Friday, February 29, 2008
Tubby Tote Board Tightrope
In the last few weeks I have been on vacation and then had a stress induced food-fest. This morning I weighed myself and the news wasn't good. I'm walking a fine line trying not to cross the 'magic number' line. I'm not going to post today's number on my tubby tote board (see bottom of the column on the right side of the screen). I'm going to give myself the weekend to do a bit of recovery. The news on Monday probably won't be good but with luck it won't be as bad as today's news either.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Returning to what has sustained me
I have been having to deal with a lot of interpersonal issues lately. Some have been difficult. When I got home tonight I read through the Prayer of St. Francies. A copy of it hangs on the plaque in my room. It offers a lot of guidance. Here it is,
Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
Where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master, grant that I may not seek so much to be consoled as to console, to be understood as to understand, to be loved as to love; for it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
Amen.
This contains so mush wisdom and I think anyone who can remember to live by it will both be happy and help others to be happy. St. Francis probably doesn't need any editorial suggestions from me. But if I had one thing to add to this prayer, I would add a line that says, "Where there is difference, let me sow tolerance." It is very easy work so hard to win on an issue that you can lose track of what is being given up to do it or the pain that is being caused to others on the way.
I'm putting this post in the poetry category even though that's not entirely accurate. The prayer of St. Francis is poetry to me, though, because it gives me what I seek in poetry - beauty and inspiration.
Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
Where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master, grant that I may not seek so much to be consoled as to console, to be understood as to understand, to be loved as to love; for it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
Amen.
This contains so mush wisdom and I think anyone who can remember to live by it will both be happy and help others to be happy. St. Francis probably doesn't need any editorial suggestions from me. But if I had one thing to add to this prayer, I would add a line that says, "Where there is difference, let me sow tolerance." It is very easy work so hard to win on an issue that you can lose track of what is being given up to do it or the pain that is being caused to others on the way.
I'm putting this post in the poetry category even though that's not entirely accurate. The prayer of St. Francis is poetry to me, though, because it gives me what I seek in poetry - beauty and inspiration.
Monday, February 25, 2008
A few more Arizona pictures
It was a long day and when I got home I decided to look over my trip pictures again. I picked out three more to post here. It was wonderful to be out there in the quiet, open space. It is probably too dry and stark for me but I can see what so many people see in it. As always, click on a photo to see a larger version.
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Not taking breathing for granted
Today I went for a hike through the park nearby to get some exercise and to find a few more geocaches. The geocaching part went well. The hiking was a little more challenging. It was cold and that seemed to make it harder to breathe. I had to stop a few times on the way up hills to catch my breath. A couple of times that was difficult to do. When I got home I just sat for a while and spent some time appreciating the fact that I was breathing easily again.
This brought home again a desire to focus on what is truly important. It's easy to let some things take on a great importance when more important things aren't considered as carefully. I've seen lately some of the trouble that that can cause. It can become an infectious attitude and I will be working not to let it get the better of me.
On the nicely flat ending part of the hike today, I took a picture with my phone. Not the best focus but the reflections on the still river water were beautiful.
This brought home again a desire to focus on what is truly important. It's easy to let some things take on a great importance when more important things aren't considered as carefully. I've seen lately some of the trouble that that can cause. It can become an infectious attitude and I will be working not to let it get the better of me.
On the nicely flat ending part of the hike today, I took a picture with my phone. Not the best focus but the reflections on the still river water were beautiful.
Monday, February 18, 2008
Wasson Peak
I am very glad to have made this trip successfully. It was a test for me. It was harder to do than the last trip I made up here. Still, I made it. Not bad considering I'm also older and tubbier than the last time.
It's a 9.8 mile round trip. I still have the 4.9 mile return leg to go!
It's a perfect day here. I'm attaching a picture taken from the peak.
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Weather changes
Well, what a difference a day makes. After the beautiful sunset on Thursday, the weather got colder and it started to rain. It rained most of Friday down on the desert floor and snowed up in the mountains.
On Saturday the mountains had snow on them at least as far south as Tubac, which is very unusual. Elaine, Karl, Tracy, Barry and I were down in Tubac to do some shopping. While we were there we did a really cool puzzle geocache that involved finding eight locations, reading some info from them, and using that info to get the coordinates for the final cache. It was a ton of fun. We located the final spot correctly and were all wandering around looking for the hidden item and trying to look casual. It was a hoot. Karl eventually found it. I had almost given up.
On the way home we stopped at the Longhorn Grill in Amado for dinner - the second heavy meal of the day. It was very tasty but maybe not too good for my tubby tote board.
A great day!
On Saturday the mountains had snow on them at least as far south as Tubac, which is very unusual. Elaine, Karl, Tracy, Barry and I were down in Tubac to do some shopping. While we were there we did a really cool puzzle geocache that involved finding eight locations, reading some info from them, and using that info to get the coordinates for the final cache. It was a ton of fun. We located the final spot correctly and were all wandering around looking for the hidden item and trying to look casual. It was a hoot. Karl eventually found it. I had almost given up.
On the way home we stopped at the Longhorn Grill in Amado for dinner - the second heavy meal of the day. It was very tasty but maybe not too good for my tubby tote board.
A great day!
Friday, February 15, 2008
Out in the desert
I spent some time yesterday out in the desert. I took my GPS with me and found four of the five geocaches I was looking for. It was a great time. I did have some trouble with the hiking but managed to do OK. This was the first time I had actually rambled off the trails here. It was fascinating. Lots of exposed loose rocks and all the plants have points on them. It was also very windy yesterday and the dust was flying everywhere.
When I got back to the car I was dirty, bleeding in a few minor places, and had cactus spines sticking out of my legs. It was great.
On the way back, the sunset was beautiful and the light on the mountains was dramatic. There was a lot of rush hour traffic and I wondered if the people in the other cars were noticing what was going on around them. I wonder if you get used to this sort of thing if you see it every day. Probably so.
When I got back to the car I was dirty, bleeding in a few minor places, and had cactus spines sticking out of my legs. It was great.On the way back, the sunset was beautiful and the light on the mountains was dramatic. There was a lot of rush hour traffic and I wondered if the people in the other cars were noticing what was going on around them. I wonder if you get used to this sort of thing if you see it every day. Probably so.
Thursday, February 14, 2008
In Tucson
I'm visiting a friend in Tucson this week. There's a gem and mineral show here that is huge. I shopped about a bit yesterday but didn't find anything too memorable. I hope to do a little hiking in the mountains here later in the week. They're predicting snow today so I think this won't be the day. The sunset last night was spectacular.
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Sunday morning
This morning I started out slightly before dawn armed with my cool GPS device and found my first geocache. If you haven't heard about these, you can find pretty much everything you need to know on Wikipedia and on Geocaching.com. It was my first stab at this so I went for one that was supposed to be very easy to find. I found it and I am unreasonably proud of myself.
Part of the trip involved a short but steep hike up a hill. I was surprised at how many times I had to stop and catch my breath. Less lung has really made a difference for me. What I had wasn't such a big deal compared to what others have been through. Still, things like this remind me that it was substantial nonetheless. I'll be going on a trip to Arizona shortly and hope to do some hikes in the mountains near there. I'm interested now to see how that will work out.
Just after I found the geocache, there was a sudden downpour of little snow pellets. It only lasted for a couple of minutes. With all the pellets hitting the dry leaves, the wind, and the sunrise, it was a multisensory experience. Last week I started what will be some particularly difficult challenges at work. This morning was a good way to get some perspective on that.
I'm including a couple of photos I took on the trip.
Part of the trip involved a short but steep hike up a hill. I was surprised at how many times I had to stop and catch my breath. Less lung has really made a difference for me. What I had wasn't such a big deal compared to what others have been through. Still, things like this remind me that it was substantial nonetheless. I'll be going on a trip to Arizona shortly and hope to do some hikes in the mountains near there. I'm interested now to see how that will work out.
Just after I found the geocache, there was a sudden downpour of little snow pellets. It only lasted for a couple of minutes. With all the pellets hitting the dry leaves, the wind, and the sunrise, it was a multisensory experience. Last week I started what will be some particularly difficult challenges at work. This morning was a good way to get some perspective on that.
I'm including a couple of photos I took on the trip.
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Only by being already at home here
It's Ash Wednesday. They really got me with those ashes this morning, too. I got the zealous lay minister. They tend to be very enthusiastic in their duties.
There is a poem by Stevie Smith with the title "God Speaks". In it, she makes a point about how people are eager to get to heaven but seem to miss the point a lot. I think it's still under copyright or I'd post it here. The last line is quotable, though, and sums it up fairly well. It is, "But he cannot come by wishing. Only by being already at home here." That seems to be a goal worth working toward.
I've made an assortment of vows for Lent. They all center about trying to be a generally better and kinder person. I won't list them all here. One simple one will prove to be the most useful, I think. I'm going to take a little time each evening to review how well I did that day. I should learn from that.
Today marks three months since I had my surgery. It seems so much longer ago than that.
There is a poem by Stevie Smith with the title "God Speaks". In it, she makes a point about how people are eager to get to heaven but seem to miss the point a lot. I think it's still under copyright or I'd post it here. The last line is quotable, though, and sums it up fairly well. It is, "But he cannot come by wishing. Only by being already at home here." That seems to be a goal worth working toward.
I've made an assortment of vows for Lent. They all center about trying to be a generally better and kinder person. I won't list them all here. One simple one will prove to be the most useful, I think. I'm going to take a little time each evening to review how well I did that day. I should learn from that.
Today marks three months since I had my surgery. It seems so much longer ago than that.
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Mardi Gras
It's Mardi Gras today. I celebrated by buying donuts for the office and then eating several of them. That might be all the celebrating I do this year.
I'm setting myself up for a lot of things to do over Lent. The religious tone of that period causes me to keep to some self-improvement things much more successfully than anything else. I might as well do that to best advantage.
I'm setting myself up for a lot of things to do over Lent. The religious tone of that period causes me to keep to some self-improvement things much more successfully than anything else. I might as well do that to best advantage.
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