Weekly Bread #250
The classic Thanksgiving turkey pic was taken again this year. It was a somewhat smaller turkey than last year, but I am a little bigger now even though I am wearing the same shirt pants and slippers. Only one oven mitt though.
In the older picture, both the turkey and I were both significantly larger. We needed a bigger platter and I needed much larger clothes. It is easier cooking a smaller turkey. It is easier being a smaller size. Being older is not quite as much fun. I might have trouble holding up a 20 pound turkey these days. If I cook a huge one again, we will have to take the photo while is is resting on the counter.
I have much to be thankful for. And I know that the leftovers can have a larger impact on one’s life than one would think. That is true for trauma even more than it is for gravy and stuffing.
May all experience less trauma and horror in both the days and the nights of their lives. It is a hope, a prayer, even if it isn’t an expectation.
L’Chaim!
Average weight this week was up 1.7 pounds for a total loss of 140.4
Weekly Bread #249
I almost forgot to do this blog post. I usually post in the morning, but at least I remembered this evening. Accountable is what I am trying to be – to myself mainly. But the holidays are coming so can I use them as an excuse? Why not? Excuses aren’t always explanations. People who confuse correlation and causation die in the end. I saw that on facebook this week. Often there is something genuinely amusing amid all the advertisements and fake news. Enough. It isn’t morning anymore.
L’Chaim!
Average weight this week was up .6 pounds for a total loss of 142.1
Weekly Bread #248
I got in 3 hikes this week for a total of 18.3 miles. It included one mountain, not the tallest around, but still a mountain. The fall and the spring are my favorite times to hike. Not too hot like the summer and not too wet like we hope the winters will be. Winter here isn’t really a problem though, as long as the wind isn’t blowing trees down. Hiking in the rain is OK if you have the right gear, especially a good jacket or poncho and waterproof boots. It is always easier to warm up than it is to cool off, but that may be the Californian in me speaking. I really don’t like temperature or weather extremes which means, I guess, that I am living in the right state but the wrong century. Anyone who think the planet’s climate isn’t changing is in denial. The increasing wars, the rise of fascism, of racism, of all the isms, and even, my friends, the family fights, the church fights, the neighborhood squabbles, are , I think, all related. We are a people living with a level of trauma that has entered our blood and our bones. That kind of trauma can get in our way, working on our lizard brains, telling us we either need to run or fight.
When hiking, if you see a rattlesnake, what you want to do is avoid it. Same with bears. Don’t run, don’t fight, just walk the other way. Mountain lions are different they say, but the times I have seen them, they have just looked at me and then went away.
It any case, if you meet a potentially dangerous animal on a trail (or even a scary human) a trauma response is usually not the best one.
Sometimes we need to fight. Sometimes we need to run. But it is easier to get warm than to cool off. Best to keep our rage and fear directed where it belongs and to stay rooted in our values and our faith. We are just trees by the river, as the song goes.
L’Chaim!
Average weight this week was up 1.2 pounds for a total loss of 142.7
Weekly Bread #247
Saw this tree – or what is left of it – on one of my hikes this week. I did get in my 3 hikes at least – one was only 3 miles, but I also did both a 6 and a 7 miler so am back in my routine. They have been doing controlled burns in the park closest to us, so I needed to go a bit farther afield to avoid the smoke. I still have some congestion from the cold (or was it RSV?) I had a couple of weeks ago and smoky air makes it worse. The tree reminded me how I feel when I don’t want to get out of bed in the morning, but when I look at again, the tree has been dead for awhile. It definitely isn’t going to be getting up again. It is instead being busy making soil so other things can grow. Unlike dead redwoods who sprout new trees from their stumps, oaks take longer to be reborn as something even newer. So maybe redwoods resurrect themselves while oaks are instead transformed? Nah, although theology is everywhere, I don’t think redwoods are holier than oaks or visa versa. Peter Mayer has a song, “everything is holy now” It is worth a listen. And I still think I will go to church this AM. If everything really is holy, that includes community, other people, and the world. Maybe it will help me learn to practice bowing to the divine in others.
Namaste.
Peace Salaam Shalom. (Emma’s Revolution song written shortly after 9/11)
L’Chaim!
Average weight this week was down .1 pounds for a total loss of 143.9
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