"Chance encounters are what keep us going."
— Haruki Murakami


And so it was true for me today. I took myself out of my cocoon for a walk where I knew I would encounter people. We did encounter each other. I like to think I improved their day as much as they improved mine.

"The world is passing through troublesome times. The young people of
today think of nothing but themselves. They have no reverence for
parents or old age. They are impatient of all restraint. They talk as
if they knew everything, and what passes for wisdom with us is
foolishness with them. As for the girls, they are forward, immodest
and unladylike in speech, behavior and dress."

Peter the Hermit  1274 AD


Plus ca change......
    '

"Maybe you just had the worst day of your life, but you know, there's no escape, there's no excuse, so just suck up and be nice.”

-Ani DeFranco


OK, OK, I did just have a lousy day and I am just sucking up and being nice BUT I'M NOT HAPPY ABOUT IT.

"She who succeeds in gaining the mastery of the bicycle will gain the mastery of life."
-Frances E. Willard, 'How I learned to ride the bicycle' 1895


Is it really so simple, the mastery of life? I'm willing to try, I'm game. Out of the garage comes my bicycle.

"Believe that with your feelings and your work you are taking part in the greatest; the more strongly you cultivate this belief, the more will reality and the world go forth from it."
- Rainer Maria Rilke

I do believe it, I do believe it, I do believe it.

"With unfailing kindness, your life always presents what you need to learn. Whether you stay home or work in an office or whatever, the next teacher is going to pop right up."
Charlotte Joko Beck

I just hope the next teacher who pops up for me isn't my fifth grade teacher.

".... a highly innovative pursuit designed to foster a vibrant agora of creative
media that generates both social and aesthetic influence. "

School of Visual Arts/MFA in Social Documentary


WOW! I wanna do that. When was the last time anyone used the word 'agora' in a sentence? Sign me up!

"That’s just what happiness is, the heart being free"
-mipham






Now we know the secret of happiness. How do we execute it?

"The Master…trusts people who are trustworthy"
- Lao Tzu

Well, that makes it easier to trust.

"IT'S A BEAUTIFUL DAY!"
U2



and so it is.....

"Pessimists need a kick in the can'ts"

- unattributed


I saw this odd comment posted outside a Baptist church today. Even driving by at a moderate speed I got the pun.

“Music expresses that which cannot be put into words and cannot remain silent”
Victor Hugo


Which is most of life, that which cannot be put into words and cannot remain silent. So without music there would be so much less to life.

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." —Margaret Mead


One of my all time favorite quotes. Who could doubt such power?

"As soon as you trust yourself, you will know how to live."
-GOETHE


Interesting dilemma, this, no?

"How good does a female athlete have to be before we just call her an athlete?"
- Anonymous

Or, in today's world of sports, one can ask "How female does an athlete have to be before we just call her female?"

“Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence” Helen Keller


True words from someone who learned the lesson the hard way. Here's to hoping you all find the magic optimism, hope and confidence you need today, and everyday.

"I, with a deeper instinct, choose a man who compels my strength, who makes enormous demands on me, who does not doubt my courage or my toughness, who does not believe me naïve or innocent, who has the courage to treat me like a woman." ~Anaïs Nin


Of course, Anais didn't choose just one man....she kept choosing.

"I myself have never been able to find out precisely what feminism is: I only know that people call me a feminist whenever I express sentiments that differentiate me from a doormat."
-Rebecca West


Quoted last century by a remarkable woman, women in the 21st century who have opinions are still being labeled feminist. Perhaps it’s not a “dirty” word anymore, but ‘feminist’ still carries connotations of a wrong type of attitude. How can that be changed? More specifically, how can we change that?

"If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen."
- Harry Truman

What was Harry talking about? The kitchen is the Best place in the house. It's where all the good stuff happens, and it's the warmest place in the cold weather, which is descending upon us. I got back in the kitchen today. My youngest is driving herself to her last year of high school. Because I no longer have to drive her to the bus, I now no longer have a distinction between weekdays and weekends. To replace my strong need to nurture I've started to cook again. Really cook...butter, the use of several different pans, more than one item that needs to be cooked, meat vegetable starch. It's great. I don't even mind the washing up. And there's always something good at the end of the effort.

Absque Labore Nihil.


Happy Labor Day.

"Architecture, interior design, and gardening are all about balance and scale."

-John Saladino


And so as in the garden, as in life, balance and scale for success.

"Well-behaved women seldom make history; against Antimonians and witches, these pious matrons have had little chance at all”

- Laurel Thatcher Ulrich

Don't women ever get a break?

"Alertness is the hidden discipline of familiarity."

- David Whyte

So today I will practice a new discipline, a discipline I only discovered existed today, that of alertness. As I go about my day in my very familiar surroundings, among my familiar things, doing my familiar tasks I will attempt alertness and revel in the delights. Join me.

biotope

A usually small or well-defined area that is uniform in environmental conditions and in its distribution of animal and plant life.



So, where does this exist? I would like to visit one. "A uniform environment", I am intrigued. Would it be interesting, or boring? Normal or exotic? Would it even be recognizable as a biotope?