The Guest House
This being human is a guest house.
Every morning a new arrival.
A joy, a depression, a meanness,
some momentary awareness comes
as an unexpected visitor.
Welcome and entertain them all!
Even if they are a crowd of sorrows,
who violently sweep your house
empty of its furniture,
still, treat each guest honorably.
He may be clearing you out
for some new delight.
The dark thought, the shame, the malice.
meet them at the door laughing and invite them in.
Be grateful for whatever comes.
because each has been sent
as a guide from beyond.
— Jellaludin Rumi
I'm worried about our country. I'm worried about the world we're leaving to our kids. I'm worried about the petty tyrant occupying the highest office in our land, threatening to create World War III, gutting health care, and promoting hate and divisiveness. I'm worried about this being human thing, because lately, it doesn't seem like we're doing it too awfully well. More like we're doing it "awfully" and NOT well.
Maybe my time in the news-hole has caused this rumination. Maybe it's given me space to think more about it. Maybe things going on in other areas of my life have caused me to try to discern the mechanics of relationships and how people get along (No worries, if you're concerned - it's got to do with some organizations in which I'm involved. All at home is well.) and how people deal with conflict, change and growth. How people deal when they're being nudged out of their comfort zone. How people deal when what they've known for a long time is now gone. How people deal with loss the likes of which this country has never seen.
I don't know. I do know that "this being human" is a daily... no, an HOURLY practice. And we only have one lifetime in which to get it right.
Knitting...
So the shawl is coming along. If it turns out well, I will whip out another one for a Christmas gift. No, I'm not telling for whom! I will tell you that I messed up a bit, but fudged it to fix it. Ripping back double yarn-overs? Not if I can help it!
I've been carrying around the Sole to Sole sock, trying to get a few rows in at lunch or whenever I have downtime. Working on that. And the blue striped sock is coming along - I'm still 2 rows from the instep section because, well... the shawl beckoned.
I think that if I get to the Christmas gift, I'll have to first do a "stash raid" to see if I have variegated sock yarn. One of the folks in the shawl group said that she did hers with a laceweight yarn and kept going till she had 30 "points" - which you can see I'm just sort of starting to fabricate as I go on. This picture is slightly old because I actually have 5 points on this right now. I stopped for a conference call at which I needed to take notes, and to write this because I've been thinking about the "being human" thing and didn't want to forget.
Pie...
So I do love some pie... And at our church picnic, we had a pie baking contest. Three judges chose the top four pies. Hubby was disappointed that he didn't win. Rhubarb-raisin would've gone over quite nicely with my dad. It's Hubby's mom's recipe and I think it was a tad exotic for the church folks!
What was a little annoying was that a Kahlua-chocolate cheesecake won. It's a PIE contest.
Much though I love cheesecake - probably even more than pie - it's not pie. Never will be. Unless of course you do one of those boxed Jell-O thingies. Which, personally, I don't believe are "real" cheesecake anyway.
One of our Star Bakers didn't enter his creations. He is a modest sort, and he made, bar none, the most AMAZING Key Lime pie I have ever put into my mouth. And I've had "real" Key Lime pie before. I swoon just thinking about it.
Hubby was going to make a chocolate custard pie, which he's also done before. But he had a little brain fart and messed up the cornstarch part, so it never set up. Bummer. I love THAT pie, too.
A quick note on the orthodontic front: My rubber bands are OFF!! I can now move my jaws, thank you. I feel like I can speak again. And my chiropractor thinks that this will relieve the recent spate of migraines I've had.
Therapy Dog...
Tippi continues to do her therapy work at Lewis University. Yesterday, Brother Chris decided she "was hungry" and brought her a tiny piece of chicken. Well. She was hooked. And now, of course, she'll expect it!
Anyway, when we have downtime, she gets a special toy. It's always in my therapy gig bag, and she only gets it when we do therapy and we have some time or she needs a break...
It's a stuffed snowman I got from Fun Time Dog Shoppe, an online store where I get most of their toys, since I trust them. Click on the link and take a browse. All of the proceeds go to rescue, and you can pick which rescue from a list they have.
It's awesome...or should I saw PAWSOME?? Anyway, we have a great time, and she gets really excited about visiting the students. We have the visits twice a month during spring and fall semesters, and the students really look forward to it. So does Tippi.
Reading...
I suppose I shouldn't say this, but the librarians at the university let me take books out that are generally not in circulation. And I've read two by the same author. I'm going to have to buy my own copies, because I feel compelled to want to underline or highlight... Don't look so shocked.
I won't do that to a library book, at least. But there are some wonderful words in Kathleen Norris' books. In actuality, I was attracted to her title, "The Cloister Walk," because for some reason, stories about nuns fascinate me.
Well, this wasn't about nuns. Turns out she's a poet, and spends an awful lot of time in Benedictine monasteries in retreats. She writes beautiful prose. I have no clue about her poetry, though my friend Wendy did give me her book "Dakota" - it's on my list, but right now, I'm making my way through "Amazing Grace," which is an outstanding collection of essays. The book is old - it was copyrighted in 1998, but the words are still relevant.
I can see my book order as we speak. My newest yoga teacher has also recommended a couple. Hey, I really have stayed away from the yarn store. And I only have two vices. (Three, if you count chocolate...)
Random Picture...
So on my way to work, there's a street down which the old "swing bridge" used to be. The bridge is actually still there. On Tuesday as I was making my way to work, the sunlight was...just amazing. So I turned down the steep hill and decided to take a few shots.
The Forest Preserve folks are restoring the prairie area there, and it's fairly deserted (I know - probably not my brightest idea, but I figure that fearless is a good thing sometimes - you can't live your life afraid). Anyway, the bridge is still there, fenced off, and all kinds of "don't cross this gate" warnings. I have to look at an overhead map because I can't figure out if it's the river I was hearing or the canal -- the canal doesn't usually move that fast. Once it gets developed into a park-like thing, it'll be very nice. Right now, it's in the "wild rehab" stage. You can't go any farther than the bridge. But there are areas where the egrets hang out, a few benches, and it looks like they'll be working on a trail with the unused railway tracks.
I got a little weirded out by the "this place floods quickly so don't stick around" signs... Seriously, unless the flood is of Noah-like proportions, I can't see it. Well, if it's the CANAL, then we have a problem, because there's a concrete wall separating the DesPlaines River from the I & M Canal. If that concrete wall breaks? Well, yeah. Problems. Big problems.
Anyway, it was a beautiful, peaceful place. Nice way to start the morning.
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