Walking Sticks

In the last few years I seem to be vertically challenged. Oh not the way you think. I can't always maintain my equilibrium without staggering and clutching at things as I walk. Talk about hard on my dignity!! I considered a cane. Someone suggested a walker. I'm not ready for that yet, I thought! Then someone else suggested getting two walking sticks and using them to help stabilize me, sort of like two extra legs, while enabling me to get more long walks in! Ah, now this sounded like something I could handle. Off I went on an expedition to find said poles without breaking my budget. After some looking and talking to a friend who uses them (and she's much younger than me!) I finally found some, in a local hardware store, for a third of the price that the specialized sporting goods stores were prepared to sell them for. My first stroke of good luck. The second was in encountering someone else who uses these sticks for walking. He was the employee in the hardware store who sold them to me. He gave me some valuable tips on how to adjust the height for me, how to hold them and swing them. Away home I came full of enthusiasm. However, three days passed. Each day there was a reason why I couldn't (legitimate of course!!) go out and start using them. Finally, I couldn't stall any more so I took a deep breath and plunged outside my apartment. The first two people I met -a couple of my neighbours - said 'oh, are you practising up to go skiing?' Hmmm I thought, I never expected that response! Next at the flower shop, the owner referred to them as canes. I was most affronted. At least for five minutes or so. These responses kind of threw me off balance (oh, not literally, but figuratively) so I came home and plunked them down. There they stayed for two or three more days! Not one to give up a challenge easily, (not for nothing do I have this stubborn Irish streak!) I gathered up my courage and off I went again. The day was hot and I worked up a sweat, but you know, I walked confidently - for three kilometres for the first time in a long while. I think I'm getting the hang of this. It feels great to have this opportunity again. No longer will I consider walking a right, but a privilege that has been given back to me! I'll write more here about my walking adventures with my two extra legs - from time to time....

Autumn thoughts....

When I went to retrieve my poems, it seemed that I was unable to access them. Grrr! How maddening that they are there but I cannot access (some) of them.
But wait! All is not lost. I found some hard copies of them and while this means I must re-enter them, at least I still have my "babies." Funny until this moment I hadn't thought of them like that. Guess I am pretty possessive when it comes to my writings!

By this poem you can see that my approach to autumn is from quite a different perspective. My Canadian Prairie roots are showing.

HARVEST GLEANINGS
Harvest is done- earth can rest
The time has come to prepare
For winter's icy reign.

Little creatures of the earth
Are scampering busily
Intent upon their season's work
Lining and filling their nests.
With leavings from the harvest.

When crops are good,
Gleanings are rich indeed
When the crops are poor
Leftovers too are sparse
It matters not where creatures fit
In the order of things,
All are affected by Nature's capricious works.

So just remember, whether you're
Cleaning up garden, yard or harvest fields,
Spare a thought for your fellow creatures -
Great and small.
Won't you share your leavings with them?
You know, each one is important.
God knows when even a sparrow falls.

Now harvest is done – the earth can rest.
The time has come for all to prepare
For winter's icy reign.
SFS

Autumn thoughts...

Profound Silence

As is often the case, my mind wanders to things profound and spiritual.Somehow the subject of this poem that I wrote 8 years ago remains current in my mind. Just when I think I'm clear what I think about silence, another thought winkles its head out of the soil of my mind.(How's that for a metaphor!) I've come to know that this a a good thing. All that remains is for me to nurture this new little plant. And who knows what will come of it. Perhaps my idea of silence Will grow stronger and more beautiful and bear unimagined fruits. And fruits are meant to be shared. You never know, another poem might just spring from it!


PROFOUND SILENCE

Early morning darkness
Wind is asleep
Birds are not stirring
A soul alone, at one with the universe.

Is this profound silence?

Woman sitting alone on a bench
Book open in her hands
Staring off into the distance
Her face a map of serenity.

Is this profound silence?

Man on his knees at the altar
Head bowed, eyes closed
His face a gentle mask
Of expectancy.

Is this profound silence?

A wide-eyed child spellbound
At his first sight of snowflakes
A moment frozen in time
A look of joy -
Once seen, never forgotten.

Is this profound silence?

Contemplation of a master’s work
Eyes shining, cheeks aglow
Climbing into the artist’s mind
Experiencing the joy of creation.

Is this profound silence?
....sfs2001

The Kitchen Gremlins

I have just noticed a strange phenomenon occurring in my kitchen. I think that something like Santa's workshop after closing time is happening. I spend time (now and then) cleaning and washing up. I leave feeling pleased with myself. An hour or two later I return with the intent of doing some cooking. Wait a minute! Where did that spoon come from? I'm sure that black splotch wasn't on the floor there before. Puzzled and annoyed, I clean things up again and proceed to do my cooking. I notice, as things progress, that the sink and counters are filling up with clutter at an astonishing rate. I can't be using that many utensils, I think. Oh well, again, I clean up again. Sink's clean, counters are clear, floor is free of unidentified items.
Off I go , coffee in hand, feeling pleased with myself. Time passes. I am in and out of the kitchen a few times, but imagine my shock when I do really look around! Again not just spoons, but knives seem to have leaped into the sink, possibly in antipication of a hot bath? They have been joined by several plastic cartons - wearing suspicious evidences of food, and a small pot. I sigh and look around in puzzlement. There must be some as yet unseen gremlins inhabiting my kitchen. I imagine them chortling (quietly) with glee as they wreak this disorder.
Tell me, are there any more kitchens out there like this or is mine an anomaly?

Return of the Poet/Writer (I think)

I never really got off to a great start last time. I was limiting myself to my poetry - already written and that seemed to blunt any creative writing of any sort.
Here's to an end to that and, a new beginning!
Recently, one of our local TV stations went off air. It wasn't making enough money for its owners. Oh dear!
For some while I have been disenchanted with the quality of news we receive. It seems as tho' the newspapers and networks simply want to write a script and deliver it. We should be happy with that - right? NOT! At least I'm not. This has led me to search for more authentic and independent alternatives to get news. Its amazing what is 'out there'. It seems that I am not alone in wanting to know what's really happening, both locally, nationally and internationally. I take comfort in that and I intend to keep searching out new sources. Who knows? I might be able to actively participate in some of the newsletters and papers appearing in my community! I might even meet some interesting people too!

ON BEING ORDINARY....

ON BEING ORDINARY;
I used to think that being ordinary was not a state I could aspire to.
It was common and boring - being ordinary meant being one of the crowd.
What a terrible fate I thought as I peered down from the lofty heights
Of my snobbish nose. Surely these little people want "more" out of life?
I tried and tried to be one of the chosen, select ones.
I was singularly unsuccessful. But that didn't stop me from trying again, and again , and again....
Each time I failed, the veneer, the mask I wore, grew thinner and thinner.
Harder and harder to hold together.
I was afraid - afraid that people would see through my mask.
They would see the "real" me and they would hate me!
This only made me strive harder and try more and more impossible feats.
Time after time I beat myself with my guilt. Oh, if only the world could see THOSE bruises,
I thought. But I don't want them to see me as I really am.
Time passed. My mask became threadbare and weak. I was growing weaker
And more frantic by the moment.
Any time now the whole facade would explode.
It didn't explode and somehow I held it together.
There's got to be more to life than this terrifying, draining struggle.
Admitting that I needed help was hard enough, seeking out that help was
Hard beyond belief. But to have that person tell me that I was not
Not superior and above average, and worse yet just ordinary! was
Unbearable. I argued and fought and denied it. I refused to surrender!
But .....then one day, I realized something that changed my attitude and started me
Down a road where I could not only accept, but rejoice and revel in my ordinariness!
Many blessed and wonderful things came about because of ordinary people.
One of the most wonderful being the birth of Christ - a special child - to ordinary parents.
If he could come from such humble, ordinary beginnings, then surely there could be
Nothing shameful about being ordinary. Rather it seems now a privilege to be called - ordinary!
...musings by sfstevens