Independence Day

Happy Fourth of July from small town N.H. !

The big parade passed right by the shop this morning. Lots of red , white and blue and high spirits. The sun shone brilliantly, with just enough of a breeze to keep it feeling comfortable. (That in itself was enough to cheer about after the 30 something days of rain we've had.) A good number of patriotic floats and cars, costumes, banners and music.

But I'd like to know what antique boats and bad Elvis impersonators on bicycles have to do with an Independence Day parade. For that matter , there were a number of construction vehicles, and one mobile dog washing van as well. Yes, I understand that it is the American Way to take every opportunity to advertise oneself. But doesn't it belittle the meaning of a Fourth of July parade & celebration? Just a wee bit maybe? I don't mean to rain on anyone's parade, so to speak, but I just bristle at the commercialism. I know, this isn't the time perhaps to rant , it's just that....................

Anyway, true to form for this Spring/Summer ,not too long after the parade broke up, the sky grew ominous, the wind picked up and before you could say "Aunti Em " the heavens opened up with a crash of thunder and buckets of rain soaked us yet again. Perhaps it was a fitting display and prelude to tonight's fireworks ; for the sky is again clear and blue , and I do believe the fireworks will go off.

I'm off to join a few friends in offering a salute to our hard fought and maintained Independence. I wish you all good cheer on this July fourth.

Frank Lloyd Wright & Synchronicity

Well , it's happened again. This time it's Frank Lloyd Wright.

I've been reading the book Loving Frank for the past couple of weeks. Many years ago, - more years than I will admit- I'd read a bit about Wright's work for a paper I needed to write. It was his theories, inspirations, etc. If I'd gleaned anything about the man's private life, I'd long ago forgotten. So Loving Frank has been interesting because it tells about the man from the perspective of his lover.

Reading this book has piqued my interest in Frank Lloyd Wright all over again. Tonight I sat down to the computer with the intention of "googling" F.L.W. to see what I might learn. Well, go figure. Before I could even begin to type in his name, staring me in the face WAS his name. There on Yahoo news was a piece on none other than Mr. Wright (http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090619/stage_nm/us_lloydwright;_ylt=AqCJahUAFvh7bQy0xvx9i36CfNdF)

Excited, yes I was, that the man came to me, but curious and amazed that it appeared as if by magic.

As I sit here now and think about this , I recall another occurrence that happened over the last 2 days. Now I want to preface this by saying that it is not within my usual oeuvre to being talking about the Underground Railroad. But a cute kid of preteen age has begun dropping by the shop for a friendly chat ( and the candy I have out at the shop ) , and brought up the subject yesterday. We had a lively little talk about it and he was on his merry way ( his mom owns the shop next door ). Today I had a woman in the shop , and for what reason I do not recall, didn't we find ourselves in a discussion about the same subject? Indeed we did. Now , how weird is that?

Yes, I know. These seem like small inconsequential matters. Coincidental, some might say. I've come to doubt that. I think that I've come to believe that there is no such thing as coincidence. There just seems to be too much coincidence for that to be a satisfactory answer . I can't offer you an explanation for it right now , but I'm still searching ( aren't we all ?).

If you'd like more "coincidental" , and some quite compelling , stories try Trish & Rob MacGregor's blog named Synchronicity ( http://www.ofscarabs.blogspot.com/ ) . They are working on a book that should be quite interesting. In the meantime I'd love to hear from you about your experiences with synchronicity.

Wishing you an evening full of MAGIC,

Cyth

Hidden Dreams

Again I'm going to be quick tonight - 2 days with the grandkids and the trek back home has got me pooped out again. No matter , soon I'll be all cozy on my side of the bed on my way to LaLaLand.

Speaking of LaLaLand, I had a strange occurrence the other night. Well, technically it was the other morning , early. I arise early most everyday, except Sundays. That way I can get in my exercise and meditation before the day has its way with me. And it is the best part of the day, early morning. the birds sing so sweetly and the noise of the day isn't trying to sing over their sweet voices. I'm more alert, slow, but alert in the early morning hours. My emotions are gentle and my being more open than in any other part of the day. OOOOOO but this is not what I set out to tell. So sorry to get sidetracked - perhaps next time I will wax poetic about the the early morning.

So , back to my little tale coming out of LaLaLand . The alarm had just gone off, so up I clambered from my mountain of blankets , shaking off what I thought was the end of a dream that the alarm had cut off. It was not a remarkable dream. At least I did not remember it beyond the time it took me to get my feet to the floor, so truly it must not have been significant. What was significant was the thought, which came simultaneously with the vanishing of the unremarkable dream, that UNDERNEATH that dream there had been another. This other dream seemed very significant , though I haven't yet determined why or what it means to me, only that I was able to glimpse it because the other dream had been vanquished by the sound of the alarm clock. I only remember seeing , in the wake of the vanishing dream , gears, wooden gears. And I recall thinking that the gears were part of a dream that lay underneath the other one.

I at once began to wonder if we dream in layers. I wondered if each layer told a more complete story of just one dream, or were they separate unto themselves, telling their own stories, telling my story in parallel time. And I wondered how many more layers there might be. And if we dream in multiple layers, how do we access them.

I wonder if anyone else has experienced that sense of multi-layered dreams. And if so , what do you make of it? Is it a regular occurrence? It is not for me. Not yet anyway. Would love to hear from anyone who has had a similar experience.

As for me right now, I think I will prepare myself for a good night's rest, dreams or no, and be ready to face a new day. I wish you a good night, Cyth

What? Leonard Cohen AGAIN?

This is going to be short and sweet....or short but perplexing , depending on how you look at it. For any of you who may have read an earlier post , you may remember my Leonard Cohen "sightings". I found a blog, rather it found me, that is devoted to synchronicities , a category to which I now believe these sightings can be placed. Here's the thing.... after that time period of a few weeks, it seemed as though "synchronicities" had stopped manifesting to me. That is, until the other night. I was reading , okay, I was trying to stay awake by propping my eyelids open and gazing at pictures in a magazine, a home decor magazine, I do believe, and what do you know? Right. There was Leonard Cohen AGAIN. ( I'm once again pondering the potential meaning of all this attention around L. Cohen ). And since then , I've experienced other incidents of synchronicity. Go figure.

What I would like to know now is where does "it" go when it not happening? Or is it that synchronicity happens all the time but we are not focused on it? HMMMMMMM.

I'd be curious to know what others of you think about it.

My eyes are in need of propping again , so I wish you a good night.

Cyth

`

Big Bad Voodoo Daddy

I'm back. I'd like to say that I was on a really relaxing, cool vacation. But I can not say that. I can say that I feel like I've been swimming real hard to get to the other side. The shop opened. YAY ! As I told you before I had some very special people helping me get it done, including my 80 yr old MOM , who put her special touch on the outdoor plantings ( all in pots, as it is a rental space ). Whew. Some undertaking ! And since then I'm just trying to keep my head screwed on right.

I've found myself wavering between faith that this endeavor will yield satisfactory rewards and I'm not talking necessarily monetary, though that would be exceedingly well accepted , and biting my nails that I'll fall flat on my face. I would never have dreamed that I would undertake such a move, but here I am smack in the middle of it. And BUSY. If I'm not minding the shop , then I'm caring for the kinderlings( my heart's song ), or I'm painting more "orphaned " furniture to put into the shop, and hauling it there , arranging it, rearranging it. Ah, the house is a mess , but the shop sure has been fussed over .

So tonight, after another gloomy , rainy day, I found myself feeling just as gloomy ( rainy weather can do that to me -- light therapy helps , but the lamp was stored away----might just have to dig it out if tomorrow is a repeat ), and fretful about the wisdom of this endeavor. I was thinking that I would just like to go to bed and pull the covers over my head. The Mister however, just peeked around the corner to tell me that our local PBS station was featuring Big Bad Voodoo Daddy. Well, I gotta tell ya, nothing can break a gloom like the music of Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, especially when the Mister decides to boogie around the room for a bit. THAT put a smile on my face. I'm feeling sooooooooo much better.

So with a gladder heart, I wish you a great evening, Cyth.

ReOpening

Last Year's photo

Oh my. I've been absent so very long. Or so it seems. Business, busy-ness I'd rather say, can mutate time phenomenonally. I've been ever so wrapped up in preparing for the Shop opening , painting, and placing ads, and making lists (checking them twice, thrice---or just trying to relocate the blasted things) , talking with the previous owner and friend, scheduling the opening of the space , then the opening of the shop, gathering necessities for organizing..........whew. I'm out of breath just writing this out. And I've sorely neglected others things ; the vacuuming, Spring cleaning ( LOL ), preparing the garden..... ooooo so many things that will just have to wait and be patient. We'll be winding down soon, I THINK.

Tomorrow is the BIG moving day. We can get back into the rental space that is the shop, aptly named Out of the Blue. (It came to me so named and ,truly, the name fit the means in which the opportunity was presented to me.) And I have to say that I am so fortunate to have friends around me willing to help with the big , mean , nasty stuff - the heavy moving, the cleaning , in general, the grunt work. I thank them a thousand times.

I think that I will scoot now. Just when I thought that my mind was clear , I find that I've got reminders of this to do , and that to do and my focus is scattered. I'll be back soon. And I'll bring photos to show you.

Our Spring weather here has been glorious. I hope yours has been as delightful and you're taking full advantage of Spring's blossoming.

Time Flies

I've finally found my way back. Unfortunately I haven't got much time so this is likely to be quick. And why haven't I got the time? Simply, I'm inundated with "stuff" to do to get the shop ready for opening on May 9. It's an exciting time , but being a "newbie" I'm torn between doing this or doing that and everything seems to take more time than anticipated.

Time. An interesting exploration.

We always assume that Time is a constant. We mark our lives by the rising and setting of the sun , the changes in the seasons, mealtimes, birthdays, holidays. We set our schedules and ferociously cling to the hours & minutes , which we know by the watches we wear or the clocks on the walls. But Time is really an inconstant companion. Right now, I am scurrying to work out details of the shop's opening, paint more furniture to fill the shop, and on and on, in addition to everyday chores and commitments; like all of us engaged in living. But my watch , my calendar is playing tricks on me again.

I have been attending to many of these same activities for the shop since the New Year. I'd awaken in the mornings and pace myself. In January, my routine seemingly had a steady and rhythmic cadence. February I was still marching along,and actually thinking that progress was unfolding as it was meant to, so I wasn't paying too much attention; a nice, gentle floating through. March, and the madness started. Early on I began to have slight grumblings of tension, but unidentified it remain until we hit the Ides Of March. By mid/late March my days , though longer by daylight hours, actually were not long enough, or the hours were passing more quickly. By the beginning of April my hours & days were DEFINITELY passing with greater speed and urgency. And now , with just a month to go, the speed at which I'm traveling is frightening. I tell myself that the clocks tick the same as they were in January, the days still have but 24 hours, and the weeks still consist of 7 days,but I know that Time is passing more swiftly. My experience is that I'm approaching the start line with increasing speed.

When I berate myself for the contradictions in my thinking, I am reminded of a wonderful program from 30 years ago. It was a Boston based television show, New Heaven New Earth, hosted by Hubert Jessup. I believe that he was a graduate of divinity school and explored many spiritual themes in the show. ( I also believe that he was one of the first to interview the Dalai Lama in the US ). He also explored many other " New Age" subjects. And I distinctly recall an interview with a gentleman ( I have a vague recollection that he was a physicist----but that was many moons ago , and I may not be real sharp about that memory ) who was talking about Time. In trying to to offer a small sample of the mutable character of Time , they suggested that one need try only a quick experiment. Close your eyes, and keep them closed a number of seconds - a minute. Open your eyes and look at your watch. I should have prefaced this by saying that the watch should be in a position to easily view it upon opening your eyes. Extraneous movement tends invalidate the experiment. On your second try , close your eyes , and actively engage in relaxing behavior, breathe slowly and deeply, clear the mind of thoughts , worries , concerns, curiousities. Keep them closed until you feel yourself in a relaxed state. Open your eyes and look at your watch again. This time, if you've achieved a sufficiently relaxed mindset, you may actually notice that the second hand on your watch has momentarily hovered , then proceeds to move around the face of the watch. Yes. I had a hard time with that at the time, but was able to produce the same effect myself. It was as if Time had halted for a split second. Try it. If nothing else you will have achieved relaxation for a few splendid moments today.

Well if I thought that I could take the time to sit in relaxed meditation every now and again with the purpose of increasing the amount of TIME I had , I would do it. But I guess I'm caught up in the hurrying to complete my to-do lists, and ironically in so doing my time is speeding up. What an interesting predicament.

Well I must be off now ; my to-do list beckons.

Blessings on your day, and may you take the time for a moment's respite , Cyth