A Day of Light — Longer Lives

Posted on September 22, 2011 by a moment with god — Leave a comment

Night Blooming Cereus: Photo by Ann Peters

Good Morning, God!

Yesterday seemed for me a Day Filled with Light! I stopped on my way to the gym to take photos of the white puffy clouds. And this cereus looks like a Cupful of Light. Amazing, God, that all this beauty lasts just for one night. Youtube is FULL of time lapse videos of cereus opening and closing.

I think, God, that “not having any work to do,” since my second retirement, might have something to do with my enhanced appreciation of Sky, Light and Day.

Easing up from “Too Busy” has taken several weeks. And the process of unfurling may be continuing. But today I noticed how good it was not to rush.

Looking back at our Hahaione Valley from the gym

Good Heavens, God! What Madness possessed me? Hmmm. Maybe a need to keep on working is bred into us? Maybe it is some ancestral memory of cultures where there just wasn’t “enough” for people who weren’t “useful and productive?” I have no idea if the Eskimos ever did put their old out on ice floes — but, deep down inside, I worry. Yikes!

It seems that Otto von Bismark, the “Iron Chancellor” of Germany, selected 65 as the age for retirement back in the 1880s. He introduced a social security system to reduce the appeal of the Socialist Party to the workers. Of course, God, Bismark, like our Congress 55 years later, knew that very few people lived to be 65. It was for many years a cheap and easy gift to give.

Our improved life expectancy is good news for those of us who are living longer — but, it is creating some challenging economic and social situations. Please help us, God!

Tagged with: a slower pace, time to enjoy
Posted in Light

Character — Doing the Right Thing

Posted on September 21, 2011 by a moment with god — Leave a comment

Sara Tucholsky hit her first home run then had a torn ACL

Good Morning, God!

I want to get this blog out early to share this great story. Sara Tucholsky was a senior playing softball for Western Oregon. She’s only 5’2″ and she’d never hit a home run. But she did hit one in an important game between her team and Central Washington. Her team was one game ahead in the standings at season’s close. She hit the home run and then while rounding first she crumpled to the ground, her knee injured.

Her team couldn’t help her. Even touching her would be an out. If the coach put in a runner it would be a two run single, not a three-run homer. Her coach talked to the umpire. But there really weren’t any options.

Liz Wallace (left) and Mallory Holtman carry Sara around the bases for her homerun

Then they heard a voice saying, “Excuse me, would it be OK if we carried her around and she touched each bag?” It was a player from the other team!

And that’s she and and a teammate did.

It was Mallory Holtman who had the idea. She said she had been playing longer than the others and knew that opposing team’s players could touch her. Sara hit the home run, she said. She deserved it. It was just the right thing to do.

Just the right thing to do, God, just the right thing to do. It cost them the game and maybe a championship. But it was the right thing to do.

I hope folks will watch the video because just telling the story doesn’t do it justice.

Posted in a hand up, relationships, respect, Rethinking, The gift to SEE others

A Young Anthurium and Growing Throughout Life

Posted on September 20, 2011 by a moment with god — Leave a comment

a young anthurium growing in a pot in my car port

Good Morning, God!

This is still a very young anthurium — only a bit over 6 inches now — and last week it was so furled up an small I thought it might be a leaf. Funny how anthurium leaves and flowers start out looking pretty much the same.

Usually a hint of color marks the flower, but this one was a khaki color when I first noticed it. I love these flowers, God. I love how quickly they grow — if I give them lots of water. By next week my 6-incher may be over a foot long. We’ll, see.

Water, Love, Attention — we like all Your Creatures, large and small and even green — need them for growth.

I’m beginning to think that growth is the only game in town. I mean personal growth — as in MY growth. I feel like my friend who truly believed he embraced Change but wasn’t changing. I have had growth as a personal goal since college. But, actually growing is hard word, and often painful.

When we are young, God, growth seems effortless. We grow taller. We learn more in school. We are like my young anthurium bloom, unfurling. But, then, God, just as we hit 21 and think we’re done, growing gets harder!

Hmm. I realize now that my earlier growth goals might not have been Your Goals. I didn’t really want to grow more patient, more forgiving or more humble. Sigh, those three: Patience, Forgiveness, and Humility seem a lot more important than anything else I can think of right now. Please help me, God!

Posted in being together in a compassionate presence, Growth Opportunities, humility, Patience

Food Stamps and Farmers’ Markets

Posted on September 18, 2011 by a moment with god — 1 Comment

Inside our local Whole Foods

Good Morning, God!

Yesterday, after a trip to the Farmers’ Market I stopped at Whole Foods. They had lots of local produce — which was great. But, the prices were significantly higher.

I can’t imagine anyone who uses food stamps — or SNAP debit cards, the new version — shopping at Whole Foods. But, can they shop at the local Farmers’ Markets?

I had never given this a thought until I read the article, A Double Win for Fresh Food, in the current issue of YES magazine. It seems the state of Michigan has a program called Double Up Food Bucks (DUFB) It’s funded by the non-profit Fair Food Network, and it allows SNAP card users, shopping at a Farmers’ Market, to get up to $20 back in tokens. One token for each dollar spent. The tokens can be used only at a Farmers’ Market and only to buy local Michigan produce.

It’s a double win, God! The families get more nutritious fresh fruits and vegetables and the farmers get more customers. It’s the UP side of my DOWN side question, “Why is it that people are allowed to buy soft drinks with food stamps?”

While reading the rules, God, I learned of a strange one: SNAP cards can’t be used for alcohol or tobacco (good), but neither can they be used for vitamins or soap. HUH? They can’t buy soap?

I’m feeling small, God. I was judging what I considered to be poor choices made by folks on food stamps. But, judging isn’t helping. How much better to create a program that makes good nutrition a good economic choice. I wonder, God, could OUR STATE do what Michigan is doing?

Tagged with: Double Up Food Bucks, good nutrition, helping local farmers and the poor, using SNAP cards at Farmers' Markets
Posted in choices, Farmers' Markets, food questions, Understanding

Full Moon: A Constant in the Flow of Changes

Posted on September 17, 2011 by a moment with god — Leave a comment

Full Moon in a Lavender Sky

Good Morning, God!

It has come to me that the regularity of the Moon may well be one of the reasons I love it. It cycles so predictably! I can check my calendar. Plan in advance. Count on it.

So many other elements of my life — really my world — seem more changeable than I would like. Just last Sunday a friend was confessing ruefully that while he says he loves change — and honestly thinks he loves change — he is resisting switching from his old computer program (Word) to another (Pages).

Oh, God! I so understand! I remember when I bought iLife ’11 and was so upset — yes, angry even — when it turned out all the things I knew how to do in iPhoto had been “hidden!” Aargh! On one, perhaps two occasions, I might even have raised my voice against the lovely staff at Apple Care.

Sigh. As I told folks at the retirement residence at which I worked until recently, “We are all victims of involuntary upgrades!” Bad enough our memories are not “water tight,” without having programs we know and love morph on us.

Changes far exceed involuntary upgrades, God! Entire mindsets get turned upside down — backgrounds become foregrounds and visa versa. Take the article in the March 2011 Discover magazine The Ecosystem Inside. (Click the title to hear it.) It turns out taking antibiotics is like setting off an internal “bomb,” hoping more bad guys die than good guys. We have 20 times more microbes (bacteria, viruses, fungi, etc.) inside us than we have cells! Like 200 trillion! And lots of our troubles come because we have damaged the Good Guys to the point they can’t protect us from the Bad Guys. Good bacteria? Shoot, God, it’s hard to keep up!

Tagged with: Full Moon, involuntary upgrades, the accelerating flow of change
Posted in accepting my ability to REDESIGN, accepting my need for help, adjusting, being a beginner, Changing, complexity, Humility or Needing Help!, Rethinking

Too Many Cattle Egrets?

Posted on September 16, 2011 by a moment with god — Leave a comment

Too many Cattle Egrets

Good Morning, God!

I remember the first time I saw cattle egrets. It was back in the 1980s and I saw two or three of them in the watercress patch below the Pearlridge Shopping Center. I thought they were beautiful.

I still think they are beautiful, God. But, they are multiplying! And I am beginning to suspect there are too many egrets. I can usually count 20 to 30 in the park across the way. I took this photo as I was poised to come out of our driveway — because there were nine egrets together on the fence across the street. Usually they are spread out — each in his or her own territory.

I was curious if anyone else thought there might be too many egrets and found an article about them in the current issue of the Hawaii Audubon Society journal, ‘Elepaio. These birds didn’t come to the United States until 1941 (to Florida) and now they are in almost every state and in every continent except Antarctica.

Hawaii brought in cattle egrets on purpose — to reduce the number of flies, which were damaging cattle hides. In 1959 the Hawaii Board of Agriculture & Forestry began the introductions, in cooperation with ranchers, the Honolulu Zoo and the bird club Hui Manu. They brought in 150 birds — followed by 32 more. Hmmm. Now how many are there?

I guess, God, I wouldn’t mind their number if I weren’t concerned about our golden plovers. Egrets don’t just eat insects. They also eat small birds and the eggs of larger birds. Cattle egrets are not good neighbors, God. I guess they, like most of us, don’t think about that.

Tagged with: a moment with God, cattle egrets in Honolulu, too many cattle egrets
Posted in complexity, interspecies contact, web of life

Djokovic: The Gluten-Free Poster Boy!

Posted on September 15, 2011 by a moment with god — Leave a comment

Novak Djokovic -- World's Top Tennis Player

Good Morning, God!

Our daughter, Suzanne, loves tennis and as Kit played on Punahou’s tennis team — she likes to “talk tennis” with him during major tournaments like the U.S. Open.

That’s how it happened that I actually watched Novak Djokovic playing and winning last week. Still, I wasn’t a “fan.” His repeated bouncing of the ball before serving irritated me.

However, all that was “erased” after I read an article that Suz sent me about him in the Wall Street Journal. It was about how Novak discovered he was allergic to gluten — and since last year has sworn off pasta, pizza, beer, bread, pretzels, empanadas — anything with gluten in it. Now he’s burning up the Courts! Physically stronger and mentally more focused. That last part sounded really good!

I knew about gluten and Celiac disease, God. But I had never thought of just being allergic or sensitive to gluten. I know we crave what we are allergic to. Maybe that’s why eating bread makes me want to eat EVERY THING? For years — off and on — I’ve been on a no grain diet. But, I clearly need help with motivation. Djokovic’s mental fitness has provided extra motivation.

But, I was still left with the problem of HOW to CHANGE. Imagine my delight just yesterday when my friend, The Blonde Vegetarian showed me a prototype of her new cookbook called The Freedom Cookbook. The recipes are gluten free, soy free, dairy free and EVEN have FISH and FLOCKS recipes! Great news to this “Meat Eater!” And she let me buy that copy!

So, now I have both a Poster Boy — AND a book full of easy recipes and great tips. Thank YOU, God!

Posted in Changing, food questions, freedom, healing, health

Reflections on Retirement

Posted on September 14, 2011 by a moment with god — Leave a comment

Koko Head reflected in the window of the Blu Water Grill

Good Morning, God!

Decompression (from my second retirement) is happening rather slowly — but it IS happening. My week seems a bit more free. My time is more my own. And, I have more time to share with others — yesterday celebrating (a bit early) a dear friend’s birthday!

What’s my view from this slower lane? Mostly wonderment that I didn’t move over sooner. Smile. Yes, God! I am a slow learner. Hmmm. And in some areas, a non-learner.

I need help, God, in not putting stuff into the spaces and places left open by retirement. Actually, an Event here or there hardly counts. What tired me at “work” was the ongoing nature of diverse responsibilities. What was “tiring” was never really ever being “done.” And having far more that needed doing than I had time or energy for.

Now, even as I say that, God, I realize that I was only aware of the “weight” after it was gone. Humph! If I had been AWARE I would indeed have retired earlier. Our ability to ADAPT — our ability to get used to things — is, mostly a great gift. But, sometimes it means that we just don’t pay attention to ourselves. We Fail to Notice — especially we fail to notice situations that change gradually.

Please, God, we don’t have dials to check so please help us get far enough away from our daily lives to “see” our “reflection” — see and act. Thank YOU!

Tagged with: a moment with God, reflections, slow decompressing in retirement
Posted in a series of molts and upgrades, living within limits, rest, seeing, setting my life in context

Understanding Mom’s Cat — Hearing What Is Not Said

Posted on September 13, 2011 by a moment with god — Leave a comment

Queen Katrina, my mother's cat

Good Morning, God!

I have finally discovered that Queen Katrina, Mom’s Cat, loves to be scratched sort of roughly. I grew up with cats that loved to be petted gently — not handled “roughly,” so it took me a while to figure it out.

My first clue was when a person visiting my mom used her feet to pet Katrina. FEET? I was amazed. But, after that I tried it myself and the cat definitely liked it.

So I have taken to really scruffing her fur up and she keeps coming back for more.

This is a great relief to me because for so long I had no idea what it was that Queen Katrina wanted when she would come and sit and LOOK at me. Now I have know at least one thing she wants.

Still, I have the feeling that The Queen has “other issues,” and I do wish that I could understand her better.

Understanding — standing with — creatures and people is so important! And, I tell You, God, some people are as hard to “hear” as my Mom’s cat. Still, I am hoping that “trying” counts. And I’d love Your Help!