Unrelenting rain all day threatens to dampen my spirits. Cabin fever defines my mood. I threaten to complain, but words fall on deaf ears. Besides, I get a lot of studying done on days like this. Periodically my furry friend comes to my window, scratches around to get my attention, and then we flirt back and forth for a bit. After a while he leaves and I get back to my studies. Sigh. . .
“Hey, Bubbe, look what I made” he excitedly exclaims as he holds up one lego creation after another to show me. We laugh. He tells me jokes . . . 8-year-old-boy jokes. He makes funny faces and we talk about going to the movies together. Last time I was there we went to see “Puss and Boots.” Without warning he asks “When are you coming again? Can you come here real soon?” I wince. I want to fly through cyberspace right now and be with him. “Soon, Jake. Soon” Ah, the wonder of FaceTime, a computer application that allows us to talk face-to-face in real time! “I love you Jacob” and I love being your Bubbe.
Jake is an award winning blogger, graphic artist and photographer. Many of us use his artwork on our blogs (see sidebar badge, “I’m part of post-a-week 2012″). The Jakesprinters badge above, was designed in honor of the Chinese Year of the Dragon. Click on the badge to be whisked away to Jake’s blog, Time After Time. Jake is from Manila, and is a regular visitor to MANY blogs. He is generous and kind with his comments, and I wanted to acknowledge his talents which from time to time grace my blog. So, thank you Jake for sharing so freely of your time and talents. I appreciate the badges that you allow me to use for this site. Kudos to you!
No snow today. No rain either. I noticed. Mostly overcast, but at least the rain held back. The sun shone for a moment here and there, too. I mean it really shone. I stared out the window at the still sodden ground, then glanced at the trees. The contrast between light and shadow was stark, and beautiful. I noticed.
I had not planned on posting today (except for River of Stones) but came across this link at Doris Nygrin’s blog, Truth With Doris, and felt compelled to share it. In a very simple, straightforward way, the viewer is shown the disparity in diets around the world with accompanying comments…brief statements about the weekly food costs for families in different parts of the world. I urge you to take a look.
Daily Kos: Global Food Disparity
I don’t like malls. I can’t remember when the last time was that I was in one. It’s been a long time. Tonight we went to the mall. Malls are everything I don’t like (I know–redundancy repeated, but I’m making a point): gaudy, loud, excessive, boring, depressing. We didn’t come to shop, rather to get out of the house on this, another dreary rainy night. We came to walk, and that we did. We walked at a brisk pace around the perimeter of the building, down the wide garish walk ways, upstairs and down. We walked until we were sweaty and tired and felt good. We talked the whole time, too, about politics and religion and how we knew what was best for the world. We noted the obscene materialism everywhere we looked and we walked. When we finished walking, we found a table and I pulled out books to study. The abrasive music offered a strange sort of block to the images and sounds vying for my attention. I studied with focus and intent. I covered mounds of material. Finally we left the mall. I was happy to leave, but I’ll be back I know, to walk and to study. Who would have thunk?
Thank you to Christine at dadirridreaming, and to demonsking19 at Nalaik Panda ! for passing this lovely award to my blog. As always I am touched by such thoughtfulness. And it is always nice to receive recognition from a peer regarding one’s creative endeavors. I encourage you, my readers, to click on their links and check out their blogs. I am always happy to spread blog love around, and so I encourage you to check out the blogroll at the bottom of the page. All are deserving of this award, so feel free to attach it to your page. I apologize that my blogroll is still not up to date. I go through spurts where I add blogs, but then get distracted with other cares. If you are a regular follower of this blog and your blog isn’t on my roll, please alert me! I also apologize for not being more specific when passing on awards. My excuse is that I simply don’t have the time to list everyone, nor the heart to exclude anyone. Your blogs are so lovely, and you put your heart into them and I recognize that fact. I wish to honor each and every one of you.
Again, thank you Christine and demonsking19 for bestowing me with this truly lovely award. It is greatly appreciated.
Anyone who reads this blog knows that photography is where my creative urges soar. In the past month, I pushed myself to step out of my photography comfort zone and experiment with effects that go beyond my normal boundaries. Stepping into the dis-comfort zone has been fun, surprising and incredibly creative. . . so much so that now I must admit that photographically speaking, my comfort zone has expanded beyond all expectations! I love it.
Another area where I am creatively pushing the boundaries is in my writing. This month I have participated in the “A River of Stones Jan ’12″ challenge. A simple challenge on the surface, but one which compels me to write in a different way. The results have tickled me and added a new dimension to my writing. I have to think a little harder, but playing with words has definitely added color to these blogs!
So, the creativity continues. But what about the NoCZ-2012 Challenge? I experience stepping out of my comfort zone every time I try something new artistically, whether it be writing or photography. But in other areas of my life, too, I find myself stepping across that line that says “comfort ends here.”
According to Myers-Briggs, I am an introvert. I don’t challenge that label because it fits and I’m ok with that. I love being around people and activity, however I need to withdraw from the buzz of interaction to regroup, clear my mind, think. Then when I’m ready, I’ll engage the larger world again. One area that is particularly uncomfortable for me is introducing myself to new people in new places or situations. As often as I have moved, I am often in “new” situations. In the past I was content to hold back because I knew that it was only a matter of time and we would move on and leave the present people and places behind.
This move is different, though. When Richard finishes with his present job he will retire. We are looking for a house here because we plan to stay and make this our community. I plan to get my license in this state and create a private practice here. There are no plans to move on. Merely waiting for things to happen or for people to find me does not work. I will have to step out of my comfort zone and be the one to reach out to others. And yesterday I took a small step in that direction. After the morning prayer service at the synagogue there was a large kiddush, or meal. This was our second visit to this particular synagogue so we did not know anyone. I turned to Richard and said “Let’s stay.” As we walked into the large banquet room I was a little overwhelmed with the activity and the number of strangers that milled about. But I forged ahead, got in line to get some food, but then where to sit? We didn’t know anyone to sit with. Once again I looked to Richard and asked if he was game to just introduce ourselves to some folks and sit at their table. He followed me. I found a table with some empty seats and asked if the seats were taken. “No, please sit down.” By now of course, my heart was racing a bit, but before you know it we had all joined in conversation. And it didn’t end there! As we were preparing to leave, I saw a woman standing a little distant from the crowd; I walked up to her, offered a greeting and explained that I was new to the community and wanted to get to know some folks. We had a delightful conversation and then Richard and I left.
Looking back on the day, even as I sit here typing, I amazed myself . . . did I really do that? Did I walk up to strangers and just start talking? It’s one thing to do something like that when you are in a particular roll and you approach someone from a professional stand point, but to approach strangers just to chat was a stretch for me. Wow. What an expansive challenge!
Well, that was my week. We are still in the first month of challenges so we can look forward to a year of exciting growth if this keeps up! Hope your challenges are helping you to grow and expand your horizons, too. Have a great week. 
In the quiet of the evening my mind races. Deadlines are looming. Breathe deeply. Allow the peace to come in and flood my body, breathe out the toxic tense breath that dulls the senses. Take it easy for a bit. Life is too short to do otherwise.
