Roses blooming in April? Oh yeah. All over the Hill. This is VERY early for roses here. Wow.
I've been busy. This is a good thing, it is. I love teaching, so that's good, and working a lot (excellent for my poor bank account). I've attended more than the usual amount of social gatherings, experienced unexpected intersects with people I haven't seen in awhile, and I'm working on a couple of projects, PLUS I'm reading a great book I don't want to put down.
It's all a bit much. Many people I know live like this all the time. How in the world do they do it?
Just this morning I am realizing how much I value my ordinarily spacious life. Almost always, my life has lots of wiggle room between scheduled events. To paraphrase my beloved Gertrude Stein, it takes a lot of time to live the way I like to live - and I am NO genius, believe me. The contemplative life requires a lot of sitting around doing nothing, really doing nothing.
I feel out of it - out of touch with my blogfellows, out of touch with the landscape (since I've been rushing from one destination to the next, not stopping to take pictures or think or notice). My room looks as if a small bomb has exploded recently. Stacks of Reiki handouts, clothes, books, coffee cups and partially read New Yorkers are everywhere.
After today I'll have a little bit more time for my usual pursuits. I've been having a lot of fun with all the busyness of late, but enough is enough! Whew.
Actually, I would rather you be out of synch than 'N Sync, if you know what I mean. So much more interesting to follow...! EFH
ReplyDeleteSigh. I love Gertrude Stein. I love sitting around doing absolutely nothing. That's how I balance.
ReplyDeleteAnd look at you, Willow. You are a genius!
ReplyDeleteI struggle with this all the time. When I'm alone I want company and when I'm with company I want alone time. *shrugs*
ReplyDeleteMaybe it's the energy of the planet right now, Reya, I feel exactly the same way. And I didn't know this paraphrase of Gertrude-it's when I have enough time and space that I compose my best work! My teaching and the end of the year recitals, competitions and exams seem in alignment with the bursts of life you've been photographing. and the roses-gorgeous! Hope you stopped to smell them :-)
ReplyDeleteI have a very hard time sitting around doing nothing. One of the reasons TV doesn't interest me much. Really, the only time I can enjoy sitting around doing nothing is when I am on vacation AWAY from home.
ReplyDeleteI admire you, Ellen. Maybe by doing nothing, I mean having the spaciousness to notice what's going on, to notice the sky, roses, the breeze, etc. For me it also includes time to contemplate which is what I do while walking, also while just sitting on the back porch or on my couch, doodling and thinking.
ReplyDeleteI'm not very contemplative (I can only handle it in short bursts & then I bore myself) but neither am I a fan of being BUSY. If I have more than one scheduled thing per week I'm flummoxed.
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean. I like the contemplative life, as well. I leave at the end of the week for ten days with my grandson while my daughter and son-in-law vacation in Costa Rica. After that, it will be moving. Busy spring, but hopefully a quiet summer.
ReplyDeleteWhen are you coming this way?
I learn from you so often. The "contemplative life"... yes, I need to learn how to do that and not just fill up the time I have eked out, but learn how to more properly make the most of it. Reading insightful blogs is one good use of time. As for my reading choices I haven't gotten where I'd like to be.
ReplyDeleteDoing nothing- me- all the time- or is it valued as "nothing" because i don't get paid a huge sum? Being busy is such a distraction from nothing. Get back to nothing, I miss you...
ReplyDeleteeesh. know the feelin'. know the feelin'. you rock reya, in any event. x j
ReplyDeleteyou handle busyness better than i do! i have trouble holding back the stress monster...but having nothing to do is even worse, especially on these great spring days. Cheers!
ReplyDeleteI think busyness is my usual state, not that I ever planned my life to be like that. It's having nothing to do that gets me off kilter!
ReplyDeleteI love that Stein quote--I also generally have a lot of time to myself & it can be disorienting when there's a lot of busyness. Here's to your schedule opening up!
ReplyDeletereya!! all the little bits pile up sometimes and then they become a set and it seems like the skin of your existence takes on a life of its own like a race and the deep spaces are bubbling along and you can feel them but you can't really see them. i've been passing through this very existence for the last two months and its so hard to come from way within when i'm dealing with the surface so much but hey life passes on and there's a reason for all this stuff. tomorrow i share what i know with student teachers at the local university how to place their spiritual essence in the centre of their teaching. how lucky am i!! steven
ReplyDeleteSteven, how lucky THEY are!
ReplyDeletethe skin of your existence takes on a life of its own like a race and the deep spaces are bubbling along and you can feel them but you can't really see them.
Oh yeah. Tomorrow I get to come back to myself. What a relief!!
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteMy normal life is like your busy life. I'm always running to stay up with it. But you are my role model for "spacious living."
ReplyDeleteI'm a slacker. Oh yeah.
ReplyDeletego with the flow --we will be here waiting to hear all about it-blessings to you!
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteSocial media like anything else is a balancing act. I can't imagine being without it, however. Vital ideas, whimsy, art...how exciting. Love your reflection photos. Is that chrome, pretty rare these days.
ReplyDeletePaul it's the back side of a Vespa, so yeah, probably chrome. You've got a good eye!
ReplyDeleteThe only thing I've noticed out of sync is the sun when it's supposed to be setting. Here in Toronto it sits high in the sky at 6pm when it should be slightly above the horizon to the west.
ReplyDeleteIs the sun in Washington, DC, sitting wierd in your sky, Reya?
The sun seems to be in the right place in the sky here, Barbara.
ReplyDeleteOH, this struck a chord. I was busy/busy while I was away, and I haven't stopped since I came back. Some people truly do like to be busy all of the time, (maybe so that they DON'T have time to think?), but I'm not one of them.
ReplyDelete