Free Dive

I thought only death would be so peaceful
My ears are useless, muffled, and deaf
I don’t breath now, lungs stopped, idol
My heart slows, relaxing under increased pressure
Sight is all that remains
And that an opaque vision of color and life

I can’t stay here, not and live
This momentary peace must yield
To the screams of my lungs and flesh
So I head toward the surface
To the world of air breathing creatures
And over stimulated demands

Note: On free diving in the Atlantic near Bermuda.

Slower Vision

I spent 8 wonderful days in Bermuda last month, and many of those days were spent basking on pink sand beaches and snorkeling in aqua marine, clear waters. It is amazing what you can see. It is amazing what you can miss seeing.

Having been snorkeling a few times, I settled in over a small reef and relaxed, waiting for the marine life to give its show of color, movement and characters beneath me. Suddenly, the waters were disturbed by a family of four swimming steadily by, chatting loudly as their mask-clad faces bobbed in and out of the water, splashing forward as if they had some hurried agenda to accomplish. The fish below me darted away in reaction to the sound and movement of the churning water. The family passed and I heard one of them ask, “Do you see anything?”

As the water returned to its own rhythm, so did the fish. I watched their dance and the beauty of the ever-changing sea for some time. It is an unparalleled wonder to behold.

Sometimes we have to slow down, even stop and wait until our eyes focus on the life moving around us. No matter if it is an Atlantic sea view, the back yard, or the movement of our family, we have to be careful or there is much we can miss.

Fresh From Reality

I found this via a contact at work. Strengthfinder.com is a test that rates your natural tendencies from a list of 34 talents/skill sets. You can purchase the book and it includes an online code to access the test and get your results. The concept is based on the belief that we will reach success by knowing and capitalizing on our strengths rather than trying to become good at something at which we are innately inept.

The test gives you a list of your top five strengths and a report detailing the strength and offering suggested actions to move into that strength.

My top five are:

Empathy - People who are especially talented in the Empathy theme can sense the feelings of other people by imagining themselves in others' lives or others' situations.

Competition - People who are especially talented in the Competition theme measure their progress against the performance of others. They strive to win first place and revel in contests.

Futuristic - People who are especially talented in the Futuristic theme are inspired by the future and what could be. They inspire others with their visions of the future.

Communication - People who are especially talented in the Communication theme generally find it easy to put their thoughts into words. They are good conversationalists and presenters.

Ideation - People who are especially talented in the Ideation theme are fascinated by ideas. They are able to find connections between seemingly disparate phenomena.

The report includes several pages of definitions and action suggestions. I’m off to discover more about me… It is all about me, after all.

In From The Sea

In From the Sea

When the wind blows in from the sea you can hear the

crackle of palm fronds breaking free from the heat
hiss of sea oats defiantly bowing inland
whisper of sand celebrating its lofty release from gravity
sputter of foam cascading skyward cut from wave caps
chimes of delicate shells dancing across dunes

When the wind blows in from the sea you can hear the
prayers of ancient mariners reaching home

Education Lost

I have forgotten far more than I remember. I guess that it is a common enough experience to forget the many details of one's education. Use it or loose it.

I have been active and present for four years of college and 4 years of graduate studies resulting in two degrees. I have read the works of the giants in many subjects and passed countless exams and produced numerous research papers. There was a time when I cold converse long and detailed in my field of study. I cannot today. I have forgottent the theories, arguements and verbage that I once mastered.

The best I can claim is to have been knowledgeable, to have once dwelt in the circles of mindful scholars.

Today I am very much aware of how much I do not know. Strangely, I do recall someone teaching me once that knowing that you don't know is the beginning of wisdom. So, dare I hold on to the hope that perhaps simply learning through life, even for a forgetful scholar, might lead one to a learning not based on facts and theories, but rather on self knowledge.

Yes, I can claim today to have walked a good distance with my Self. We are well versed in the 'is' of each other.

What is it that is recorded over one entrance to theTemple of Delphi?

"Know thyself"

Happy Birthday To Me

I have a birthday this week
Getting older changes
Enough
To keep life interesting
I have a birthday this week

Sacramental Sacred Things

Life is sacred. I have known this for most of the years I have spent walking this earth. I know now that life is more sacred, more precarious than I once believed. I suspect that life is even more so than I can comprehend.

Years ago, I wandered through Ursula Le Guin's "Earth Sea" trilogy. I found some wonderful images and stories there. It is a wonderful tale about coming of age and finding one's spiritual framework in the world. At one moment in the tale, a young wizard is anxious to learn 'real' magic. Tired of the lessons in illusions where he repeats incantations to make objects appear to be something other than themselves, he inquires as to when he will be taught how to really change something into something else. The answer he receives is basically this:

To make something, a stone for example, appear to be something else, a piece of bread, perhaps, is of no great consequence other than the momentary deception to presents. However, to permanently transform a stone into a piece of bread changes the balance, for there is now not only one more piece of bread in the world, but one less stone.

Life is interconnected and if we are lucky we get glimpses of this connectedness. The apparent divisions that divide one thing from another are only perception and I believe, in fact an illusion of sorts in and of themselves. At their best, the sacraments of religious systems can move our experience and perspective to a new and more complete state. We are changed. I cannot attest to a manner of existence that might be centered in such a shift, but only to moments when I have glimpsed the reality of the full sacredness of life. Has it been said, "there is no you and them, this or that, only us, only one?" Such an awareness can send us into overload, or perhaps even disbelief.

Too many words here.

Advent

It is still now. The last murmors of chattering words fade, brushed away by the vanishing storm of yesterday's Chaos. It is too silent. In the nothing that is now I feel tomorrow arriving and it chills my core. I am changing and there is nothing I can do to stop it.

Fear. Fearless. Fear less courage.

Terror.

Quiting Time

the tank is empty. the gun barrel smoking from the last shot fired. there comes only an echo from the keg.

i think i'll quit...for a while.

Physical Blend

i am never satisfied by the fitness i have achieved. i always find myself wanting to do more.

today i finished a two day hike up on down the second highest peak in the Smokey Mountains. I am wondering why I can't do 12 miles in one day. i am 48 years old.

will i never simply say to myself, "Self, good job!"?