An optimist thinks this is the best of all possible worlds. A pessimist fears that may be true.
I heard that recently and it’s worth pondering, but I’m not pondering it because my mind is on the best of all possible beaches—Avon on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. So I’m in no mood to ponder, muse, reflect, ruminate, cogitate, think, or type.
I hope you are.
I mean, look, for four years I’ve been telling you what I find interesting in and around my world—things fascinating, intriguing, galling, inspiring, edifying, funny, and sad.
Not today.
Today I’d like to know what you’ve found interesting in and around your world lately. What have you seen, heard, read, felt, or tasted that left an impression. Leave your rumination (100 words or less) in the comment window below.
I can’t wait to get off of this fabulous beach, into my cramped car, onto congested I-95 and back home so I can read what you left on the best of all possible blogs.
Until then, wish you were here. 😎
I’m headed for the beach tomorrow! Love it!
What I’ve noticed this year, as a gardener, is the strangeness of the growing season, due no doubt to climate change. Some plants take it in stride; some change their schedules; and some don’t even try. Tomatos are late, but still producing. Chard is healthy and grows amazingly fast. And morning glories are trying to take over the world! I do wonder what fall will bring.
Greed is running its course. Greed is the cause of climate change that is burning and flooding our world. Wildfire smoke ruined the sky for an entire summer. People are dying. Hope is not enough. When god is made in the image of the worst of our species giving us license for our worst, we all suffer.
“Best” is an attitude, I’ve decided. Too brief and only one example: A “can do, solutions first” attitude possessed by my grandson, 3.8 yo, and CHallenged with consonant blends, tho’ smart and talks all the time. His mom, at dinner: “We say “ch” in front of many words… (& last) “ch, ch, ch children”.” T responds, “Or you could just say “k, k, k kids’.”
Every day is “best” when you experience the fresh love we do with this light-filled little boy! ♥️
Lately one of the best things in my world has been when my 1 yr. old grandson comes over and grabs my pant leg and pulls and pulls until I come and join him in his world of play and exploration. 😊👍
Monastery of Christ in the Desert, located just outside of the tiny village of Abiquiu, New Mexico, up the road from Ghost Ranch. Gloriously beautiful escape from life for awhile. Silent, self led retreat. Guesthouse…3 meals a day. Awesome natural beauty surrounds.
Medical happenings make me thankful that one daughter with a bilateral mastectomy, has prostheses, and plans to be a survivor. The other daughter, after being estranged from the family, decided on Mother’s Day to change that position due to a possible medical issue. A slow process but the door is now open. Much to shout and dance about (oops, ending with a preposition!).
As a child I loved the beach. It was “almost heaven” so far as I was concerned. However, as I grew up, the beach began to lose it’s magic. As close as I got to a beach recently was a walk along the headlands at Half Moon Bay, CA at Christmas time and more recently, at what I call the Potomac Riviera, near Falling Waters, WV, where we spent a week with my sons’ and families near Dam #5. The next near beach experience was at our neighbor’s creek frontage for a picnic yesterday afternoon. Fortunately, there was little to no sand at either location and lots of shade. These experiences have reinforced what I had already determined many years ago. Live for the moment and notice the little things in life. It’s those that matter and will sustain one through the trials and tribulations of life.
The beach… one of my favorite places to BE. Raised in the Midwest,..didn’t see it until I was in my 20’s… so vast, so majestic, and so healing. Mountains do it for me too, as will as rivers, lakes and streams. Living in the moment is easy there…
Today I was going thru old papers, clothes, writings, cards and other collections from my life, as we purge… built a fire…Tears of joy, and tears of sorrow mixed as I looked thru the years (& decades) of my life…read your blog, and once again felt uplifted and surrounded by community… thank you…
Randy, I’m glad you are on a good beach and taking a good break. All it takes to bring me into the presence of joy is to see a large grasshopper on the kitchen window, to look at the face of a flower in the garden, to see the face of a cat and dutifully wait upon its every command, to hear birds, crickets, cicadas, to watch a spider working on her web in the evening.
What jolts me away from the presence of joy is the sound of this neighbor’s weed whacker, that neighbor’s leaf blower, the middle school’s duo of riding lawn mowers along with it’s weed whackers and leaf blowers, a chain saw nearby and a machine chewing up the debris from the chain saw. All this regularly occuring somewhere in my hearing range along with the constant traffic noise going by our house is enough to send me to a monastery or a nunnery….one with many acres of land and no machines…
We went to my hometown this past weekend to celebrate my classmates turning 70 (!) this year. It wasn’t a class reunion year but a monumental year for us all.
Wondering this day who created Sudoku. I am new to the sport and liken it to brain crack. It is addictive. It is an aria when the orchestra is just a backdrop, a faint distant refrain. Looking for a spot for a 9, and in the background the fourth indictment is announced, there are floods and fires, there is deep hate and deep love, and a group of young folks sue Montana for the right to have a livable future.
“The Tao is called the Great Mother: empty yet inexhaustible, it gives birth to infinite worlds. It is always present within you. You can use it any way you want.” Tao Te Ching
And right now I want to find the right spot for a 3.
Lately, I have been thinking about connections and what small things we can do to bring joy into our daily lives. Particularly when they can be filled up with a bit of high maintenance stuff.
My son and I have recently, during his last trip to WV, talked about music and what music connects us and how those pieces came to be in our lives. Since it will be a long time before we see each other again in person, he has created a mom and son “Spotify play list.” He started it and we can both add to it and listen to it and have our deja vu moments over time.
It is a small thing, but a simple thing of beauty for me and each song take me to a time or place of connection with my amazing child.
Thanks for asking to share….
Hugs
Georgia
Celebrating 52 years of marriage! We are blessed.
The best of all possible worlds for me is the beach on Lake Michigan in Northern (not the UP) Michigan. Every summer I make my way to those beaches in a lovely small town. My Grandparents owned a 48 acres of cherry trees over-looking the Late. As a child it was favorite place where joy and love filled the air. Now that same spirit fills my soul when I am there. Even just imagining that beach can give me pure happiness. I am blessed!