Terrapin Station

Friday Five: Scattered

Thanks to friend RevKjarla for posting this Friday Five at RevGals. 

So, I don't know about you, but I have had quite the scattered week.  Sometimes, life is that way, right?
 
In the spirit of Scattered-ness, I offer you a scattery kind of Friday Five:
 

1.  I lose my keys all of the time.  Even if they are in my hand, I still am looking for them.  Sigh! 
What is something you chronically looking for, if anything?

My car key, which is simply a fob with a car key that comes out like a switchblade and has one key attached to it.  Something like this, except really, it's just the one key attached.  So, small and easy to lose.  

The car came with two.  We have lost one.  This is not good!  If the one we currently have gets lost, we are SOL because they have to be obtained from the dealership for hundreds of dollars.  Sigh. 

And, I lost my glasses about 6 months ago.  Never to be seen again, apparently.  And found my spare ones in the driveway, someone having run over them.  I have a new prescription, just have to get to the Eyemasters to choose frames/get it filled.  Oh, and pay for it.  In the meantime:  squinting. 

2.  What movie are you looking forward to watching sometime in the future?  

Bridesmaids, which has been recommended as a laugh-fest.  Because although I do not like weddings or the insanity that surrounds them, I'm ready to laugh. 

3.  What is one of your favorite comfort foods?  

Carbs of any sort.  Unfortunately.  But I'm working on getting protein in there as an also-ran.  Little Babybel cheeses, that sort of thing. 

4.  Story time.  Tell us a story of one your favorite people that has touched, blessed your life.

My sister Nancy has the gift of administration.  She just does.  Earlier this year I came up with the Big Idea of a Big Birthday Party for my parents (86 and 80 years old).  I told all the family we were doing it, and then when Ken got sick, I just dropped the ball.  I couldn't think of it. (And as an INFP, I tend not to finish what I start in the best of circumstances...)  Enter Nancy, who picked up the ball and made an amazing shot from mid-court!  She created a great memory scrapbook, put together wonderful food, gorgeous decorations, and a glorious event that was really special and wonderful.  An added bonus was that all I had to do was show up and enjoy.  Thank you, sis.

5.  What do you do to focus or calm or center yourself?  

Sit or lie down and breathe, feeling the breath move through my body and acknowledging any spots of pain, tension, or other concern. 

• Walk.
• Go outside and watch birds and squirrels. 

BONUS:  Share the first thing (or second thing) that comes to your mind after your read this!

First thing:  I want to go outside and talk to some squirrels! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Second thing:  I want to go to this awesome Halloween event that's happening in my town!  I am not a fan of scary things, but it's not that at all.  I have friend who is dancing in it.  It sounds FUN.

  

Come Breathe with Me...

Wage Peace

Judyth Hill

 

Wage peace with your breath.
Breathe in firemen and rubble,
breathe out whole buildings
and flocks of redwing blackbirds.
Breathe in terrorists and breathe out sleeping children
and freshly mown fields.
Breathe in confusion and breathe out maple trees.
Breathe in the fallen
and breathe out lifelong friendships intact.
Wage peace with your listening:
hearing sirens, pray loud.
Remember your tools:
flower seeds, clothes pins, clean rivers.
Make soup.
Play music, learn the word for thank you in three languages.
Learn to knit, and make a hat.
Think of chaos as dancing raspberries,
imagine grief as the outbreath of beauty
or the gesture of fish.
Swim for the other side.
Wage peace.
Never has the world seemed so fresh and precious.
Have a cup of tea and rejoice.
Act as if armistice has already arrived.
Don't wait another minute.

Source: Written in response to September 11, 2001

from daily post at InwardOutward

Finding my Voice

Last night I attended Lessons and Carols at my husband's new church.  Yes, my husband has moved to another church, one that suits him very well.  Most of their services, the ones he attends as a chorister, use Rite I (more traditional language) in the liturgy; and their level of music is very, very high.  They have many professional and highly educated musicians in the choirs there.  The group will tour England this summer and sing in venues including Westminster Abbey.

I've been through a grief process about this change, with some good friends walking the way with me.  Church was something that was important to me for us to do together.  But the more involved I got at our church, the less he wanted to be.  It seems that while my spirituality finds its expression in relationship and service, his is expressed in worship of a very particular sort.  Different.  Not better or worse.  Just different.

The change has turned out to be a good one in many ways we might not have imagined.  He is being challenged musically at every turn, there.  He LOVES it. 

And for myself, I am making progress with finding an opening in my upper voice that has never been available to me before.  I credit this to my years of energy work; spiritual searching, too.  My singing voice is truly coming available to me as I become a single person in this parish.  I am an involved person, to be sure: choir, Vestry, Daughters of the King...so my voice is heard in other venues.  But I have longed for freedom in my singing voice, oh, all my life!  My little sister has it naturally, and how I have resented that.  (Sorry, Nance, you know it's true.  Not your fault!)

And it all goes back to The Breath.  God breathes this possibility of life and song into us from the very first words in the Bible.  Singing is about the breath and how it is used and aligned and treated well and respectfully inside us. 

May your breath be gentle and purposeful today.  God lives in you.  What has She for you to say?

Bullets of Coldness

*  There was ice on my car this morning that required scraping. 

*  Current temperature is 21 F.  BRRRRR!

*  Today is packing day at my office but I have a bunch of appointments, too!  Argh! 

*  Unbloggable stressness.  I am breathing a lot.

Every Conscious Breath

"Every conscious breath you take, even one, is a victory.  Every time you become aware of your breath, and settle back into your rooting and grounding, you become that much closer to yourself and to the divine."

My teacher said this to me yesterday. 

Breathing...

(Melanie Weidner, Listen for Joy)