Terrapin Station

#reverb10 Wonder

Catching up...

December 4 – Wonder. How did you cultivate a sense of wonder in your life this year? (Author: Jeffrey Davis)

Walking to work makes me look at things I don't otherwise see.  Trees.  Squirrels.  Birds: birds are always a huge source of wonder for me. I often stop to see if I can locate a bird I've heard.  Looking at my dogs and thinking about how much I love them and how different they are from each other. 

Having this shoulder and neck pain reminds me of how amazingly made my body is, and that when it is not working the way it should be, I need to treat it tenderly.  I am still seeking the right/best treatment for this condition. 

Welcoming prayer:  I'm taking an online course through Spirituality and Growth on Welcoming prayer.  To me, it's all about wonder. 

#Reverb10 - Moment

December 3 – Moment. Pick one moment during which you felt most alive this year. Describe it in vivid detail (texture, smells, voices, noises, colors). (Author: Ali Edwards)

Being at the beach with my parents in July.  Sitting out in front of my great-uncle's house in an Adirondack chair and looking at the water, knowing my parents were in the house just behind me.  

On that particular beach, my family ties go back 4 generations.  It's not a glamorous place.  It has blessed privacy, sea oats, and  sugar white sand.  It's set in the piney woods of North Florida and so it's marshy and boggy in places and smells of salty mud and tannin-stained brackish water.  There are yellowflies and horseflies instead of mosquitoes.  You look out for stingrays more than jellyfish.  

The warmth was perfectly caressing.  The scents of hot sand, cut grass, and salt water were overpowering.  The colors were as vivid as I've ever seen colors be.  I can hear the waves, brisk as the tide comes in.  This would be great sailing weather.  

I thought, "I'm making a memory now, and I can come back to it at any time."  

And I invite you in.  

 

#reverb10 Writing

December 2 Writing.
What do you do each day that doesn’t contribute to your writing — and can you eliminate it?
(Author: Leo Babauta)

Each day I spend a substantial amount of time on Facebook.  I enjoy it, I learn from it, I connect with others on it.  I don't apologize for it. 

Most days, I also spend some time on an utterly mindless game (on Facebook) called Bubble Popp.  It's just that...popping bubbles.  I save it for times of great frustration and when I am avoiding something else.  :)

What if I opened a page to write, instead of/before a game of Bubble Popp? 

Hmm.  What if?

or

???

#reverb10 One Word

I'm participating in #Reverb10 which I learned about on Paige's blog.  There's a prompt each day in December.  I really like this first one: 

December 1 One Word.
Encapsulate the year 2010 in one word. Explain why you’re choosing that word. Now, imagine it’s one year from today, what would you like the word to be that captures 2011 for you?
(Author: Gwen Bell)

2010 Word:  EMERGENCE.  I began the year a few months into a new job, which was a newly created job.  It was an exciting challenge and somewhat daunting, as I navigated the expectations of my supervisors and colleagues.  Working closely with them, and developing good relationships in my new persona (I have worked in this department for 14 years), and learning that I can do and enjoy this job, has been an incredible opportunity.  At the end of the year, I take a deep breath and prepare to take flight.

 

 

2011 Word:  RELAXATION.  I've been doing body work/energy work for several years now, and most of the time I am aware that I HAVE a body.  But that also means that interior malaise (my own, and that I perceive in others or in a situation) often manifests physically.  I have many tools and I want 2011 to be the year that I utilize them so that I can protect myself and live as healthily in this body as possible.