Tired, but in a good way, having just finished trimming the hedge which I started last weekend. Showered, dinner next and then a quiet evening.
Interesting clouds floating over the house.
Our house looks out onto the Pacific Ocean, in the far distance where water meets the horizon. I have been looking out onto that view ever since we moved here, just being grateful for the beauty of it and the perspective it offers when my mind is foggy. Then one day a friend visited and observed …
I have my voting papers for upcoming elections here in Hawaii. The first time that I will be able to vote in the US since becoming a US citizen.
I have just made use of my step-daughter’s infrared sauna to help rest some weary muscles. Yesterday was an extremely exhausting day, while at the same time also being very satisfying, as I trimmed and leveling off our hedge under a hot sun.
Bronx’s view of the neighbourhood.
Seeking shade.
Peninsular Notebooks, Porto
My analogue journaling and tracking of todo lists happens in Field Notes notebooks. Over the last couple of years I have grown to love the convenience (for me) of the size of Field Notes and occasionally will buy notebooks of a similar size but made by a different brand. While my wife and I were in …
The Great Lakes, summer 2022 edition of Field Notes has arrived and looks beautiful.
What I am reflecting on today, So I’m here to tell you that the path to peace is right here, when you want to get away. ~ Pema Chödron, Practicing Peace In Times of War
Tropical Storm Darby is having a lot to say for itself today. Rain, rain and rain, though interestingly the wind has died down from this last week. 🌧
On Saying Goodbye
Unintentionally this post is following close on the heals of my last post. I came across the article to which I refer in that post while writing this one. I still have an image in my mind of when I left my house in South Wales about sixteen years ago. All personal belongings gone, just an empty …
I came across this article in The Guardian from 2002 about the eco-house that I built in South Wales. I found a PDF version on my computer and then went looking online, and it is still there. How green is my karma | Green building | The Guardian
Some days just feel difficult, like trudging through treacle. Today is one of those days. It feels hard to get anything done and focus. I’m trying to accept that and bring it to light as opposed to hiding it under distractions.
It rained last night and I woke up to rain this morning. It’s a Saturday and right now a rainy Saturday feels like the right mood for the day, a situation that I could settle into quite comfortably right now.
I love Rainbow Shower Trees. Their flowers come in yellow, as in this photo, red, a sort of hyrid of these two colours, white with a hint of yellow, white with a hint of red. For me a Rainbow Shower Tree in full bloom sings to me of joy and happiness, and on a hot day a mature tree offers plenty of …
I had to psyche myself up for a job today. A job which through no process of negotiation that I am aware of, always falls at my feet. It is - changing the bed sheets. Now, no sniggering! The first part of this is easy - strip the bed, put the sheets, pillow cases and duvet cover in the washing …
Sitting nurturing a migraine on its second day. Just wanting the world to be still and quiet.
Summer showers, Heavy but brief - Steam rising from the asphalt.
Currently reading: Practicing Peace in Times of War by Pema Chodron. Actually I have this book on regular reruns, picking it up and reading a few pages during my meditation practice. I need to be reminded of the material in this book. I need to be reminded that as much as I might complain about the …
I love the expression (emphasis mine) that Thich Nhat Hanh used, in the quote below, to describe the dopamine effect that we feel when receiving a response through our devices. We all crave connection, and many of us try to find it through our phones or e-mail. We feel a neurochemical sweetness …
Amazon has its uses 😋
I find myself making another cup of coffee…and I have to be honest, I don’t know whether I am doing so because I want it, or as a distraction from what I am doing?! ☕
I find something very compelling in this quote by Mingyur Rinpoche, that we can train our minds so that ”happiness will arise naturally.” Our mind is very important and all our experiences of happiness and unhappiness arise in the mind. So if we can train our minds then happiness will arise …
Finished reading: Silence by Thich Nhat Hanh. I read a few pages each morning during my meditation time. A beautiful book and a reminder to quieten the noise of, in Thay’s words, Radio Station NST: Non-Stop Thinking. 📚