July 14--In The Garden

In summer, the song sings itself.  --William Carlos Williams 

    The photo with this quote is a panorama of rolling hills covered in bright yellow and orange wildflowers. Close your eyes, take a deep breath, and picture that in your mind. It is a lovely example of Mr. Williams' sentiment. 

    Warm-weather joys for me include golfing, gardening, walking with Barney, hanging in the backyard with my husband and a cold drink before dinner, lazing in friends' pools, baseball, and visiting the family in Colorado. While I'm not fond of extremes in heat and cold, I do appreciate no-need-to-bundle-up in the summer. 

    Speaking of songs, today's quote of "summer" and "song" made me think of one of my favorite hymns from my youth. Hence today's blog title: "In The Garden." It was also one of my mother's favorites, she being an avid gardener, too. Summer is a great time to visit a garden and appreciate the bounty of our fabulous Mother. 

    Stop and smell the roses!

        Leta

On a morning walk with Barney

July 13--Have You Been Cavorting Lately?

Cavort, dear, just cavort.  --Carol Burnett

    I remember Carol Burnett being quite good at cavorting. Merriam-Webster gives these definitions of cavort: 1) to leap or dance about in a lively manner or 2) to engage in extravagant behavior. 

    If you were to spend some time today cavorting, what would that look like for you? Leaping is pretty much out for me due to a titanium hip joint and general lack of desire. Dancing I can do, especially since it will be just me and Barney (dog) hanging out at home. Barney looks at me like I'm goofy when I dance, but that only makes me laugh. My singing makes him move to another level of the house. I'm also in the middle of a big de-cluttering project, which is for me very extravagant behavior. 

    Consider adding a little cavorting into your day!

        Leta

July 12--Focused on Love

We love because it is the only true adventure.  --Nikki Giovanni

    I've said many times that I could easily be a hermit. I know deep down that this is because I would not have to deal with the messiness of relationships, especially my codependent and people-pleasing tendencies. But I also know deep down that what I value most in life is due to love--family, friends, home, my dog Barney, creative work, fun hobbies. 

    Here's a challenging adventure... Richard Rohr, in his Daily Meditation from yesterday, reminds us: There is nothing to be against. Just keep concentrating on the Big Thing you are for!  There is so much in the world that I don't like, and it's easy to focus on that. It is a much bigger challenge to stay focused on love, the presence of Spirit in and through everyone and everything. We want love to expand, not antagonism and violence, so it behooves us to stay centered in love. 

    Consciousness matters.

        Leta

July 11--Alice is Right

No, no! The adventures first, explanations take such a dreadful time. 
--Lewis Carroll

    This quote is from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. 

    My recent lengthy road trip, in hindsight, was a little nuts. Maybe it was a lot nuts. But given the opportunity and what I wanted to accomplish, the way things fell into place was too perfect to pass up. I had a great time planning the route, hotels, baseball games, all of it. The anticipation of adventure kept me going, and fortunately I didn't think of how nuts it was (the "explanations") until afterward. 

    With last December's parasailing adventure in Jamaica, I accomplished the big three for me: skydiving, zip-lining and parasailing. I've shared explanations with many folks, but it is just too tough to put those experiences into words. Intentionally falling out of an airplane? Shooting across a canyon a thousand feet above ground? Flying silently over the ocean? If I can, anyone can! Go and do!

    How quickly we can talk ourselves out of adventure with too many explanations... "what if?" "I can't" "bad weather is coming" "I should do ____ instead" "what will people think!?!" No, no! Just do it!!

        Leta

    

July 10--Horizon

There is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun.  --Christopher McCandless

    I'm not too happy with the sun these days. Temperatures are in the high 90s or more, with what feels like equally high humidity. Dog walks have to happen very early and very late. It makes any sort of outdoor activity no fun, and even dangerous. It's cutting into my golf time. 😞 That being said, I still walk the dog--I just sweat a LOT. And I realize that the sun is not the problem!

    It's easy to let a dog walk fall into the "chore" category, same turf covered every day, no change in horizon. I get cranky when it's so hot and humid outside. But my crankiness reminds me that I don't have to make a chore of the dog walk, and if I actually look around, there's plenty to see and appreciate. (I tend to look down when I walk so that I don't trip on something.)  

    Reminding myself to check out the horizon,

        Leta

Barney endorses the NO vote.

July 9--BIG!

The world is big and I want to have a good look at it before it gets dark. 
--John Muir

    Yes, yes, yes! I've been to various parts of Europe, Africa, Asia, Central America, Mexico, Canada, the Caribbean, and many parts of the United States. As much of the world as I have seen, I still want to see lots more, and there is plenty more to see. It is curious to me that some folks are afraid to travel. I offer my inspiration that it is bad business to kill the tourists, so countries generally discourage that. Anyway, I'd rather die on an adventure than when sitting bored at home!

    Our Creative Source, maker of our world, is big, too. Here's a fun quote from Robert Fulghum:

Arguing whether or not a God exists is like fleas arguing whether or not the dog exists. Arguing over the correct name of God is like fleas arguing over the name of the dog. And arguing over whose notion of God is correct is like fleas arguing over who owns the dog. 

    We have unending opportunities to explore our world and Creator. To infinity and beyond!

        Leta

Alan Seeger Natural Area, central PA

July 8--Trippin'

It's great to arrive, but the trip's most always most of the fun.  --Malcolm Forbes

    I offer some random disjointed thoughts...

    These are trip-relevant definitions: a trip with children and/or pets is an adventure; a trip without kids/pets is a vacation. I do have to say that my recent 4,600+ mile trip was most fun in the arrivals, but the trip, i.e. driving, was not bad. Driving was the only way to accomplish what I had chosen to do. I couldn't have done it by flying. 

    I remember on road trips when the kids were young that it felt like we had to stop at every rest stop along the way. They seemed determined to see every toilet on the route. Now my husband and I are older and our bladders make us stop almost that often! 

    What is "arrival" anyway? There are stopping points, but we keep moving on, even in the transition known as death. It's one big long (hopefully!) life trip here on earth, in the midst of an eternal journey. 

    I like to listen to podcasts or audiobooks when I'm driving long distances. They keep me engaged and awake and seem to make the time pass so much faster. Invariably, I learn something from each one, which makes the trip even more rewarding. 

    As a general rule, I don't care to go to the same destination twice, because there is so much to see on our huge Earth home. I have made exceptions to my rule, and there is usually a beach involved. I've been to the eastern shore several times, to Mexico twice, and I'll be returning to Jamaica this December. To be in ocean, sun and sand is an arrival spot of which I doubt I shall ever tire. 

    Onward!

        Leta

Ocean City, Maryland, view from the condo