picture of elegant style to watch as she rides.  Perhaps some day she will ride in the Olympics.   It was quite an honor to attend and observe all of this amazing horse magic.  


I always love how smoothly and effortlessly my car seems to drive after it has been serviced.  I have also noticed that the same phenomenon occurs after my car has been washed and cleaned. The car has a slick surface that, I think,  allows the car to just be slippery.   It feels as though the car and I seem to slip through the air a bit easier.  No bugs or dust or dirt to drag us down.  Less resistance.  This, of course, increases gas mileage.  I wonder if there have been any studies on this.  Seems worth looking into.


There is a butterfly bush planted on the side of my front porch.  It has fairly deep purple flowers that are a source of food for the butterflies and hummingbirds.  This year, for whatever reason, the plant is sending its branches through the wood railings and onto the porch.  It is great because as I walk in and out of the house these fragrant blossoms greet me and my visitors.  Between the airy branches, the sweet flower smells and the deep purple blossoms, it makes for an awesome treat for the senses.


Speaking of the front porch, I was sitting outside one evening and noticed something dark on the side of the wall.  All sorts of things ran through my mind because I couldn't make out what it was from where I was sitting and the dim lighting.  Being brave, I got up and slowly walked toward whatever it was.  I really thought it was a huge spider.  Thank God it wasn't. It was a small tree frog clinging to the vinyl siding.  They are really cute.  So, I left him/her in peace.  


Several years ago I had a swamp cooler in one of the windows and occasionally I would find one of these little dears jumping around in the living room.  It was always tricky capturing them and returning them to the outside.  Apparently they were attracted to the water in the bottom of the cooler, because when the cooler was removed there were several in the water pan below the unit.  I am grateful they have survived.   Makes me curious though, about where they are hanging out these days.


Another odd finding inside the house was a lizard.  When I first noticed it I thought it was some spilled water, since it was a darker area on the carpet.  I went to step over it to get something to clean it with when I almost fell, realizing what it was.  How do I capture this critter and return him to the wild?  I finally put a waste basket over him to contain him until I could figure out what to do next.  I then decided to get a file folder and slipped it under the waste basket (hoping the lizard was on top of the folder) and carefully carried it all outside.  I placed everything on the ground and lifted the basket and was happy to see as the lizard scurried away.  Another rescue achieved!  I wonder why all these litter creatures are coming inside?  I am certain there are better food choices outside.  Although the number of spiders in the house this year is ridiculous.  


So, I am off to finishing laundry, watering the lawns and rv searching on the web.


Enjoy whatever comes to your senses!