Imagination is more powerful than Will.

Discuss.

It may frost tonight so I went out and took the last of the vegetables except those under the cold frame.



from the right, deiseil:
broccoli flowers (vase), cauliflower, sage, rosemary, tomatoes, cabbage, basil, and a beautiful mum. Also sprinkled with marigolds.

Oh, there's also a mass of beans and some scrabbly, but tasty lettuce and kale as well (not shown).

( A couple more under the cut )

My back was so stiff and my neck had a crick in it this morning. Too much activity over the weekend (yard work). I took a diazapem this morning and it worked really well (I totally understand why they give it pre-op; it is an excellent muscle relaxer), but it left me unable to drive or go to work since I took it on top of the relafen and skelaxin. I did manage to tidy up the house - mostly paper, mail and bills - before the maids arrived. Money well spent to get a house cleaning once a month. They left me a note apologizing for the new girl rearranging my prosperity altar during the cleaning. No worries. It gives me the prompt to re-dedicate and re-focus - under a harvest moon ye gods.

Tigger the Cat is allergic to the new low protein food (to help her kidneys). We've tried 3 different dry blends (at $20/4 lb bag). It's back to good ol' Iams Senior. She liked the other food, but she broke out in hives and lost a lot of fur from licking and scratching. I'm giving the food to the local no-kill shelter.

I'm getting closer to making a decision regarding the new furnace/ac. I wrote the Lennox guy and told him I was leaning that way since they have been taking care of the old one but that it was coming in $1000 more than the other estimates for similar units/systems. The guy wrote back and said he could bring the price down with "just announced" rebates. I called another dealer just to get a different quote on the same Lennox system.

M&M just called about wings & beer. Oh no!! No beer for me! I agreed to go as they will pick me up (no driving for me). We'll eat a few wings, watch some sports, and then drop me back home in less than an hour or sooner. I guess I should get out and socialize with my peeps.

I was thinking about my change in work habits, brought out by my health issues. When at work, I work. I single-task on multiple projects. Lo and behold: Zen Habits pops in a blog entry concerning Productivity 2.0 excerpted below.


4. Don’t multi-task — multi-project and single-task.

Old school: Multi-tasking is productive. Juggling tasks shows how productive you are, says old school productivity. I’ve written enough about multi-tasking for you to know where I stand on that.

Productivity 2.0: Multi-project and single-task. While I won’t go on once again about single-tasking — focusing on one task at a time to be more effective — I will say that multi-projecting has its uses. Let’s say you’re working on Task 1 of Project A — you should single-task while working on Task 1. But when it’s done, you might need to wait for a response from your boss before moving on to Task 2. In that case, while you’re waiting, you can work on Task 1 of Project B, single-tasking while doing that. When you’re done with that, you might need to hear back from a client before moving on to the next task of Project B — in which case you can either return to Project A if your boss responded, or move on to Project C. Single-task while working on any one task, but working on different projects to make your time more efficient can be a useful skill.

One of the most glorious things in life is awareness. External awareness. Internal awareness. Emotional awareness. Intellectual awareness. Situational awareness. Spiritual awareness.

( Something marvelous is happening at work. )
( Something wonderful is happening with my health. )
( Something intersting is happening with my attitude. )

I could really use a beer.

I've been consciously redefining my lifestyle for the last year or so. I've learned alot from my LJ friends who are traveling similar roads.

I've decluttered my office, my home, my personal habits and my mind. I've realized that my job, in which I get paid to do what I love, is not the sole defining factor of who I am. I understand that my workaholic routine is not healthy - professional, personally, and spiritually. I'm practicing a more sustainable lifestyle by honoring the Earth, conserving energy and resources, eating locally, being fiscally responsible, treating all people with respect and dignity, and consistently avoided conspicuous consumerism. It took many years and is still ongoing. I have all the time in the world!

Thank you! I am satisfied with all that I have!

I recently found this excerpt from Clay at the Growing Lifewhich I thought expressed my current position.


Abundance 2.0
Abundance 2.0 is sustainable abundance. It’s fair-trade abundance. It’s the kind of abundance that doesn’t produce megalomaniacs.

Abundance 2.0 means that you live a radically authentic life, be radically true to yourself, get paid for being you, quit the things you need to quit, and still have enough materials possessions to be happy and make your family happy. Abundance 2.0 is what happens when your life is so great that the private jet just isn’t necessary.

Note: I’m not advocating asceticism, or saying that you need to deny yourself all material possessions and live a celibate life in the woods. Furthermore, I entirely embrace the notion that you might make millions as a side-effect of living a beautiful and authentic life. I’m cool with that. I do, however, believe that when you’ve come alive, you’ll be fine with . . .

The Beautiful Bare Minimum

When you know what time it is, when you’ve come alive, when you’ve found that goal that galvanizes you (or it’s found you), then that private jet probably won’t matter so much. When you’ve found something that’s truly important, the sacrifices just won’t seem like sacrifices. The truth is that we can have a couple of nice things, like a sweet computer or a new car, and still live on very little (if necessary) if we ditch cable and don’t eat out all the time, and stop paying $5 per beer when we go out with friends. We can deal. In fact we can more than deal… we can live beautifully.


full post at http://thegrowinglife.com/2008/04/the-cult-of-abundance-goal-auto-immune-disorder-abundance-20/

She had everything to live for and nothing to die for so she refused to play in some sort of contrived symphony designed not for humanity but for the amusement of the gods in a stone temple carved from barren rock to house some dismal eternity in which fake luminosity emanated in imminent fury while the wind whipped through the empty corridors to scatter dust and ash from the fire that burned in her heart so frozen so dead that the wolf howl echoed in abandoned fury pliant under the full moon set up in the night sky in curved antiquity set in a cycle that slowly lengthens every second and provides some small measure of certainty in an uncertain world where people pretend that something anything matters and that god is not dead at least until she gets what she wants or most desires even if she doesn't know what it is or can't share the consequence of her desire because it is just too much although flowers still bloom and the small butterfly wafts and wings its way over the fence not knowing what is on the other side but some dreary flower drooping from thirst and being so dependent on the earth for sustenance while the grit settles in copper urns filled with the remnants of some historical farce written by victors and not the victims in some baleful comedy that goes on and on and on as the sun rises yet again moving across the sky in a golden arc of misery and seduction as trees rise up to greet the energy resisting the pull of gravity as she lays by the crown weighing so heavily and so irresponsibly on those that do not deserve it do any of us deserve it she wonders but why not she deserves some happiness even if it is manufactured by those who see everything as a commodity everything striking down with awe as she escapes escapes into a secure fantasy world constructed just for her just for her just for her

I'm sitting outside on my patio surveying my domain. Bird song mingles with chimes. Warm sun. Cool breeze. A cuppa jo in my hand. Fresh fruit on my plate. Lilacs send out a floral tribute. Faint noises of the city.

Waking up at 6 am gives me plenty of time for quiet contemplation, a yoga routine, and a healthy breakfast. I am home by 6 pm from work and have not had to bring anything home to work on. Efficient and productive. A healthy home-cooked meal and time to savor life. A quick workout. In bed with a book by 10:00 pm. Restful sleep.

Trivial tasks accomplished: Front lawn mowed, edged and trimmed. Dead branches cut and stacked into the woodpile. Yard waste in the bin or to the curb. Clean kitty litter. Recycling to the curb. Fresh green juice. Trash compacted and placed curbside. Dishes washed and put away. Floor swept. Altars refreshed. Banking accomplished. Bills paid. Gratitude expressed.

Today is my shortened mid-year review since our review period is only 9 months this year. For the first time EVER, I am not anxious and stressed about it. I've been doing what I'm supposed to be doing and making good progress. We talk about future plans for professional development. I'm writing a proposal for a postdoctoral research project in order to find external funds and speed my research projects along. The lab is tidy. My office is decluttered. A zen garden sits atop the file cabinet.

I'm where I should be.

Intellectual engagement. Emotional satisfaction. Spiritual enlightenment. Healthy lifestyle. Harmony.

Mind. Body. Spirit. Peace. Love.

The moment I make a decision - a definitive, wholehearted commitment - it sets into motion events that I could never have forseen that provide assistance and opportunity towards creating the reality I envision. Order is brought forth from chaos. Gods, such wonder.