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Time Passages

July 10, 2025 //
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I’ve got an old song stuck in my head from a long long time ago. No idea why – it wasn’t even a song I really liked when it came out in 1978 (I was too young to understand much about nostalgia). Strange time for me then; I was 15, and that’s a strange time for anyone. lol

So, I’m sipping my coffee and watching the storm clouds, dark and threatening on the eastern horizon, and listening to this song (to get it out of my head), and wondering “what the hell?” A glance at the Billboard Top 100 from that year shows me songs that would do a better job of “taking me back”. This old Al Stewart track doesn’t even make that list. lol Why is it in my head? I don’t suppose that really matters – it’s gone now. 😀

The weather forecast says it’ll be another summer day. There’s no rain in the forecast, but I’m not sure how much I can (or should) trust the weather forecast these days, with all the recent indiscriminate staffing cuts in relevant government agencies. I watch the clouds begin to break up, revealing streaks of a clear robin’s egg blue sky beyond. Summer. It’ll probably just be hot, and maybe a little muggy (like yesterday). I lose interest almost immediately; I’m indoors, and the office has AC. I’ll return home in a vehicle that has AC, to a home that has AC. I sit with that thought awhile; I’m very fortunate. I take time for gratitude, and to consider how many places in the world suffer with terrible heat, and how many people must endure it without AC, or any sort of indoor climate control at all. I remember the stifling heat and humidity of my childhood (no AC) in Maryland – and that was years and years before people were seriously discussing climate change as a problematic force to be reckoned with (and “hot” was cooler than it is now). I’m fortunate to enjoy this good iced coffee, looking out on a hot day ahead from this comfortable place. Hell, I could be drinking my coffee hot and it wouldn’t feel like any sort of hardship or inconvenience at all – I’d still be enjoying the experience, and grateful to have coffee still available. My anxiety about that concern surfaces briefly; can we really expect coffee (and similar luxuries) to remain available in the face of profound climate change and bullshit government shenanigans that impair both the supply chain and the value of… everything? I feel certain that we are facing real potential that something as simple as a cup of coffee could become a luxury on the order of a fucking Birkin bag in the relatively near future… I try not to get spun up over it. It is A. not a thing yet, and B. not a thing I could directly change, even if it were imminent. I breathe, exhale, and relax. If my brain is going to attack me from the inside with my anxiety, it’s damn well going to have to work harder than that. lol

I skimmed the headlines this morning. Hilariously enough, it’s become unnecessary, generally, to bother with reading the articles. Many of the most reputable sources are behind paywalls, and I’m not going to pay for more subscriptions (can’t afford to be careless with such things these days), and the less reputable, more readily available sources often appear to be copying one single source with nearly identical articles (why bother reading that), others are clickbait (no thank you), and what is left over gives enough information in a headline that I often already know the basic facts and where I stand on matters that require an opinion at all. No point reading AI slop, or bad writing. I catch myself responding silently to the headlines – in some cases just correcting obviously poor grammar or poorly chosen words that don’t mean what the author intended (sometimes it’s obvious). I silently push back on the misuse of “how”, when the author clearly wrote about “why”; that sort of thing really vexes me for some reason. Funny thing about the internet and social media; it has tended to make most of us behave as though “the world” gives a shit about our dumb opinions on all manner of topics that we maybe don’t even know anything about (or not enough to have an opinion worth hearing). We earnestly want to be heard, and social media gives us an outlet to let ourselves feel that we are (whether anyone is actually listening or not). I include this, right here. Does my opinion actually matter, when I share it? Are we in silent agreement or silently arguing? I won’t ever actually know. I chuckle to myself for no reason. I don’t have solutions to these things, if they are problems to be solved at all.

I sit for a moment considering how little the small ripples on still water when a rock is thrown in actually matter when they reach the shore. I sip my coffee, content to be here, now.

The work day is planned and waiting for me. The clock is ticking. Condensation on my coffee cup drips down the sides like sweat and pools around the bottom. “You should put that on a coaster…” I think to myself with a sigh. There are things to do, and verbs involved, the future is not written, but I’ll become what I practice – eventually. The woman reflected back at me in the window smiles. It’s time to begin again. The day is waiting.

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Categories Allegories, Anxiety, Brain Injury, breathe, Free Will, gratitude, Healthy Living, inspiration, meditation, Metaphors, Mindfulness, Moments, Perspective, Post Traumatic Stress, Practices, Summer, The Art of Being, Words

The Party That Really Matters

July 7, 2025 //
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I chuckled when I read that Elon Musk is going to launch his very own political party, to give Americans a third option. It manages to come across more as a petulant tantrum than “news”. I laughed harder when Donald Trump retorted on social media (on a platform he, himself, owns – how is this shit newsworthy, at all?), like an angry teenager, that he doesn’t even care, because third parties can’t win (or words to that effect).

Firstly, and this is potentially unimportant, just a matter of accuracy, there are 11 political parties in the United States of America that are listed as “ballot-qualified” (but only two of those are qualified in all states). Musk launching a “third option” is actually much closer to launching a 12th, and then only if his new party manages to qualify for the ballot in more than one state. There’s a pretty good article on Wikipedia about political parties in the U.S., here.

Secondly, and this probably is important; the system for voting and elections in the U.S. has a near-certainty (just how the math works) of evolving into a two party system over time regardless how many parties it begins with, it’s just how “first past the post” voting works, and the electoral college does nothing to improve on that. A really fantastic breakdown of how elections and voting work, with a comparison of various systems, is available from CGP Grey. He breaks down the limitations of our present system nicely in this video – I definitely recommend watching this, and really thinking about how you vote, and why.

The “tl;dr”, I guess, is that it’s highly unlikely that yet another additional political party is going to produce great results come voting day; it’s the system (of government) itself that is broken, and not just the system of elections and voting we presently use, but also the system of ridiculously partisan special-interest and billionaire-focused decision-making used by our elected officials (in what way do billionaires “need” tax breaks but human beings don’t need affordable health care?). We could do so much better.

…Then… there’s this unavoidable fact; a great many people who don’t like Trump dislike Elon Musk just as much (or more), or don’t see much daylight between him and Trump’s swampy clown car of destruction, and have no interest in any political party established by Elon-fucking-Musk. I’m definitely among those. I don’t see the addition of a new party built on corruption, billionaire grifting, cruelty, racism, and sexism to be any sort of great opportunity for change. What change? It’s more of the same, from yet another out-of-touch asshole. No thanks.

Okay, so… it’s not even news, really, is it? New parties come and go. Assholes and grifters come and go. Hell, even ideologies come and go. Be alert. Think critically. Don’t get scammed.

I sigh to myself and let all that shit go. Knowing I would not ever join a political party founded by Elon Musk, and knowing there’s yet another 3 years of this Trump bullshit to endure, this garbage doesn’t even qualify as “news”, I suppose, and I’ve got a life to live, and things to do. I sip my coffee, and let my mind move on to other things, and this here and now moment – which is quite pleasant, and quiet. From my perspective, most days, the only party that actually “matters” is a party at home with friends in attendance for the pure joy of celebration. Our politics is a garbage heap. lol

“Local produce” – the vegetables from my garden just taste better.

It was a lovely weekend. I spent some of it gardening (carefully; I’ve still got the incision site on my finger carefully covered with a clean band-aid while it heals). I spent some of it hiking, cooking, doing a bit of housekeeping, napping, reading, and enjoying the companionship of my beloved Traveling Partner. It felt like a lazy weekend, but I managed to get most of the things I’d hoped to do done. The work week ahead looks like a routine one. The summer heat varies, some days quite hot, other days pleasantly warm without being terrible. I am grateful to have the Anxious Adventurer’s help; the lawn hasn’t died this summer, due to his care each day. Life being lived. I sip my coffee and consider how fortunate I am to live well at this point in my life, and what steps will take me into eventual retirement still thriving and living comfortably within my means? I know there are verbs involved, and I am grateful to have a partnership that encourages me day-to-day. We’re on a shared path, and I feel comforted by that even in these chaotic times.

…I sit smiling, gazing out the window onto a lovely summer morning, thinking about planning another camping trip, perhaps…? We had planned a family camping trip for this month, but my Traveling Partner is not yet quite up to it, although his recovery continues to progress. The Anxious Adventurer may use that reservation for a solo camping trip of his own – I find myself hoping he does, not because I want or need him gone from the house, but only because I think he’d enjoy that, and he’s worked hard over the past year. He could probably use a wee getaway to hike, take pictures, and generally exist on his own terms 100% for some little while. We can all use a little downtime now and then. Being human, and adulting skillfully, takes a ton of work, and it can be quite tiring. It’s healthy to take a break and recharge now and then.

…I remind myself to cancel that previously approved time off from work; I won’t need that (and I just had a week off recently)…

Ask the questions. Do the verbs.

The clock is ticking. I sigh to myself and sip my coffee. It’s a new day. What will I do with it? What choices will I make? Will I make the world some little bit better in some small way through carefully considered actions? Will I make someone’s day just a little nicer by being kind? Where does this path lead? I can’t see around the bend ahead, but I know this path won’t walk itself. lol It’s time to begin again.

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Categories 2024 Election, Allegories, anger, Anxiety, breathe, Free Will, gratitude, Healthy Living, inspiration, Logic & Reason, meditation, Metaphors, Mindfulness, Moments, Perspective, Practices, Relationships, solo hiking, Summer, The Art of Being, The Big 5, War and News of War, Words

A Thoughtful Moment

July 3, 2025 //
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There’s a storm brewing. I can see the dark gray clouds on the horizon, through the lush summer greenery of the tree just beyond the window. I think about the weather and the climate. I think about change. I think about trauma, memory, and strangely I also think about genocide.

A view. A perspective on a moment.

Have you stopped to wonder, even for a moment, what the results of the collective trauma of the Palestinian people will be, those few that remain after years of genocidal attacks on that population? What about the people of Ukraine, fighting valiantly to preserve their national identity in the face of Russia’s attacks on their land, their culture, and their people? It may be worth a moment of your time to think about it. Some of these people may one day be your own neighbors. Just saying, we’re all in this together, aren’t we? All human?

I sip my coffee and watch the changing light and shadows through the tree beyond the window. I think my thoughts. 4th of July tomorrow – what are you celebrating? National identity? National pride? (Is there so much to be proud of, right now?) Freedom…? (Freedom from what, exactly?) Did you serve in the armed forces? If you did, are you still proud of your service, considering all that is going on in the world? (Were you ever?) Did you achieve something? No, I mean… really. What changed? What good have you done in the real world that is worth celebrating? (Maybe it would be sufficiently celebration-worthy to pass through this mortal life without doing any harm?) I sigh to myself. Rhetorical questions. I’ve got my own answers, and they are less than ideally satisfying. I still consider myself “a patriot” – and I am ashamed of the willful cruelty and corruption of our government, and the harms we seem so willing to deliver to our own people, and so many innocent non-combatants around the globe. How do people rationalize being so terrible to other people? So destructive? So hateful? So… stupid?

I personally find 4th of July as a national holiday fairly pointless, and the way it is celebrated, with displays of colorful ordnance and barbecue, rather wasteful. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I like a good barbecue. I just don’t personally see the value in blowing shit up (however colorful) to celebrate a military victory more than 200 years in the past, by people who have never gone to war themselves, can’t understand what they are celebrating, and apparently have no idea of the real cost in human lives and suffering of military actions. What the actual fuck? What purpose do the fireworks serve? Is the risk of igniting a wildfire actually worth it? Still, here we all are, eh? It’ll be nice to enjoy a long weekend…

…G’damn, Woman, just let people have their fun…

The doe who eats my roses.

Yesterday evening while I was in the garden, I saw the doe who has been strolling through regularly and eating my roses and my vegetables. She calmly watched me, unbothered. I strode right up to her, lecturing her most sternly about eating my damned roses. She seemed mildly surprised, but not inclined to leave. I continued to berate her most firmly, providing clear explicit boundary-setting about my damned garden and my roses. She listened quite attentively, but did not acknowledge my points (I did not expect that she would). I threw my hands up in frustration, and raised my voice a bit “now just go, and stay out of my damned flower beds!” She darted away, paused, then strolled off into the trees, unimpressed by my ire. I’m quite certain I’ll have to have this talk with her again. lol

…Good coffee. I find myself wondering again how much longer coffee beans will be affordable to regular people…

I’m feeling a little cranky and blue, then I remember that as an individual person, I truly do have some things to celebrate on the 4th of July, and they are each “freedom” and independence related. It was 4th of July when I left my violent first marriage. It was 4th of July weekend when my Traveling Partner and I moved into our little house in Yamhill County. It was 4th of July weekend that the Anxious Adventurer arrived and moved in (one year ago), a truly helpful presence at a time when that was utterly necessary. There have probably been other milestones that fell on or near July 4th, that don’t immediately come to mind. Hell, I haven’t even always been so cranky about fireworks as I am now. lol We change as people over time, with all that we learn and experience in life. Our perspective changes. Our understanding of the world changes. Change is. I shake off my blue mood and have another sip of my coffee, noticing that a bluer bit of sky has begun to reveal itself. Promising; moments pass.

I breathe, exhale, and relax – and get ready to begin again. This path isn’t going to walk itself. 😉

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Categories 2024 Election, Allegories, anger, Anxiety, breathe, Free Will, Frustration, gardening, gratitude, meditation, Metaphors, Mindfulness, Moments, more than a little bit of bitching, Perspective, Post Traumatic Stress, Practices, Roses, Summer, The Art of Being, War and News of War, Words

Sitting With the Moment

July 2, 2025 //
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I’m sipping my coffee on a sunny summer morning. I woke earlier than necessary, tackled a gardening task my Traveling Partner asked me to attend to before I left for the office. The commute was an ordinary enough sort of drive, with very little traffic and a lovely sunrise I’d happily have enjoyed just sitting and watching, if it were that sort of morning. (It isn’t; it’s a work day and I had an early call.) I sigh to myself, now, thinking of other sunrises, and other summer mornings.

The Fourth of July is just ahead of us on the calendar, and I find myself wondering… what are we even celebrating, with democracy going down in flames, ridiculous new heights of governmental cruelty being achieved, and authoritarianism on the rise in this once (mostly) democratic republic? Surely we’re not stupid and arrogant enough to think we’re celebrating our national independence? We can’t possibly still see ourselves as “the good guys” on the world stage (particularly after betraying multiple trusts, treaties, and allies)? It’s all rather grotesque, isn’t it? How did we get here? (I mean, critical thinking and rational contemplation will easily answer that question for you, but you may not like the answer. I know I don’t.) Do better, America – you so easily could. I’m honestly deeply disappointed, not only as a citizen, but also as a military veteran. I don’t have any easy answers, but I can see this is “not the way”. Nothing about the path we’re on is “making America great”.

I sigh to myself and let that shit go. Again. I look out the window on a lovely summer morning, and wish you well, today (each and all of you). I hope no one is coming for you and that you feel safe. I hope you experience moments of joy, both profound and simple, and often. I hope you are loved. I hope you are walking your own path, finding your own way, and satisfied with the journey you are making. I hope you’re getting somewhere in life – and that your successes are as you, yourself, define success. I hope you thrive and prosper. (And no, I don’t care about your immigration status, religion, gender, or the color of your skin – we’re all equally human, are we not?) I hope that if you are sick, you have adequate resources and access to necessary medical care. I hope that if you find yourself anxious that you also find hope and comfort. I hope gratitude is a larger part of your experience than resentment, and that your curiosity about the world around you dampens your anger over circumstances. I hope you find equity and that you are treated fairly in life. I hope you free yourself from poor decision-making and unverified assumptions. I hope you take a moment to enjoy simply being, now and then, and appreciate how precious each moment really is.

Human beings have so much capacity for love, joy, and compassion. We could do better than we often do, each of us, every day. I sit with that thought – I’m no angel. I’m not perfect. I struggle. I yearn. I fret over nonsense. I keep practicing; we become what we practice. (What are you practicing? Is that who you truly wish to be?)

I think about the things I’ve seen in life. The places I’ve been. As journeys go, this thing called “life” has lead me far and wide, down one path and then another, and there’s no knowing what is around the next bend – more practicing, more steps, and further to go, but… what else? Where does this path lead? I guess I’ll know once I get there, wherever “there” happens to be. I breathe, exhale, and relax, and embrace this very pleasant “now”. I know it’ll pass – moments always do. No telling what’s next, so it only makes sense to enjoy this, right here, for every second of this finite mortal life that can be enjoyed, eh?

My mind wanders to my garden, before returning to the workday in front of me. A long weekend ahead sounds nice, though I don’t prefer the summer heat, and genuinely don’t see what it is we should be celebrating on the 4th of July these days. My sigh breaks the stillness, again. My anxiety flares up in the background; the world is in chaos, and sometimes I feel as if I can’t breathe because of it. Existential dread is an ass-kicker. I take time for meditation to steady myself for another day. It’s time to begin again.

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Categories 2024 Election, anger, Anxiety, breathe, Despair, Frustration, gratitude, joy, Logic & Reason, meditation, Moments, more than a little bit of bitching, Perspective, Practices, Summer, The Art of Being, The Big 5, War and News of War, Words

Time Travel

June 30, 2025 //
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I drove in to the office this morning baffled by how much the air felt and smelled of summer – but not necessarily my expectation of this summer, here, now. It felt and smelled like some long ago summer in a different place, at a different point in time, in another life. I was transported back to muggy childhood summer mornings in Maryland, near the Chesapeake Bay. Swim lessons. Lazy afternoons at Grandmother’s house, sipping ice cold rootbeer on the screened in porch, listening to the fan turn. Early mornings outside under the clear blue sky. Afternoons curled up with a book, in front of the air conditioner in my bedroom window. Pool parties and barbecues. Nostalgia triggered by the warm summer morning and air scented with summer flowers and mown grass. The recollections this evoked were clear and sharp and seemed more real than the commute itself felt in the moment.

I breathe, exhale, and relax, and move on from the moment of nostalgia to face the new work day (and week). It takes me a few minutes and an additional cup of coffee to gather my thoughts and feel more organized – being away for a few days can do that. lol Generally speaking, though, things are already quite routine and ordinary. Suits me fine.

The office ventiliation is already working pretty hard, and soon I’ll have to close the blinds on these big windows to prevent this small space from becoming uncomfortably warm. S’ok – I expect it from summer days. I smile, thinking of my Traveling Partner at home. I miss him – we’ve had quite a few lovely days just being together recently, and I enjoy that time we spend together very much. I yawn, unexpectedly tired – tired? Am I actually tired, or just feeling relaxed? I look out the windows into the clear blue summer sky. It’s a good day to laze in a hammock in the shade, sipping iced tea and trying again to read Proust. lol That’s not what is on today’s agenda, though; there’s just me and this work in front of me, and it’s time to get on with that. It’s time to begin again.

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Categories Allegories, breathe, gratitude, inspiration, meditation, Moments, Perspective, Summer, The Art of Being, Words
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