Memos From The Universe

One of my favorite words :)

2012-01-28T18:12:16Z

Fairies at the cash register

2012-01-13T16:19:22Z

Waiting for my cafe mocha – look there’s the tip jar

Not months, but moments

2012-01-03T16:00:34Z

I tried to do this screen shot via Picnik on the desktop but it would not take the shot, so here’s the iPhone version.

"Just living is not enough," said the butterfly. "One must have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower." – Hans Christian Andersen

I have sunshine; I live in Florida! I have freedom; not tethered much by occupation these days. A little flower? That’s the stuff that feeds me, I guess. Nectar for the tummy, beauty for the soul. I don’t have to look far for it. Love, actually, IS all around.

The desktop had a second quote that accompanied the photo:

"The butterfly counts not months but moments." – Rabindranath Tagore

We are human, not butterflies with a limited lifespan. Butterflies have the luxury-by-necessity of counting only moments, of focusing only upon that which is essential, because there’s really nothing else they can do. Butterflies have it easy. We, on the other hand, are faced with seemingly limitless possibilities. It’s scary- hard to navigate such a world.

Perhaps the point is to take a to take a time-out now and again from believing in the vastness of our human existence. Suspend that belief, and instead get down to the essential business of feeding on a little flower. Not for months, but just for a moment.

She sells sea shells

2012-01-02T18:08:02Z

Last night, part of a dream included finding a Venus ray on the beach. I can still see my own hand reaching out to pick it up.

Today I downloaded a Florida-specific Audubon guide for the iPhone and what do we see in the lower left of the attached screen shot? Yeah, a Venus ray.

I should probably join Audubon.

My Invisible Friend

2012-01-01T00:19:30Z

"A friend is one who believes in you when you have ceased to believe in
yoursel.f"

I’ve only got two friends on Mindbloom. I’m not sure why Mindbloom
awarded me a trophy for having more than that, but I can assure you that
I’ve only got two, and that’s the most I have ever had there.

I wonder if there are invisible friends, unseen in the shadows. Maybe
every time something miraculously unexpected happens, that’s our
invisible friends at work. And not only that, but maybe they are the
ones who pull our butts out of the quagmire when we’ve rendered
ourselves invisible by ceasing to believe.

Tinker Bell almost died because she thought no one believed. Just
sayin’… in which case, one really does need to be one’s own invisible
friend, and be the strongest believer in one’s self.

If you count ME, then there ARE three trees in my forest.

Ah…. !!!

The ghost of Memos past

2011-12-28T20:33:49Z

I’ve seen this one before – probably been a year or more. I will have to check out what’s on the Smithsonian Channel page on Facebook that makes this significant….

You’ve been sent a Picnik picture!
Click this link to view it: www.picnik.com/file/18029892981_HXPdk.jpg

Charming gardeners

2011-12-18T18:28:11Z

I’ve been using Thankful For at least for a year now, but it only just occurred to me to see if "there’s an app for that". This is the splash screen I got the first time I opened the app.

I would love to be able to see the charming gardener in each and every person I encounter. Even the ones that piss me off, for if I could see the charming gardener, I would probably never get to pissed off.

Can you imagine someone cutting you off on traffic, but you just smile serenely and think, "Why, what a charming gardener!"

Yeah, me neither. I guess that’s why ol’ Marcel comments only upon those who make us happy.

I don’t know anything about how to do this, transform a person who is pissing me off into a person who makes me happy, or at least abandon my own negative perceptions long enough to successfully excavate and uncover the charming gardener.

Anyone? Buehler?

The beauty of what you love

2011-12-17T01:22:08Z

In the China pavilion at Disney’s EPCOT, there is a semi-open air space between buildings in which merchandise is hawked. These banners are available there, and as you can see, bear the mark of my keyword. I decided to snap some photos of the ones that “spoke” to me for later rumination.

I noticed that Rumi says it’s the BEAUTY of what you love – not what you love itself – that should be what you do. I am not sure I understand this, as the BEAUTY of it is frequently intangible, an ideal, whereas DOING involves action. The BEAUTY of what we love often lies in how it makes us feel. In the case of producing art, it is also about how it makes others feel, what the product of all that DOING evokes not only in ourselves as the creators but in the spectators, observers, WITNESSES as they experience our creations.

I am guessing that this is something I already knew, just phrased differently. it’s about the response evoked, in ourselves and in others. If it makes me happy and if it makes others happy, then it’s the right thing to DO.

OK. Got it.

Yet everything is accomplished

2011-12-08T16:05:46Z

Yes I am at Disney again; don’t judge me, the place is inspiring ! I was thinking I should cut my stroll short and beat it over to EPCOT to get a present for my niece, before they run out of her size. And I was stressing about it but then I spied the anteater’s sign. BONUS – he’s actually visible today!

It’s a Multiple Memo Monday after all

2011-12-05T22:58:59Z

No, I am not trying to sing a parody of "It’s A Small World After All" (which has now injected itself into your brain and is playing in a continuous loop – you’re welcome).

I am just maybe suspecting that someone actually reads here.

I mean, since there are no coincidences, and all

“Memos” inside out

2011-12-05T13:57:50Z

Heh, Paulo comes through for the Monday Morning Memo. He calls them "omens", which is very nearly "memos" only inside out (and with an n – ok, let’s not get technical, they look and sound similar and they are right next to each other in the alphabet. It’s the language barrier, I tell you. He meant "memos". LOL ). The point is, keep a lookout. They are EVERYWHERE. If you see it and it provokes ponderance, then it’s a Memo. Now, go forth and be mindful

Say it three times fast

2011-12-01T17:52:00Z

Everyone who has ever seen the movie "Beetlejuice" knows that if you want to invoke something, if you want to call it to you and make it manifest, you have to call it by name three times fast.

Kindness, kindness, kindness!

Make a joyful noise

2011-11-21T22:19:26Z

My friend Joy is performing in a Long Island production of "The Sound Of
Music". All through my singing years, there were a few roles that I
could not wait to be old enough for, because of the songs I’d get to
sing. One of them is Cousin Nettie in "Carousel", because I can knock
people over with "You’ll Never Walk Alone". It’s just in the exact
right key for me to do so. The other role is that of the Mother Abbess
in "The Sound Of Music"; the song, of course, is "Climb Every Mountain".

When Joy let it be known that she’d be playing Mother Abbess, I got a
pang. I waited and waited all those year, and now it just doesn’t seem
relevant any more. Then, why the pang?

Joy (far right) posted photos of opening weekend this morning. I would
give a photo credit, but I do not know who took them.

Check out the stained glass window -

The hills, apparently, are alive….

Multiple Memo Monday TAKE 2

2011-11-15T02:19:58Z

What is it with Mondays? Mine was pretty interesting. This was the second time that I tried to run at Centennial Park and encountered obstacles on the road. Last time was a parade; this time apparently there was some sort of boat show at the convention center or maybe a regatta or whatever. In any event, I could not park so I left.

I wandered in the general direction of McGregor but never found it. I think I fouled up at the part where you briefly get on and off Highway 41 (lawd I was born a ramblin’ man….). In any event, the first street I came to that I recognized was Metro Parkway, which took me down to Colonial and since I was going to pass the Calusa Nature Center, I figured I might as well challenge myself and run there. Rough terrain to begin with due to cypress knees, but I what I didn’t know was that the lower elevations by the golf course would still be ankle-deep in summer rains! It is, after all, a cypress swamp. I’ve just never been there when the trail was THAT wet.

Having recently completed the Freshwater Wetlands module of the Florida Master Naturalist Program, I boldly completed my mission, mud and squishy running shoes be damned. Intrepid, I was! Upon my return home, the shoes went directly into the washing machine and my feet and legs were scrubbed of the muddy cypress needles sticking to them.

I’m not sure what was going on with the run today. I definitely have the impression that the Universe hasn’t wanted me running in Centennial Park. I don’t think the message about the Nature Center was the same, though. I think I was supposed to learn something about the trail. It did surprise me that it’s still under water down that way, given that it stopped raining several weeks ago and it’s the ides of November, for cryin’ out loud. I have been thinking about volunteering there but haven’t acted on it. Maybe it’s time. Maybe I will be a trail guide there (and get them to let me straighten out their web site – it’s dreadful).

Anyhow, home I came and settled in to catch up with email and etc. Found this TED talk in my news feed, all about the amazing instrumentation we have these days that can really record human development at the minutest level of detail. I noticed that the scientist unabashedly attributed the intricacies of said development to divinity, to God by name, even. And he called it a baby. From the first division, he said “baby” and I was aghast. He’s a scientist! He’s supposed to say “zygote” or something like that and he’s not supposed to mention God!

I don’t know what happened, but I gently became aware that this wasn’t really me. I always KNEW it wasn’t Really Me, but that’s not the same as having it in the forefront of conscious awareness. REALLY Me believes it’s a baby. Really Me also believes in a woman’s choice to carry to term or not. But there’s not question in my mind that from the moment of conception, that there’s a baby. It’s not a frog or an oak tree or a martian or a hunk of cheese. It’s a baby.

I was not too surprised to find this out about myself, for I noted the other day that my DNA had been cleansed of the banker’s spidey sense that knows when a bank holiday is coming. I guess it is being cleansed of other corporate-related nonsense too, one of those things being ridiculous political correctness and denial of the personal. These are attitudes that benefit no one but the corporation. I certainly FEEL as though I’ve spent 40 years in the dessert since departing from that life, so I guess the effects of prolonged separation are finally making themselves apparent.

A few hours later I received my second memo. There’s this online game called Mindbloom that I’ve been messing with. It’s basically a way of modeling the life that you want by symbolizing it as a tree with branches and leaves for the differently aspects of what you want to cultivate. Every time you take actions that support your goals, your tree gets the things it needs to grow. It’s cute, and there are little rewards and trophies along the way. It makes you think about what you are doing, and whether or not the things that you’re doing are getting you where you want to go. Essentially, Mindbloom teaches mindfulness. Anyhow, as I logged in this evening, the second memo struck. I was rewarded for energizing my tree with a virtual trophy. My keyword and the icon were present, along with this message: “Hope is like the sun, which, as we journey toward it, casts the shadow of our burden behind us.” – Samuel Smiles

Yes, after 40 years in the dessert, the burden of being Not Really Me is fading behind me now. I’m not saying I am crystal clear on Really Me, never mind what Really Me does for a living, but at least I am freed of the shackles of Not Really Me, free to pursue the answer to the question “Who am I?”. I may never get a definitive answer, but the pursuit is one of my inalienable rights. And now that I don’t smoke any more, I can run so that makes pursuit a bit more do-able, doesn’t it?

PS – If anyone is reading this and you have signed up on Mindbloom, drop me a comment or something with your link and we’ll friend up!

Hard Rock With The Nieces

2011-11-21T22:19:50Z

I have had to lay my beloved Nokia N97 to rest. It was a great mobile
blogging companion, and I shall miss it, but it just had issues greater
than could be surmounted. When I cleaned it out, I found this in the
drafts folder.

Over this past summer, I made the annual birthday sojourn to the Loverly
Isle of Long, where my mother was celebrating her 75th. A few days
prior to the party, I had gone with my nieces to the city to see the
Harry Potter exhibition in Times Square. You can read all about that
by clicking here. After the exhibition, I herded them over to the Hard Rock Cafe, where we descended to the restaurant
and had a late lunch. As we came back up the stairs, I saw this GIANT
representation of my keyword/icon – I hadn’t seen it on the way in
because it’s over the door, inside the building and I’m not in the habit
of looking behind me while walking into a restaurant.

It made me think how blessed I am to have remained a quitter after all
this time. In February, it will be four years since I smoked a
cigarette. I am now 51 years old and RUNNING, for cryin’ out loud. Do
you know how many years I tried to quit and failed, how it freakin’
OWNED me? I am free, free, free! How’s that for gratitude?

A multiple memo Monday

2011-11-21T22:20:39Z

I didn’t sleep well (again) and despite the extra hour from "fall back",
I arose late. Was almost tempted to skip the "M" part of "RPM" ( rise,
pee, meditate) but there’s been enough of that lately. Not too much,
but enough. So I put the coffee on and settled down with my iPod Touch
to listen to the Spring 2011 21-Day Meditation Challenge, Day 6. The
subject was FLOW.

Now, the interesting thing is that yesterday I wrote up and shared some
notes I’d made while watching the film "HAPPY". The subject of FLOW
figured prominently. FLOW is when you challenge yourself doing
something you love and you get into the zone, such that time and space
are transcended as you are totally absorbed in the task. This morning’s
meditation alters that slightly to describe it as give and take with the
Universe, like breathing. I give carbon dioxide and I take oxygen. And
davidji reminded that Monday is the Law of Giving and Receiving. I
happened to be tuning in on a Monday, so I guess I’m supposed to pay
certain attention to FLOW today, balancing it so not as to give nor
receive too much.

Good Morning Sunshine

Finally, I arose from my meditation and prepared my coffee. Sat down at
the computer. Released a blog post to LinkedIn – first time I ever did
that – and flipped over to Facebook. Very first thing I see is a
message from a dear friend who is celebrating her wedding anniversary at
Walt Disney World. She’s got my keyword front and center, and we’re
apparently having coffee together this morning Thanks, friend!

Symbolic of “flow”

2011-11-21T22:21:50Z

I was at the Food and Wine Festival last week, for a very brief visit to see my brother and his family. I have been weighing purchases more carefully in recent month than I have in several years. I went to a kiosk full of Food and Wine merchandise and told myself this might be the first year since 2002 that I did not purchase the collectible pin.

That is, until I saw the one with the torri gate.

This is a symbol of the portal between the physical and spiritual worlds. It is also a symbol of the Eastern goddess of flow", of being in sync with the Universe.

I bought the pin.

Time to rest, time to act

2011-11-21T22:22:36Z

Just a bit ago, I posted to friends in my meditation group that I had
managed to reach a state of "Budda Burnout" by exposing myself to too
much spiritual food, too fast. So for the last two mornings, I did not
"Rise, Pee, Meditate" – I just could not muster the enthusiasm for
anything beyond "Rise" and "Pee".

I thought about the Chopra Center dude, davidji, saying that he’d not
missed a morning meditation in years, and felt guilty. And along comes
my friend Paulo Coelho to set me straight -
paulocoelhoblog.com/2011/09/19/solve-et-coagula/

I guess I have these overachiever tendencies… also, I should not be
such a glutton. The body can only process so much food at once, so much
drink, so much work, so much exercise, so much study – and, I guess, so
much enlightenment. When it’s balance that you’re seeking, tipping the
scales isn’t the best idea!

The Humor Cure

2011-11-21T22:23:01Z

It’s been mostly gray and dismal this week. But we don’t need the
weather to cooperate in order to have sunshine. We just need a good
laugh

Slacker haven

2011-08-15T20:22:12Z

Did you know? If you are a total slacker but your desk is in Jersey City, you get to keep your job. But if you are a Get Shit Done ass-kicker and your desk is in Florida, not so much.

Not that I’m bitter, or anything.

Yeah, I know. I should just get over it, already.