I've been trying to apply some of my Tao and yoga meditation to my life in general, observing my feelings, my body, my children, my family and friends, strangers even. Sometimes I do well, observing myself and others without judgment. But often I don't observe my own reaction until it has stomped off in a direction I hadn't intended.

I sat at my first deathbed vigil recently. I suppose I am blessed to have gotten this far in my life without having done that. It was unexpectedly inspiring. I feel like, for the first time, I am considering the whole possible span of my life. I wonder what thoughts will meander through my mind my last minutes of this life. I am aware of the impact of my choices on my own peace and that of others. I am enjoying the relationships I have more recently, despite the various stresses each relationship presents. I am trying to collect wonderful memories. I have many already. Am I greedy to want more? I think love just expands.

When you are young, you can barely see past the next grade in school. Maybe some people made a career path in high school, but who knew everything that would happen, plans or not. Now, from mid-point in the journey, I am considering how I want Part Two of my life to roll out. I am more aware now that I need to hold any plans loosely. I think what I want to be when I grow up is peaceful.

I've been tagged to do a MiMe: a minimalist memoir. The rules are as follows:
1. Write your own six-word memoir
2. Post it on your blog and include a visual illustration if you’d like.
3. Link to the person that tagged you in your post.
4. Tag five more blogs with links.
5. And don’t forget to leave a comment on the tagged blogs with an invitation to play!


So here's me:

Cosmic Gypsy
enjoying life's beautiful adventure


I'd love to hear one from
Mark
Anne
Julie
Dan
and Yolinna

(Greeny, John, & Mom were already tagged.)

I volunteered to run an art project for my daughter's fourth grade class and was given the theme of Japan. I planned a simple, pretty painting project of cherry blossoms and started with a great children's book called Zen Shorts.
Without really thinking about it, I found myself leading these children to consider some principles of Zen. I'm no expert, I just liked this book. Here is a paraphrase of the favorite Zen Short.

The Farmer's Luck

A farmer worked his crops for many years. One day, his only horse ran away. His neighbors came over, shaking their heads and said, "Such bad luck!"
"Maybe," said the farmer.

The next day, the horse returned with two wild horses. The farmer's neighbors came over and exclaimed, "Such good luck!"
"Maybe," said the farmer.

The next day, the farmer's son tried riding one of the wild horses and was thrown, breaking his leg. Again the neighbors came over and said, "Such bad luck!"
"Maybe," said the farmer.

The next day, military officers came through the village to draft young men into to army and head off to war. They saw the young man's broken leg and passed him over. "Such good luck!" his neighbors exclaimed.
"Maybe," said the farmer.

I am tired of being the grown up. I want a ticket to Never Never Land.

I don't want to spend another moment thinking about my escrow account, my basement drainage, my taxes, that stack of unfiled bill receipts, how much money is left on my line of credit, or the clanking sound my dryer is making.

It's beautiful outside and I'd rather be battling pirates or photographing mermaids.




I loved this movie. Peter Pan is such a loaded story. Cool song too.

The new show in our house is Ninja Warrior on the channel G4. My son found it and now we have Japanese announcers excitedly shouting in our home. It took a while before I finally started reading the subtitles, which are often amusing. This clip (my first experiment in embedding video) doesn't have the subtitles.

Have you guys seen this? The accidents can be brutal. The tension is addicting. It's very entertaining.

I can't remember if I said it on my blog, but I know in conversation that I have compared my current feelings about raising my children, edging into teenage-hood, to the time when the tide recedes from the beach before the tsunami hurls in. I know it's coming soon, but it's not here yet.

This weekend felt like the tides began to turn and the waves are headed for shore.

Nothing terrible. All manageable. All, in a way expected. This weekend just felt like an onslaught for me. Combine that with the first weekend of cookie booths for the girls scouts, a cat with a malicious pee-ing habit, and you can see why I took a nap today.

Aahh, a tall glass of Chardonnay and my book...

My sweetheart did ride in on the first wave, helped cook dinner and shuffle kids in order to take me to the Baltimore symphony. It was wonderful once we finally slogged our way there. They played the score to a Charlie Chaplin movie that they showed: City Lights 1931. I had never seen a whole Chaplain movie before. (Technically I still haven't because the two martinis and the warm theater made for a moment or two of drowsing.)