Friday, November 27, 2009

The blog has moved!

Yes, I migrated.

The year ahead will be in Wordpress. Numerous people have told me it is better, and worth learning. And, my buisiness web site is in Wordpress, so I need to learn the details. What better way to learn a new skill than by sharing the exploration with my faithful reader.

So. Put on your coat and boots. Come over to Wordpress with me.

McFloozy lives here, and has a LOT to tell you.

Thursday, November 26, 2009

The New, Improved, Renovated Blog -- A Year of ...

DAY 1

Hello readers,

After watching Julie & Julia, I realized I needed to renovate my life, get a grip on my health and mission, and (of course) prepare for my book and move tour. I suspect Sarah Palin will be through with her bus by the end of the year, so that's an option...

And now, of course, the question is... What exactly am I going to write about for the next 365 days? Julie had 524 recipes. Well, that's been done. So I'm thinking of what my year of pondering and progress will focus on.

Several ideas have come to me. None have fully solidified as the Feature Focus. Here are some of the possibilities:

A Year of Mindful Living
Walking to Gatsal. 365 days, 30 pounds, one lifetime
Your Daily Soup
Creating an Attitude of Gratitude, one postcard at a time

I even considered getting a hookup thingy ding so my sneakers can talk to you, my devoted reader, on a daily basis. Actually, those talking sneakers are real chatterboxes, so they twit out this and that all day long. Not much for plot though.

Of course, I could mix all of the above in A Year of Living Out Loud With Slippers On.

And now, for today's special message. It is Thanksgiving. We stop in our tracks and appreciate the people around us for a day. We appreciate our food, and where it comes from. We enjoy fine wine. And we reflect a little bit about what we appreciate. Here's my tip of the day. Appreciate everything tomorrow too. Look people in the eye and listen to them, even when they make no sense (like Beatles lyrics). Give your attention generously. And notice that you feel more alive. And one more thing. I try to remember every day that life is precious and fragile. Cancer, bridges, earthquakes, trucks take lives away every moment. I'm lucky to be here right now. And right now. And in a minute. Yeah. I'm focusing on that good fortune and wonderful adventure of breahing. Enjoy!

Well, pleasant reader, what would you like to hear about for the next 365 days? What do YOU want to accomplish? What do you want ME to accomplish? See that comment box down there? Use it.

And Happy Thanksgiving.

Sunday, November 22, 2009

The Strawberry Parable

Buddha told a parable in sutra:

A man traveling across a field encountered a tiger. He fled, the tiger after him. Coming to a precipice, he caught hold of the root of a wild vine and swung himself down over the edge. The tiger sniffed at him from above. Trembling, the man looked down to where, far below, another tiger was waiting to eat him. Only the vine sustained him.

Two mice, one white and one black, little by little started to gnaw away the vine. The man saw a luscious strawberry near him. Grasping the vine with one hand, he plucked the strawberry with the other. How sweet it tasted!

- Paul Reps, from Zen Flesh, Zen Bones (Tuttle Publishing)

Today's Walk

On November 1, I made a deal with myself. I agreed to walk half an hour every day for the month of November. Thinking that maybe, just maybe, I could sustain the discipline of a small commitment for a short time.

So far, pretty good. There were a couple of days I didn't get out, a couple of days I walked extra, and a few days I went to the gym. Definitely progress. So much for the report card.

The gift here is a bit of discipline, and some moments of observation. When walking on the bike path, I can notice things, the changes. I am pretty isolated from the seasons in my windowless office and TV chair. On the path, I saw the golden leaves, almost luminescent with the sunlight shining through them. Then, another day, the tall ornamental grass (is it wheat? do we care?) backlit by the sun was pretty stunning.

Today, the milkweed pod. As usual, a metaphor for life.

Bursting, and releasing all those winged seeds. Some just fall down. some lost their little seed, and defy gravity (sing along here if you like!), some are tangled up and stuck in there. And some just drift off and settle down, get covered by leaves and debris and grow into a new milkweed next year.

So. Isn't that just like life? When you're dry and wrinkled and kind of falling apart, this new generation of life just explodes into the scene in a kind of amazing way.

Yeah. Look around. It's probably beautiful.