One of my favorite things to do beautifully is to interact with “strangers.” I love to connect briefly with a clerk in the store or laugh about something that we passing strangers notice together on the sidewalk. I don’t want to intrude, or demand attention for too long., just create a beautiful moment that acknowledges we’re here together and I see them. It brings me real joy, a little zing in my day, so I hope that they receive that joy beautifully.
I take pride in how beautifully I parallel park. It's really mundane, but somehow thrilling every single time. Aside from that, I try to be a beautiful connector and convener of people, and that's not at all mundane. That is the ever shifting sand of life.
There's nothing like that feeling of slipping into that spot in one swell foop without all the back-and-forth-oh-crap-I-need-to-start-over corrections...
Without thinking too much, first thing that come to mind about what I do beautifully, is how perfectly and beautifully annoying wife I am. On our daily walks around the block, I touch my husband’s back to remind him of correcting his forward- slumping posture, I remind him to swing his right arm hanging loosely by his side, I tell him not to drag his feet, I look at his face when I try to make him laugh, and get annoyed when I see no response. When we return home, I go and lock myself in the bathroom, and I have a beautiful breakdown, although I struggle to see the beauty in it, because loosing the love of my life to Parkinson’s just isn’t so beautiful after all.
But then, to recover from it (and I have to do it daily) I retreat into my kitchen, pour a glass of wine(perhaps it’s too late or too early to quit drinking wine), and cook him his favorite meals and hope he can still taste something, anything.
Preparing food is like creating a mandala that will be erased. It’s the process of creating, which I find I do beautifully.
The thing that I think I can do beautifully is something that was born in me and cultivated by my mother and that is giving to others in a myriad of small, everyday, mundane things. It's a practice for me of noticing little things like a neighbor's toddler's shoes left helter-skelter on the path returned to their porch, or when cooking for othersremembering they don't like beets or can't eat gluten. Or just the kindness of holding the door open for someone, making faces at a fussy kid in the grocery cart in front of me so dad can pay. The joy and peace I find in myself is a blessing in everyday life, especially now, after years of practice...they happen without thinking much about what I am doing. Every day some little drop of love dolloped out into the world in my own small way.
When I was on my way to West Africa in 1993, I made a vow to myself that I would not require of myself that I produce anything from the trip. I was pretty sure I wanted to write about it one day, but I didn’t want that to feel like a goal that I could succeed or fail at. The one thing I said to myself is that I want to live each moment as fully and completely as I can. Did I say as beautifully as I can? I’m not sure. But that was the idea. I feel like this is my #1 goal here: to be a “bride married to amazement/a bridegroom taking the world into my arms” as Mary Oliver said. I do want to serve the world—I don’t want to do these things selfishly. But I feel like anything I can give and do has to first come from living as wholly/truthfully/beautifully as possible. So that’s what I try for, though I fall short all the time.
• Build a public speaking business on “leading through tough times with resilience and adaptability” (you can check out www.billhefferman.com if you care to see more what this is about)
• Play harmonica (I gig with the Pagan Jug Band, a bluegrassy folksy Americana band in Portland OR)
• Shoot photos
But in all ways, thinking of how to do something most beautifully is a tremendous guideline/principle.
Very sweet. I'm also thinking of Kintsugi - Japanese concept. I'm thinking of the spirit. The soul. By coming into human existence, the incredibly painful sweet journey that it is, we are inevitably broken apart. If we allow, we do break, we do change, we heal into something even more essential - that is how our human spirits become more deeply real, more deeply beautiful.
Lyric (my 5 yo) has taken to telling people that her mama is a "feel betterer". It's a pretty sweet title, one that I take pride in. Raising a couple of munchkins to be compassionate yet fiery beings hellbent on smashing the patriarchy and replacing notions like greed, power and supremacy with the more soul-filling missions of peace, equality and caring for each other and the planet is basically the most beautiful thing I can think to do. Little Love Ninjas.
HOLD UP, Greenwald...you've seen THE brain?!?!?!?!!!!!!!! And it has the texture of SOFT tofu? Whhhhhaaaaaaaaaaattttt? I was under the impression that it'd be at least extra firm tofu, but leaning more towards the texture of chewed-up bubble gum!!! This new information has totally just blown my prefrontal cortex all the way down to my medulla oblongata...or like, blended it into a vegan smoothie.
I think I feed people (and myself) beautifully. There's always plenty and it's always (from what I gather) tasty. It's a very special feeling to have the opportunity to gather people around a table, to nourish both body and spirit. What a lovely post, Jeff.
Although I say I can do something beautifully, I couldn’t do so without the beautiful interaction of light waves playing with the elemental world surrounding me. I just have to be there to see, and invite, at 1/500 of a second, that fleeting moment into my camera.
One of my favorite things to do beautifully is to interact with “strangers.” I love to connect briefly with a clerk in the store or laugh about something that we passing strangers notice together on the sidewalk. I don’t want to intrude, or demand attention for too long., just create a beautiful moment that acknowledges we’re here together and I see them. It brings me real joy, a little zing in my day, so I hope that they receive that joy beautifully.
I was reminded of the Japanese term Kintsugi, which is mending broken things (mostly pottery) with gold. I think your newsletter is a good example.
I take pride in how beautifully I parallel park. It's really mundane, but somehow thrilling every single time. Aside from that, I try to be a beautiful connector and convener of people, and that's not at all mundane. That is the ever shifting sand of life.
There's nothing like that feeling of slipping into that spot in one swell foop without all the back-and-forth-oh-crap-I-need-to-start-over corrections...
Without thinking too much, first thing that come to mind about what I do beautifully, is how perfectly and beautifully annoying wife I am. On our daily walks around the block, I touch my husband’s back to remind him of correcting his forward- slumping posture, I remind him to swing his right arm hanging loosely by his side, I tell him not to drag his feet, I look at his face when I try to make him laugh, and get annoyed when I see no response. When we return home, I go and lock myself in the bathroom, and I have a beautiful breakdown, although I struggle to see the beauty in it, because loosing the love of my life to Parkinson’s just isn’t so beautiful after all.
But then, to recover from it (and I have to do it daily) I retreat into my kitchen, pour a glass of wine(perhaps it’s too late or too early to quit drinking wine), and cook him his favorite meals and hope he can still taste something, anything.
Preparing food is like creating a mandala that will be erased. It’s the process of creating, which I find I do beautifully.
Wow, this is really something, Alenka. Thank you for your candor.... Though it makes my heart ache for you.
The thing that I think I can do beautifully is something that was born in me and cultivated by my mother and that is giving to others in a myriad of small, everyday, mundane things. It's a practice for me of noticing little things like a neighbor's toddler's shoes left helter-skelter on the path returned to their porch, or when cooking for othersremembering they don't like beets or can't eat gluten. Or just the kindness of holding the door open for someone, making faces at a fussy kid in the grocery cart in front of me so dad can pay. The joy and peace I find in myself is a blessing in everyday life, especially now, after years of practice...they happen without thinking much about what I am doing. Every day some little drop of love dolloped out into the world in my own small way.
When I was on my way to West Africa in 1993, I made a vow to myself that I would not require of myself that I produce anything from the trip. I was pretty sure I wanted to write about it one day, but I didn’t want that to feel like a goal that I could succeed or fail at. The one thing I said to myself is that I want to live each moment as fully and completely as I can. Did I say as beautifully as I can? I’m not sure. But that was the idea. I feel like this is my #1 goal here: to be a “bride married to amazement/a bridegroom taking the world into my arms” as Mary Oliver said. I do want to serve the world—I don’t want to do these things selfishly. But I feel like anything I can give and do has to first come from living as wholly/truthfully/beautifully as possible. So that’s what I try for, though I fall short all the time.
Thanks for this one, Jeff-ji.
I am trying to do what I do most beautifully…
• Build a public speaking business on “leading through tough times with resilience and adaptability” (you can check out www.billhefferman.com if you care to see more what this is about)
• Play harmonica (I gig with the Pagan Jug Band, a bluegrassy folksy Americana band in Portland OR)
• Shoot photos
But in all ways, thinking of how to do something most beautifully is a tremendous guideline/principle.
I appreciate you…
b
Very sweet. I'm also thinking of Kintsugi - Japanese concept. I'm thinking of the spirit. The soul. By coming into human existence, the incredibly painful sweet journey that it is, we are inevitably broken apart. If we allow, we do break, we do change, we heal into something even more essential - that is how our human spirits become more deeply real, more deeply beautiful.
Thank you for this, Lisa, and for inspiring this week's post!
Lyric (my 5 yo) has taken to telling people that her mama is a "feel betterer". It's a pretty sweet title, one that I take pride in. Raising a couple of munchkins to be compassionate yet fiery beings hellbent on smashing the patriarchy and replacing notions like greed, power and supremacy with the more soul-filling missions of peace, equality and caring for each other and the planet is basically the most beautiful thing I can think to do. Little Love Ninjas.
HOLD UP, Greenwald...you've seen THE brain?!?!?!?!!!!!!!! And it has the texture of SOFT tofu? Whhhhhaaaaaaaaaaattttt? I was under the impression that it'd be at least extra firm tofu, but leaning more towards the texture of chewed-up bubble gum!!! This new information has totally just blown my prefrontal cortex all the way down to my medulla oblongata...or like, blended it into a vegan smoothie.
Sounds like you accessed the Tricycle story?
Third time’s a charm? I was intrigued enough to sign up for a free trial, but that didn’t end up being necessary. Did you change the settings somehow?
I think I feed people (and myself) beautifully. There's always plenty and it's always (from what I gather) tasty. It's a very special feeling to have the opportunity to gather people around a table, to nourish both body and spirit. What a lovely post, Jeff.
Although I say I can do something beautifully, I couldn’t do so without the beautiful interaction of light waves playing with the elemental world surrounding me. I just have to be there to see, and invite, at 1/500 of a second, that fleeting moment into my camera.
There's beauty in your Tarot readings, Jeffji!
If anyone can transmute loss into presence, it's you, Jeff.
Highly recommend the Himalayan Writer Workshop. It’s magical!
Ah, it works now! Sent u a text