Torn strips of silk flutter
in a light breeze, ’cause
someone left the freezer open
while scrounging late at night
for ice cream, shuffling the Samba
in a sprouted pink Teri-Cloth robe.
Cha cha cha, the lone curled figure
danced to scraps of dreams,
skin peels, Ephedra tonics, red satin
chiffon dresses, with a black lace slip
underneath, just in case.
The papers promised fame,
tuxedoed men lined the stage,
careful not to give names. But
floodlights fizzled, headlines
blurred with spilled champagne,
scratched records became static.
Muffled jazz could almost be heard
as the cold, dry air sifted
past the smiling face glowing
in the spotlight
while ice crackled
impatiently in the background.
Monthly Archives: December 2006
Seeing Problems in Terms of Solutions
John Lennon once said, “There are no problems. Only solutions.” I repeated this to a friend and she looked at me like it didn’t make sense.
Of course there are problems. But Lennon implied we should approach problems in terms of what we can do about them. It’s a practical approach. If you can’t do anything about it, there’s not much sense in worrying.
When a problem arises which you can do something about, instead of lamenting it, dreading it, hating it, or worrying about it, ask yourself, “What can I do to change or correct it?”. It’s much simpler, and takes less energy.
Let’s say you get a late notice for a bill which you just forgot to pay. OK, you messed up. It’s a bummer. Yes, you’ll lose some money on the late fee. Now, what’s the solution? First, pay it. Second, make sure you don’t do it again. And don’t beat yourself up about it. It’s unproductive and, more importantly, it ruins the quality of your life right now. If you are in a funk for having messed up, that’s laying problems on problems. Then you’re in a funk all the time. Believe me, I’ve been there.
Then there’s those of us who live to avoid messing up. My sister monitors every detail, every penny of her financial life, and she stresses majorly when the slightest thing goes wrong. It becomes the topic of the day. Forget noticing beautiful weather or smelling the roses. Nope, that problem is going to ruin the day, gosh darn it!
Just a few days ago, Will of ThinkBuddha posted a quote by Wittgenstein from his Tractatus which sounded similar to Lennon’s. “The solution of the problem of life is seen in the vanishing of the problem.”
So, give yourself a “problem labotomy” and just do solutions!
The Healing Pool of Light
Help us to be ever faithful gardeners of the spirit, who know that without darkness nothing comes to birth, and without light nothing flowers.
May Sarton
Let the space between your thoughts expand. Notice the calm, open silence behind the words and emotions in your mind. Let those cloudy thoughts clear, leaving only open space. Breathe into that space. With each breath, take in the space around your body. It is part of you. You are part of it. Flow into it.
Prism colors of broken light roam the stillness of a quiet pool, a murmuring rainbow of forgiveness and compassion. Purple cradles your tears and opens your compassionate heart. Blue gives you confidence. Red fires your passions. Orange tickles joy. Green calms you. Yellow offers forgiveness. Drop your thoughts and fears into the pool and watch them disappear into its cool darkness.
Soft willow branches wait patiently in their free falling fountain as you let fears flow from you. You let your limbs go limp and droop down to rest in the soft, mossy grass surrounding the pool. You flow into you.
Now jump into the pool and splash everyone around you!
Smoked Turkey Soup
Of course, after Thanksgiving, I had to make soup with the carcass. I decided to make it a spicy, Cajun style. I make a pot of wild rice and set it aside. In a big pot I sautéed some garlic and onions, added a bunch of veggies, including carrots, eggplant, cabbage (savoy), celery. I used some powdered veggie stock to flavor the broth, but added a bunch of a salt free Cajun spice mix my sister gave me. (most Cajun spice mixes are FULL of salt) Plus I added some fresh oregano I had leftover from the week before. Oregano is a universal spice. It goes with everything savory. Then I added a pinch of star anise powder, which is quite fragrant and sweet. I did this to sweeten the spicy flavor. I added a bunch of water and plopped in the turkey, meat left on it and all. (This was only a turkey breast, still plenty big)
After the soup was done simmering an hour or so, I turned it off and removed the carcass to let it cool and remove the meat. I then added the meat back to the soup and added the cooked rice. I had to season it a bit more with cayenne and salt, but it was wonderful! The subtle smoked turkey flavor tasted great with the spicy flavors.
Partition; Condom Use and Common Sense
Today is World AIDS Day, to remind us that AIDS is very much with us all. I would like to remind you that religious dogma is effectively discouraging and preventing condom use in the name of “encouraging abstinence”. Millions are dying while that kind of thinking still persists. I think it’s about time our karma ran over that dogma!
Partition
Shadow puppets
undress arms and legs
from under false skin.
Gestures sweep the sky,
pointing to roiling suns beyond
the flat life of black and white.
A disembodied voice
asks about private rooms.
The shadows frolic on, innocent.