true, true

equal truths, originally uploaded by emdot.

I read one of these in a Facebook comment, the other in a Sierra Club email. I love them both.

overheard

the string-bean making reflection of an old chevy truck, originally uploaded by emdot.

Me: Did you know that you can pay your Cal Poly parking tickets online?

Mike: You sound very excited about that. Did you know that you can refuse to pay your Cal Poly parking tickets offline?

wrapping up loose ends

remains of the day, originally uploaded by emdot.

I love loose ends. I'm way more comfortable to leave things hanging than to tie things up. Tying things up makes me nervous.

But that does not serve me.

A couple of weeks ago I read a little blog post by Christine Kane about loose ends and how these create energy leaks in our lives. She says to wrap things up to have more energy and focus on what your heart really wants to do.

So I made my list. My four-paged list of things left undone. And I began to tackle them. My four-paged list became a three-and-a-half paged list. And a week later and I'm at two-and-a-half pages. Progress.

I'm giving myself four months to wrap it all up. End of September and I'm going to be one wrapped up emdot. And I hoping that this will bring new focus and clarity, a huge sense of accomplishment, and new comfort with resolve and closure.

moonglow lamp low all i need is a rainbow

[Hear the song. I played this song over and over when I first heard it. Oh Eleni. So lovely.]

overheard

trying to get our head systems guy to help me out at noon....

marya: is lunch really that important to you?
mark: me ignore you. you go away.

later...

mark: now, don't be offended by this word, but i think it might be Sephardic.
marya: why would i be offended by that word?
mark: ah. well. i...
marya: you're 12.

blur moon rising

last week's amazing full moon, from Discovery Park in Safford, Arizona. it was a lovely one.











a docent was walking around with her flashlight, looking for rattlesnakes and the "resident gila monster." and she kept standing too close to the camera, hence the left-side light bursts.

Stella (aunt), Robert (uncle), Evan (brother) and I took a walk to Discovery park as the day turned into dusk. We ran into Rochelle (aunt) on the walk and we all turned around to call it day. But once we got to Robert and Rochelle's Rochelle said, hey let's go up to Discovery Park to see the stars. So we jumped in the car and headed up the easy way (no rattlesnakes or gila monsters). There we innocently crashed an observatory party and got to see Saturn in the telescope and became the life of the party (take my word). And I got a bunch of blurry night shots.

overheard

Marya: How hot is it outside?
Evan: Too.

overheard

Upon Evan's perplexed and shocked reaction when I announced that he was going to help me clean up after dinner...

Grandma: he's got a puzzle in his eyes.

getting to Reader0

Ever since drinking the Getting Things Done Kool-Aid, I revel in getting to Anything0. Work inbox0. Gmail0. Reader0. Especially Reader0.

I went on vacation and had no internet access for six or so days, which meant I was at Reader>1000 (it stops counting after 1000). Being a big fan of "Mark All As Read" I promptly did so with most of my often-updated subscriptions. Except these. I can't with these. I love these feeds and no matter how much I'm dying to declare Reader Bankruptcy (hit the Mother of all Mark As Read), I can't bear to not read these. :)

So five days home and I still haven't hit my Reader 0 mark. But at least I know I have good things to see and read. Special shout out to Craft and Design*Sponge, my fave of the faves.

I love this photo

Holga Lake, originally uploaded by Echo_29.

Pure magic. From the Echoes.

in the dark despite repeated patterns

in the dark despite repeated patterns, originally uploaded by emdot.

sometimes i have to learn the same thing over and over again before it sinks in. and then when it does sink in it feels as if this is a Brand New Thing Never Learned Before Shazam.

for instance, meditation. i'm a pretty good meditator in that i can sit still for hours. not a problem. if my nose itches -- i can sit there with that itch and not even feel a twitch from my hand to scratch. i just sit there with the itch. i know it will go away. i kinda let the itch scratch itself.

this morning i realized (in the shower of course where all ahas happen) that i could treat my emotions the same way. just don't scratch them. don't follow them. don't write them down in my blog (ha ha ha heh). just be still. and let them scratch themselves.

i love rooftops

i love rooftops, originally uploaded by emdot.

definitely the highlight of my day today.

overheard

We got a message today, warning us to not get sucked in to a particularly tricky spam email that hit the campus.

Mike: Oh my god. People actually responded to that scam.
Marya: How do you know?
Mike: ITS just sent out an email.... What? Does my mom work on campus??!!

overheard

KMC: Design is like flying a kite. Some days are windy and others aren't.

(she's one of my student assistants, off to fly the coop this spring when she graduates in june. she's a good one, that kmc)

i'm very serious

better than abracadabra, originally uploaded by emdot.

try this. soak in it. marinate yourself. see it. taste it. smell it. hear it. know it. put it next to your heart. feel it on your skin. that's a good start.

what a great quote

I have learned not to worry about love; but to honor its coming with all my heart.

— Alice Walker

I get a daily email from the Sierra Club called Daily Ray of Hope. Truly, the only reason I get the email is because they pull images from Flickr and there is a chance that one of my photos will be used. :) But sometimes the quotes are so good, it keeps me subscribed even though I rarely submit a photo.

and now break time

whew. that was like an internets blitzkrieg. and on that note, i'm hitting the road and not taking the internets with me. good bye internets. see you when i see you.

all i want to pack is books

I'm going on a trip tomorrow. All I want to pack is books (I've written about this before). Books, a couple pens, lots of paper. My iPod. That's all I want to take. But I'm thinking I should seriously consider a change of clothes and maybe a toothbrush. :)

Today started out great, but then I got into a weird mood. But the good thing that happened is that I went to look for that packing blog post (referenced above) and instead went down a really fun emdot memory lane. I sometimes get embarrassed that I still blog, but I tell you, it's a fun personal read for me, going back and seeing what was going on five years ago or so.

Things I was reminded of tonight:

• If I love you, you DO have a nickname in my life. :) (or you will soon; i just realized becky doesn't have a nickname) (and i adore her).
• I crack myself up
• overheards are still fun (for me) to read

When you can't run

My foot has been hurt now since mid-February. Look. This isn't going to kill me, but damn if it doesn't hinder what I can do. And all I can tell you is that what I've needed to do for the past three months straight is this: RUN.

And I can't.

And that, my friends, is frustrating.

And it's not that I'm a good runner or super fit or training for some major-run-a-thon. But that my body needs to be moved to physical exhaustion for the benefit of my brain. My brain has all this crazy energy that needs to be released via serious strenuous physical exertion.

I guess this is a complaint blog post. :) I had to share. Thank you, blog, for being a place to share. With strangers. And/or huge internet void. Either way.

Everyone: send me your healing foot vibes so I get get out on a trail or a track again. And I will reward you by being a sane, exhausted person.

Note to self

Fireworks #1, originally uploaded by Camera Slayer.

Note to self (part II)

Fireworks on Planet Krypton, originally uploaded by MikeJonesPhoto.

Love

, originally uploaded by moxiee.

Wow. I really love this photo. Taken by Flickr friend Moxiee/Annie (I was lucky enough to meet her via 7s) at a friend's wedding. This photo gets me in the gut and in the heart. Just so great.

give it time (aka me stating the obvious)

good morning, originally uploaded by emdot.

what i love about life: it all comes around. if you can't find your groove -- sit tight, it will come. lost your focus? your vision? your gumption? it'll come back. just trust and hold on.

lately i've been grasping at my old goals... but not really feeling the passion for them. the drive the mission the focus... all of this has eluded me for a good three months. instead i felt foggy and muddy. and worried that i'd lost my way.

this morning (and maybe i'm being premature; maybe i should hold on for a few days at a time of feeling like this; maybe it's just the coffee) i feel laser sharp and ready to go.

THANK GOD.

i needed that back. i needed that back to go forward.

and now it's May and I love May and forward I go. and i hope things are good and forward for you, too.

Seeing what was not seen before

yolk / yoke, originally uploaded by emdot.

Dudjom Rinpoche says of the moment when Rigpa is directly revealed: “That moment is like taking a hood off your head. What boundless spaciousness and relief! This is the supreme seeing: seeing what was not seen before.” When you “see what was not seen before,” everything opens, expands, and becomes crisp, clear, brimming with life, vivid with wonder and freshness. It is as if the roof of your mind were dying off, or a flock of birds suddenly took off from a dark nest. All limitations dissolve and fall away, as if, the Tibetans say, a seal were broken open.

— Sogyal Rinpoche

Ain't that the truth, though.