New Book

As some of you may know, I seem to have developed a fondness for observing fungi.  Over the last couple of years, I have made it a mini-mission to photograph as many fungi as possible - at least those that we spy at our beloved Dryad Ranch.  I created a little book of my treasured finds:

Fungi of Dryad Ranch by Megan M Ralph | Make Your Own Book

The Ordinary

One of the books I'm reading at the moment - the one I have here in my office for lunch time* - is a thoughtful work on creativity:  The Widening Stream by David Ulrich. 

I love this quote:  "The world is interesting and becomes far more so as we closely observe things, people (including ourselves), and events, and contemplate their significance.  Once again, heightened awareness becomes a transforming agent for ourselves and our work.  through the action of directing our attention, we revel in the commonplace; the ordinary becomes extraordinary."

Here's another, that I highlighted with a question mark.  "The creative act, regardless of how it takes shape, is one of service and devotion to the world."  What do you think of that idea?  Is that so for you?

* Yes, I know maybe just reading or just eating could be a better choice.  Sometimes I do both.

I'm taking a rest day today - oh maybe I'll go for a walk later on, but after being a veritable whirlwind yesterday, what with scrubbing and cleaning and cooking and working out and walking and some more cooking and a gripy knee, it seems like a good idea to Not Do So Much today.

It seems I have to force myself to slow down.  It seems there's a part of my brain nowadays that says:  go go go, burn calories, don't let yourself get fat again.  Seems I still can't trust that it's the overall trend that matters, not what happens on any given day and that a rest day is needed on a regular basis.

My plan is to re-organize one of my dresser drawers (fun,eh?) and spend a lot of time working on photos:  editing, tagging, filing and backing up.

Metabolic Pathways Graphic

I was lurking on one of my favorite web sites / forums this morning (Calorie Count).  The complexity of the metabolic system was under discussion.  Someone posted a link to an amazing graphic.  I don't understand it really but remain in awe.  Both at our bodies and at the greatness of the artwork, such that it is.  I got it here.

Yipes, How Did I Miss This?

Somehow, this amazing singer had never hit my radar until yesterday (thank you Pandora).  Eva Cassidy doing Autumn Leaves.  Her version of Fields of Gold brings me to my knees, but I couldn't find a live video for that one.

Hot Diggety! A New Personal Best

A few weeks back, convinced I wanted more data about my activity levels,  I ordered this fancy gadget that purportedly measures the total amount of calories burned during the day.  It's a Fit armband from BodyMedia - you wear it all day around your upper arm to provide various measurements to calculate energy output.  Well.  It's interesting and all but to date, I haven't decided whether I've wasted my money.

One of the more amusing aspects of this experience is that the armband assigns personal bests to various of its measurements:  eg. highest number of minutes engaging in vigorous activity, highest number of steps taken during a day and so forth.  It also measures sleep (how many hours of sleep one gets in a night), sleep efficiency (hours of actual sleep vs. lying down time) and then there's lying down time itself.

I rang in the New Year by achieving my best ever performance in both lying down time AND sleep efficiency.  And here I thought Sloth was a sin.

(What do you suppose the lying down efficiency is of the aging witches butter fungus pictured above?)

On Fear

I read this wonderful article in Yoga Journal yesterday, titled Befriending Your Fears.  We all struggle with our fears - it sure seems that on any given day I'll somehow find something to feel fear about.  Nowadays, I'm mostly able to let it be and tell myself, "Oh, there's that fear again"  when I feel my stomach start to churn and that unpleasant adrenaline-y buzziness comes up again.  When the mind starts to visualize The Very Worst Outcome.  The author calls this a Trance of Fear; what a great phrase.

Recently, it seems that with nothing else to feel especially fearful about, I've chosen to worry about driving home.  And look!  The weather wants to cooperate by raining and being cold and creating horrible muddy spots in which neighbors get stuck (yes, we had to pull someone out the other day) and concocting thick tule fogs which are the worst of all.  I'm such a city mouse driver even though we've migrated to the country.  I already know that it's way worse elsewhere and there's the discomfort anyway. 

I especially loved this paragraph from the article: "As long as you are alive, you will feel fear.  It is an intrinsic part of your world, as natural as a bitter cold winter day or the winds that rip branches off trees.  If you resist it or push it aside, you miss a powerful opportunity for healing and freedom.  When you face your fears with mindfulness and compassion, you begin to realize the loving and luminous awareness that, like the ocean, can hold the moving waves.  This boundless presence is your true refuge - you are coming home to the vastness of your own awakened heart."