Hang Tight.

"You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand."  ~Jesus (John 13:7)

Understand

"To understand music, you must listen to it. But so long as you are thinking, 'I am listening to this music,' you are not listening."  ~Alan Watts

Anchored

Excerpted from Invitation to Meditation by Howard Cohn, © 2006:

In reality, you never leave the present moment. You're always here. You're never not here. You only imagine that you leave the present moment.

You are anchored to the present moment in three different ways. One, by your body, which contains the five senses. Whenever you feel as if you've slipped away from the present moment, allow each of the senses to reconnect with your immediate surroundings. Allow yourself to be immersed in the sights, textures, sounds, scents, and tastes of the present moment. As you do so-- again, by simply noticing-- you are aware that you are alive in the present moment.

Two, you are anchored here by your breath. With each inhale, and with each exhale, you sink more deeply into the present moment. Inhaling, you expand. Exhaling, you release. Inhaling, you experience the breath. Exhaling, you let it go. Inhaling, you settle into the body's natural stillness. Exhaling, you gently harmonize your body and mind. Inhaling and exhaling, you are aware that you are alive in the present moment.

Three, you are anchored here by your awareness of your thoughts. Notice them as you would notice the sights and sounds around you. Notice them as you would notice a cloud passing through the sky. Notice that certain emotions may arise with certain thoughts. Don't stop them. Don't be afraid of them. Don't react to them. Just notice them. Let them come and go like changing weather patterns. And in doing so, may you realize that they are just thoughts and emotions-- nothing more. And in doing so, may you realize that you are still here-- still anchored in the present moment.

Optimism

As Political an Act

"Once you see it, you can’t unsee it. And once you’ve seen it, keeping quiet, saying nothing, becomes as political an act as speaking out. There’s no innocence; either way, you’re accountable."  ~Arundhati Roy

Other People's Property

"Out of the blue someone I hadn’t heard from in two decades wrote me an email. It was a long letter mostly detailing what they had been doing in the ensuing years. Then they reminisced about the last time we saw each other way back when. I didn’t remember the event at all, but they did in detail. The gist of it was we were crossing a busy street together when a dog ran out in front of us and was hit square on by a speeding car. The impact was so great it spun the large dog round and round like a top. I had forgotten this completely and only after reading their description did I have one of those 'Oh yeah, I remember that!' moments.

"It led me to wonder how much else of my life have I forgotten—lost— but other people still possess because they remember. There are so many things happening to us along the way that we forgot. But someone often does remember them, as we remember things about others that they have forgotten. Isn’t it strange that events in our lives— OUR lives—belong to those others now? Unless we see or talk to these people, we will lose these things forever. Yet even without us, those events live on in the lives and minds of people we often forget or never see again. Our lives on their hard drives…"  ~Jonathan Carroll (via)

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Apparently I am the type of person who buys a xylophone on impulse.  Until yesterday, I did not know that about myself.

In a not unrelated aside, the happy little song posted above is one of the few Fats Domino's songs that does not feature the piano.  It features the xylophone- and my wife Mona has already learned to play the solo.  :D

Courtesy

There is a Japanese monster Betobeto-San, which follows behind people at night making the sound of footsteps. It is not dangerous, and can be escaped simply by standing to the side and saying “After you, Betobeto-san.” (via)

See If

"Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting."  ~Psalm 139: 23-24