Category Archives: Musings

My Daily Entertainment!

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All work (or studies) and no play makes for a very boring life! On the other hand, a walk in nature, listening to the sound of a babbling brook, or birdwatching are the types of activities that nourish the soul and rejuvenate the spirit. Fortunately I don’t have to go far for any of these pursuits. As to the last, it has been a joy to be able to look up from my desk (the dining room table) and peer out the window into our back yard to watch the birds and their fledglings flit about all day. I have paused from time to time to take a few shots of the back-yard flurries, and decided to share some of the photos with you. Hope you are enjoying your Sunday!

One that got away....and has taken up residence in our back yard, much to our delight!

One that got away….and has taken up residence in our back yard, much to our delight!

Taking a rest on the powerlines to our house.

Taking a rest on the powerlines to our house.

 

Ooops....this is no bird! But I had to go out and have a talk with her when she began nibbling on my Asters!

Ooops….this is no bird! But I had to go out and have a talk with her when she began nibbling on my Asters!

Nothing like a dip in the birdbath!

Nothing like a dip in the birdbath!

Birdbaths sometimes work as reflecting pools, too. :-)

Birdbaths sometimes work as reflecting pools, too. :-)

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There's gotta be a way....

There’s gotta be a way….

 

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I said I'm HUNGRY!

I said I’m HUNGRY!

Maybe if I look the other way, she won't know I saw her.

Maybe if I look the other way, she won’t know I saw her.

Finally the food is here.

Finally the food is here.

 

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OUT OF THE WAY! I DON"T KNOW HOW TO STOP!!!!

OUT OF THE WAY! I DON”T KNOW HOW TO STOP!!!!

 

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One Small Step (Written over a year ago….then lost amongst all the other unpublished drafts in my folder!)

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As you who read my blog know, I was recently in Chicago to meet my infant grandson and help my youngest daughter and her partner as they acclimated to their new roles as parents. Those of you who have the pleasure of being grandparents know how exciting and frightening those first few days can be. From fumbling with diapers, to getting up with every gurgle, grunt and groan that emits from the wee one, to simply gazing in awe at this new life your children have brought forth, the first days of a person’s life is a wonder to behold. Of course, knowing the demands that await these two loving parents, my job was to give them the space they needed to enjoy the newness of parenthood. Washing clothes or dishes, offering encouraging words, or simply holding Eli so my daughter could have a few minutes for self pampering, all of it was a labor of love for Mary, Eric, and little Elijah.

Beyond the pragmatic though, were moments of contemplation. As I studied Eli’s face, or felt the tug of his little fingers on my pinky, or massaged his tiny feet (he likes that!) I couldn’t help but wonder what kind of world Eli would inherit from us. These insular moments of infancy where all of his needs would be provided for, where nurture was abundant, where his world consisted of his parents and himself with the rest of us orbiting about from time to time, would soon enough give way to the broader world of scraped knees and hurt feelings. Would the bigger world be kind to Eli? Would he weather the storms to eventually become a man of strength and honor? Heady questions for such a little one, but at times the thoughts crossed my mind.

Too soon I had to return home. As much as I loved spending time with this precious family, I missed my husband. Before long it would be time to start preparing for Passover. We are nearing the closing date on the purchase of our new home and I needed to start packing . . . again. My daughter and I shared tears as I left. She tugged at my heartstrings. After all, she is my baby. Her tears were those of a new mother who wanted her mother to stay just a tad longer. I knew in those moments though, something she was still unsure of, that she and Eric were fine parents and would do well without me. I was no longer needed there. The tears were an expression of love on both of our parts.

As I boarded the train into Chicago, my heart was now beating for home. Later that day, as I boarded the Megabus that would take me back to Cleveland, I noticed that there was an unusually large number of boarders for this trip. Instead of having a seat to myself to stretch out and relax, or to read or work on final projects for class, I was relegated to tucking my backpack under my seat and holding purse, camera, coat, and travel pillow in my lap as a total stranger took the seat next to me. It was going to be an uncomfortable six hour trip for sure. To top it off, the man who sat next to me was a Muslim. I am Jewish. Oy . . . All I could think of was that he would probably give me grief if or when he found out my identity. Oh well. I would make the best of it. This was the first time I had ever traveled by Megabus where we were packed in like sardines.

Soon after the bus pulled out and we were headed back home, the young man next to me opened up a package of cookies and offered me a cookie.

“No thank you,” I replied.

“I apologize for having to take up your space,” he offered in a soft voice.

“No problem” said I.

“Do you come to Chicago very often?” he pursued.

“When I can. My daughters live here. What about you?”

“This is my first time here. Chicago is a beautiful city.”

Detecting an accent, I asked, “Where is your home?”

“Istanbul, Turkey. Have you ever been there?”

“No, afraid not.”

It didn’t take long for the conversation to get around to religion. Maybe he noticed that I wore a cap, or maybe he was just curious. He volunteered that he was Muslim, Sunni to be exact.

“Are you a religious person?” he asked.

“Yes, I am. Jewish. Orthodox” I replied.

By now I was uneasy but I was not going to shy away from the fact that my Jewishness defines who I am and how I live in this world.

The conversation continued for the remainder of the trip. For six hours we discussed our beliefs, our similarities, our differences, our families and customs. For six hours we laughed, at moments treading softly not knowing how the other would respond. I questioned Muslim practices that to me seemed strange, and he did the same with me concerning Jewish observances. Always respectful, Ibrihim appeared to relish the discussion as much as I did. We talked about prayer and what our different prayers meant to us, about our holy writings and their importance in our lives. We talked about the differences of growing up in the US versus life for him in Turkey. Respect of one’s elders (he nodded to me when he spoke about this) was of utmost importance and how it pained him to see such disrespect in this country. I questioned him on the things I read about the treatment of women in that part of the world. We tiptoed around the tensions in the middle east. Yet, despite a little unease on that subject, he was the one who concluded that I must return to Israel, the homeland of the Jews. He was the one who observed that my soul would always be restless till the day I set foot in our land.

The hours flew by. I learned a lot on this trip home from Chicago. When we arrived at our destination, he thanked me for being such a gracious seat partner on our journey. I wished him well in his studies and his future endeavors, then he disappeared into the crowd. As I stepped off the bus (midnight) my husband was there to greet me. And I was full of news about our newest grandchild, Elijah. I was glad to be back home. I was thrilled to fill “Zaide” in on all the details about Elijah. But I would not forget about my trip back from Chicago, either.

Now, days later, I am encouraged about the world that Elijah will inherit. There are no guarantees in life, no way of knowing what will be. But I am reassured of what is possible. When Jew and Muslim can talk there is hope. Certain segments of society will never sit down to the negotiating table. I know that. And as long as rockets are being lobbed into Israel (daily they fall on Israel!) how can there be talk of peace? On the other hand, when common people can talk about their similarities and differences, there is hope. And that gives me hope for our precious Elijah and the world he will inherit.

 

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Homesick

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Wow! Another quarter in grad school is behind me as I continue on toward graduation and eventual licensure as a professional clinical counselor. I’ve been at this for what seems like an eternity now. Fortunately the end is within sight. With this mini-break in studies, I decided to take a few minutes to pop into WordPress and take a quick look around before charging into my day–cleaning house (which does not happen when I’m in the thick of coursework), some “away” time with my incredible, supportive and loving husband, and starting a novel! (reading that is; no academic stuff for three glorious weeks)–but as I scrolled through my WP reader list, I suddenly felt homesick for blogging buddies that brought so much pleasure in the past. I miss you all. I miss blogging. I also know that this “away” time is for a season only. This is my “going away to college” time. The learning is phenomenal, and friendships are being forged many of which will last a lifetime. But today, I’m homesick for the friends I’ve made here. Your photographs are phenomenal, as always; your writing is heartfelt, personal, uplifting, humorous, sad, and real; your willingness to share your selves with others is humbling. I am blessed with so much, and you all are part of those blessings. Thank you.

Until I once again get a chance to pop in and say “hi y’all,” I’ll leave you a photo and send good thoughts and energy your way. Some day, sooner than you think, I will rejoin you on this road of self-discovery, artistic expression, and forging friendships that span the globe. Enjoy!

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Just Checking In

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Just checking in to see how everyone is doing. School is going well and I am pleased to announce (for those who don’t already know) that the paperwork, interviews, hoop-jumping-through has paid off and I am approved to begin my fieldwork beginning in early April! Yay! I’ll be working with elderly clients who are dealing with depression, and facilitating a group of elderly people in partial hospitalization with mental health issues. It sounds interesting and my supervisor has years of experience in the field and in supervising. I’m a happy camper at the moment.

In addition to pouring my energies into coursework and completing the application process for fieldwork, I have been participating in the Cornel University Lab of Ornithology Feederwatch program for backyard bird watchers! It only requires a few hours each week and I derive great joy and relaxation from it. I have learned a lot about birds by participating in this program, plus I get to contribute data for Cornel University’s research on winter bird migration. It is great fun and quite interesting. At the end of this post I will post a few photos that were taken at the feederstation we set up in our back yard.

Time to get back to the studies. Papers are coming due, discussions need to be posted, and research has already begun for final projects of the quarter. Enjoy the photos. :-)

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A Short Respite

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I completed another quarter of my studies and have a bit of a respite before my next quarter commences. As a way of unwinding, my husband and I took a drive out to my favorite nature reservation. It was wonderful to walk in the crisp, clean air on paths through forest and along streams and pond. I shot some photos–only a few–but is wat late in the day and the light was waning. I did get one shot though, to share with you. I can’t remember which photo challenge it was, but one was “Reflections.” I have suspended my participation in photo challenges for a while, but this was a “Reflection” shot that I liked. Hope you like it, too.

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Time for a Break . . .

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Yes, I am to that time once again when I will have to step away from the blogging. You may have noticed that I don’t get around to your blogs like I used to. Soon I will start my practicum and fieldwork and time will be at a premium. I love blogging. I miss visiting your blogs. But priorities prevail and for the next year I will be tied up doing what I’ve prepared to do for years now. Last week marked by third anniversary of blogging. I began this venture as an effort to maintain my sanity while looking for work. Through writing and photography, hobbies that I let slip away years ago, I was able to redefine the trajectory of my life. And I am still walking down that road and loving it. This blog has evolved from writing about anything that popped into my mind to showcasing my photography when academia began to sap my writing energy. I don’t want to let “Inspired Vision” slip away into oblivion, so I will leave a word, a photo, or whatever, as time allows. Once I complete my studies I hope to come back to this page, or possibly create a new, improved site that reflects where I am at that time. At any rate, enjoy your days and count your blessings. I’ll see you when I can.

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R*E*A*L*I*T*Y Blog Award

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Thanks to scrapydo for this nomination. Click on the badge to be whisked away to scrapydo.wordpress.com’s beautiful blog!

As with all awards, there are a few questions we are asked to answer by way of sharing a little more of who we are. So, without further fanfare, here we go:

If you could change something what would you change?

That we all become more compassionate, accepting of differences, caring and kind; that no child (or adult) should go hungry or cold; that ‘wonder’ at the awesomeness of life never cease. . . (I’m sure there is more, but this is a good start!)

If you could relive one day, when would it be?

I don’t know about ‘reliving’ one day, but I would sure like one more day with special people I have lost: my brother, my grandparents, Miss Mary, Aunt Florence . . . Some have been gone for a very long time, some, not so long. But each of them were special and I love them still. Just a chat would be nice.

What’s one thing that really scares you?

Reckless drivers scare the hell out of me! (This was scrapydo’s answer but it fit, so I left it in. :-) )

What one dream have you not completed yet and do you think you will be able to complete it?

One dream is becoming a licensed clinical counselor, and I am on my way with that one. . . 2/3 of the way through school. Another dream is to sell photographs. I think that is doable, but can’t really concentrate on that aspect of my life now. It will have to wait till after graduation. Hopefully I will then be able to apply more energy and time into improving my photography and sell a few here and there. :-) All of this is doable, AND I’m working on making these dreams a reality.

If you could be someone else for a day, who would you be?

Oh my! I’ve lived long enough now to know that everyone has his or her problems, whether we see them or not, and I’m not sure I want to take someone else’s persona or their problems for even one day. SO, I’ll just stay who I am and continue to be as authentic a ‘me’ as I can be. :-)

Nominations for this award:

This is the part of the award I always dread, so much so that I usually write some sweet piece about how all bloggers deserve this award, so I bestow it on all my blogging friends. Copout? Most definitely. This time I’m taking a bit of a different approach. I mean it when I say that all bloggers who spend time and energy baring their souls, sharing their thoughts, exposing their talents are deserving of these awards. This time however, I decided to highlight two blogs that have invited bloggers to interact with each other more by providing wonderful challenges for us to participate in each week. I don’t always join in due to course demands (school comes first) but I appreciate how their weekly challenges serve to build community. So, I pass this award on to Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge and Jake’s Weekly Sunday Post. Head on over to their blogs and check them out. If you click on the badges below, you will be whisked through the blogosphere to their respective sites. Enjoy the trip! ;-)

Thanks, scrapydo, for honoring me with this award. Much appreciated. :-) Thanks, too, to Cee and Jake for their contributions to the blogging community. I hope the rest of you will pay them a visit if you haven’t already.

Blessings to you all, and if you are an US citizen, please remember to VOTE in tomorrow’s elections.

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