Racing and Running, Praying and Pruning

Posted on September 6, 2012 by a moment with god — 1 Comment

Kit at the Kauai Marathon awards ceremony — the fastest man 65+

Good Day, God!

I am THANKFUL! HAPPY! JOYFUL! Kit finished the Kauai Marathon in great shape. He won his Age Group and was the fastest man among 65+. BEST OF ALL, he ran a Boston Marathon qualifying time of 4:39:06, with 54 seconds to spare.

Sandy videoed him crossing the finish line and in it we hear her happy screams. I only wish someone could have videoed me as I saw Kit coming toward the finish and started running toward him screaming “YOU DID IT! YOU DID IT! YOU DID IT!

Kit is in great shape — not even sore. I, however, am another story. 1) In my mindless anxiety I didn’t even think about putting on sunscreen while watching for Kit. Yikes, such a sunburn I have. 2) Then, two days later, as I was running fast — from sheer delight — to the boarding gate for the flight home, I tripped. I did a four point belly flop. Two of the points were my knees. Swelling was instant in my right knee which did not want to bend. Two days later the swelling is going down. Thank You!

Then, just in case I missed the point, a friend sent me a link to the very first blog I ever did. In it I say: We are called to be Trees planted by the River — whose leaves do not wither and who bring forth fruit in season. I like that thought. Help me to refrain from excessive doing and committing. Help me do it – lest I be pruned!

Sigh, I recognize that You are attempting to prune me. But, I acknowledge that I am not yet pruned. I shall now go and Sit in Sacred Silence. Please help me prune voluntarily.

Tagged with: Age Group Winners, Kauai Marathon, overdoing, pruning
Posted in a prayer for healing, Centering Prayer, Cherishing our Bodies, Common sense and reasonableness, compassion to care for myself

Aimlessness vs Floating

Posted on August 31, 2012 by a moment with god — Leave a comment

Boats floating in the water off of Waikiki

Good Day, God!

I have been thinking a lot about aimlessness. My church’s statement of faith talks about aimlessness and sin. And my Left Brain does think aimlessness is a kind of sin. My concern about aimlessness arose while I was home sick.

“Ah”, I thought, “I’m not finished transitioning from work into retirement!” It has been one year now, God. One year since I let go of “external goals and purposes.”

Then, after discussing my sense of aimlessness with June, my spiritual director, I decided to reframe it as floating.

I like floating, God. In fact, when I am in the ocean I spend a fair bit of time floating and admiring the fish. I am not a purposeful swimmer. I don’t log miles. I don’t take photos. I don’t even get much exercise. I mostly float and enjoy.

That is pretty much where I am now in my life.

God’s Hotel: A Doctor, a Hospital, and a Pilgrimage to the Heart of Medicine

I’m floating and enjoying what’s going on around me. Not that I enjoy everything. I worry a bit about my mother. I won’t have her forever. In fact, I won’t be here forever, either. These are sobering thoughts. But necessary thoughts.

And by chance I am reading a book that shines an almost holy light on these thoughts of life and death. The book is God’s Hotel: A Doctor, a Hospital, and a Pilgrimage to the Heart of Medicine by Dr. Victoria Sweet. Stories about her patients put my tiny problems into a healing perspective. And her affirmation about our body’s desire and ability to heal are encouraging. She says that a first step is to remove what gets in the way of healing.

Please, God. Help me recognize and remove what gets in the way of healing.

Tagged with: aimlessness and sin, Dr. Victoria Sweet, floating, God's Hotel, slow healing
Posted in Books, Changing, Cherishing our Bodies, healing, health, Transitions

East Meets West — Personally

Posted on August 25, 2012 by a moment with god — Leave a comment

Looking out the window at the Juju’be Clinic with my feet in a small warm jacuzzi

Good Evening, God!

In hopes of completing my recovery I went this noon to get an acupuncture treatment at the Juju’be Clinic and Salon. A good friend had raved about it — but I didn’t feel I had room to add anything more to my life. Hmm. No room . . . sounds stressful.

But back to my treatment — I left my shoes at the entrance, stepped onto the tatami mat and filled out a health form. Next I was taken to a comfortable recliner and put my feet into a warm water “jacuzzi.” Then the attendant asked me to select — by color — an aromatherapy scent. I picked aqua which turned out to be good for the Throat Chakra. She squirted it on my wrists and asked me to smell it while taking deep breaths, first through one nostril and then the other — for five minutes! That was followed by a salt scrub of my feet, ankles and lower calf.

After that Dr. Kamei did my acupuncture treatment, inserting LOTS of needles in my neck and shoulders. I “floated” for a while under heating lamps before the needles were removed. Then I turned and got needles on the front of my shoulders. It was oddly relaxing!

The highlight for me came when Dr. Kamei explained — in Western Terms — that my sympathetic nervous system (the Go-Go system) had been more active than my parasympathetic nervous system (the Healing system). Oh! I knew about those two systems but only as “information.” I hadn’t thought to apply it personally! But what good is “information” if I don’t apply it?

Please, God, help me focus more on relaxing — on Centering, Praying and Praising — for total healing.

Tagged with: acupuncture, aromatherapy, holistic healing, relaxing, salt scrubs
Posted in healing, health, relaxation, responsibility, Rethinking

Lost in the Longs Parking Lot

Posted on August 24, 2012 by a moment with god — Leave a comment

A young Kolea lost in the Longs’ parking lot

Good Evening, God!

After sleeping in and doing nothing much this morning, I ventured out this afternoon. I went to pick up a medication for my mom at Longs. Coming back to my car, I noticed what looked to be a very young Kolea.

My first thought was that he or she was probably born this summer in Alaska. The Kolea (Golden Plovers) fly off from Hawaii in April to Alaska — where they pick a partner and raise a family. Then they all fly home in August.

I just Googled Kolea and learned that the juveniles are not supposed to return until October. But this bird looked like it had somehow flown in early. For one thing it didn’t seem to know enough to be afraid — I got much closer to it than it is normally possible.. And it just looked puzzled, as if it hadn’t expected to land in a parking lot.

I couldn’t help thinking — where are your parents? Where are your friends? I know, God, that You have done a marvelous job designing these birds to fly from Hawaii to Alaska and back. But, this little bird seemed to need more help!

Ah, maybe I am over identifying? I have not been my “normal” self-sufficient self these last three weeks. And my wonderful husband, Kit, has done a splendid job of caring for me. Family and friends have called to check on me — and to offer advice. I have even taken some of the advice.

I guess, God, that I want every creature to feel cared about. Cared for — valued — heard — and helped out of the parking lots of life!

Tagged with: Golden Plovers, Kolea, lost, need for help, self-sufficiency
Posted in accepting my need for help, Caring, Families, friends

Opening Our Windows and Our Minds

Posted on August 21, 2012 by a moment with god — Leave a comment

a rainbow in our valley this morning

Good Evening, God!

The day began with a rainbow. Then I worked around the house. And tomorrow if I have not “relapsed” with another sore throat, I shall consider myself recoveredI

The photo of the rainbow was taken from the window in our lanai — a closed window. This morning I went all around our home opening windows. And that was because of an article in Discover magazine (July/August 2012). It was about the ecology and microbiology of the Indoors. This new field is booming now that the DNA of microbes can be sequenced relatively cheaply.

The field got its start thanks to a chemist named Dr. Paula Olsiewski. She was in charge of the Sloan Foundation’s initiative on biosecurity after the 2001 anthrax attacks. When she inquired about the science of indoor biology, she found there really wasn’t such a field. So she asked J. Craig Venter to help with funding to establish one.

The timing was perfect. Before, scientists could only study microbes that could be grown in a petri dish, and that is only 1%. Now, given cheap sequencing, the other 99% has become “visible.”

But back to why I opened my windows. It seems, God, that Florence Nightingale was right when, over 150 years ago, she insisted that patients needed outside air. Inside air is filled primarily with microbes from humans. And in hospitals that can mean deadly microbes. In a series of studies in Peru, Dr. Rod Escombe showed that simply opening windows cut the rate of TB infection by two-thirds. The diversity of the outside air is that beneficial.

Soon after opening my windows I thought: Minds need to be opened, too! We need to experience a diversity of ideas and viewpoints. Closed environments can breed nasty ideologies.

Tagged with: diversity, Dr. Paula Olsiewski, Dr. Rod Escombe, fresh air, natural ventilation, the ecology of the built environment
Posted in Changing, health, Rethinking, Transitions

Microbiomes, Mexican Pyramids and MORE

Posted on August 20, 2012 by a moment with god — Leave a comment

The Pyramid of the Moon in Teotihuacán Photo by Gorgo from Wikimedia Foundation

Good Day, God!

I’m so aware of how much I don’t know. In my Centering Prayer this morning, God, I was overwhelmed by how much MORE You are than we can ever realize.

Then, while reading the October 2012 issue of Discover magazine, I learned that we have an intestinal “microbiome” that functions like an organ. It seems that the contents of our intestinal track are now considered one of our microbiomes — one we can’t live without. It was several months ago that I came across the idea of fecal transplants. Now it seems that our understanding has deepened and gastroenterologists like Colleen Kelly consider the microbial contents of our bowels “like an organ.” And, like several organs, it can be “transplanted” with amazing results. Good bacteria from the transplant can overwhelm the assorted troubles caused by bad ones like Clostridium difficile. Promising news!

Pyramid of the Sun

Next I stumbled on a blog about the Pyramid of the Sun in Teotihuacan in which I learned that it and the Pyramid of the Moon were not built by Aztecs but early in the 100s by a people unknown — maybe the Otomi. And that the city itself may have been multiethnic.

Both are examples of what I don’t know — and examples of subjects not often examined in my educational past.

There is so much going on, God! Going on inside each one of us. And going on in the vast and busy stretches of our Past. So much more than we know! Yes, God, MORE is a very good word.

And we are only one species on a small planet in one of billions of galaxies. We are small and fleeting — ah, but, we are loved! Thank You, God!

Tagged with: C. difficile, fecal transplants, microbiomes, Pyramid of the Sun
Posted in complexity, learning, web of life

Bromeliads, Microbes, and Nourishment

Posted on August 19, 2012 by a moment with god — Leave a comment

A Bromeliad Bloom

Good Day, God!

After entering Week Three of Not-Being-Well, I now have a whole new respect for Viruses and for our immune systems. My latest relapse was just a slight sore throat and one or two Sweating periods. But, it resulted in my canceling my long anticipated Day Out and going to bed.

Sigh. This is Humility Writ Large, God!

Oh? . . . No? . . . This is Humility in a Very Small Dose. Dang! You are right. It is a very small dose. Not like a Major Illness. Just a Nudge reminding me of my Mortality . . . need for self care . . . and an awareness of my Impermanent but Lovely Body.

Why has this taken me so LONG to learn, God? Oh! I say that as if I HAVE finally learned how to care for myself. I haven’t. I am learning. That too is humbling. Oh such slowness!

Speaking of slowness I just read in the latest Discover magazine about microbes living in muddy sediment from 86 million years in our “past.” They have been living in that mud for that long. But, to do that they have to utilize the scarce oxygen at a rate two-millionth that of the cells in our human bodies. The scientist who discovered them, Hans Roy says that “they are hanging on in a state of sustained starvation.” Talk about living on the Slow Track!

Gosh, God. That phrase — a state of sustained starvation — conjures up all sorts of thoughts. You have set us in a Time and Place of Great Nourishment. All around me is food for my Mind, my Heart, my Body and my Spirit. I am free to feed myself — to nourish and be nourished by beautiful bromeliads, by family and friends, by tsunamis of information — and by You.

Let me go now and sit quietly before You in Centering Prayer.

Tagged with: a state of sustained starvation, microbes, nourishment, self-care
Posted in accepting my authority to set limits, acknowledging my need for prayer, Centering Prayer, healing, humility

Balancing — Falling Down and Getting Back Up

Posted on August 17, 2012 by a moment with god — 1 Comment

Ear Chart at our Hawaii Kai Costco

Good Morning, God!

All I could think of as I looked at this chart was: We are fearfully and wonderfully made. We are! You have done a marvelous job, God, and I am thankful!

I noticed on this chart that the ear is not just an organ of hearing but also of balance. Ah, Balance! If ever we need a good solid sense of balance it is during Life’s Little Transition Periods — like Kit getting hearing aids yesterday.

Our Entire Being has been designed by You to improve with exercise and with proper care. Improve at any age! That’s the Good News. The Bad News is it involves Effort and Hard Work. OK, OK! Not HARD as in the Chinese workers we saw carrying iron rebars on their shoulders up the side of a mountain. That’s Hard Work.

Perhaps it is more a matter of diligence and discipline, God. Practicing to the point of fatigue — keeping on . . . keeping on. But, it isn’t just keeping on. It is also rotating what we do. Balancing, weights, aerobics, stretching, relaxing. And that’s just for the body.

Our Mind needs exercise too. We CAN grow new brain cells — with focused application. Kit and I are both “playing” Lumosity and there are times when my Brain actually Hurts. Playing until I hurt is the Point! Getting better is a by-product.

Then there are our Hearts and Souls to exercise too. Praying, Loving, Forgiving, Encouraging — and saying NO. That means Accepting and even Setting Limits. It means Balancing Doing with Being. Balancing Work with Rest. Balancing Time Together with Time Alone.

And in all of this We are In Charge. No Bosses. No external deadlines. No grades. Yikes! Please help me learn to help myself.

Tagged with: Balance, Being In Charge of Ourselves, diligence, effort
Posted in accepting my ability to REDESIGN, accepting my authority to set limits, accepting my need for help, Balancing and adjustments, balancing free with supported

Contemplating Sprites and Sickness

Posted on August 14, 2012 by a moment with god — Leave a comment

photo of a Red Sprite from the Space Station

Good Day, God!

I am growing BORED with being sick, God! BORED and IRRITATED! Part of me feels like I am under attack and another part (more full of faith) feels it has all been a gift.

Tomorrow I see our favorite doctor — to find out about this viral plague. But ENOUGH about me!

So, You can understand, God, how when the Terra Daily posted an article about Sprites I thought that is JUST THE THING to take my mind off of myself!

Looking at the photo — there is what looks like a pillar of red slightly above that bright white patch of a storm. That’s a Sprite. Sprites last one thousandth of a second.

The article says that Sprites are discharges of positive electrons that go UP . . . 50 miles up . . . above the storm. Apparently, lightening consists of negative electrons that go down toward the ground. Of course, God, You know all about this — how it works, and so forth.

But, we humans are just starting to understand. In fact, we are just beginning to acknowledge Sprites exist. Pilots have been talking about Sprites for years but their reports were mostly dismissed. We do that, don’t we God — ignore stuff that doesn’t fit into our World View. And, I am afraid we do that to You a lot, God.

Let’s face it. You DO NOT FIT into our mental map. Even those of us who believe You exist don’t really have the right of it. Hmm. Maybe those of us who try to fit You in are further off? Drat! That’s quite possible. Please, God, shake up my Mental Map. Please make more ROOM — in me and in my map –for You!

Tagged with: ignoring what doesn't fit, mental maps, positive electron discharges, Sprites
Posted in being repotted, Expand my Heart, Faith, Praise, Trusting God

Simple Days: Beads and Books

Posted on August 11, 2012 by a moment with god — 1 Comment

the view from my sick bed

Good Day, God!

Under the thumb of my flu-like illness resting has been relatively easy to do. I only overdid on the day I had real tea — too much of it. But, without caffeine I have been more than happy to stay in bed.

I was particularly happy yesterday after I spent a few minutes removing clutter and making my “sick room” LOOK nice. Thank You, God. It was a lovely lesson on the “practical importance” of beauty.

Now I am in my office which is overflowing with beads. Not just the beads I brought back from Prescott and Quartzsite in Arizona but years’ worth of beads. Today I took a necklace Kit that bought me at the Hall Museum gift shop in Prescott and I turned it into a shorter necklace, earrings and a bracelet! I am sitting here smiling, God. Smiling even if my desk is piled with “potential projects.” Maybe tomorrow they can be set aside . . . or maybe assembled?

Dearie: The Remarkable Life of Julia Child

I’ve been zipping through Dearie, a biography of Julia Child. The book starts with a history of Pasadena of all things.

Being free to spend time with books is almost worth the pain of being sick. I confess that it took a few days of mindless reading before I could move on and mostly up to Eli Broad’s (to rhyme with road) autobiography The Art of Being Unreasonable. Eli delighted me. I love it when billionaires care about giving to good causes!

Hmm. You are right. All of us can experience the joys of giving!

Speaking of giving, God, I have been well enough to wash the sheets, do dishes and some cleaning up. I’m finally giving a wee bit back to Kit after he has spent so many days doing everything!

Tagged with: moving from sick to well
Posted in healing, health, thankfulness