Practice Practice Practice

Yesterday I had a visit with a good friend over tea. We set some specific writing goals to work on during the Lent season. I am also currently taking an online writing course through writers dot com. The instructor is great and the focus is on consistent writing practice. The challenge for me is still to apply ‘chair glue’ and get the writing down, work on every practice assignment instead of just THINKING about writing. That may sound strange but it’s the truth. It comes down to the action once again. So I’m just thinking out loud on the page and reminding myself to stick with the practice every day because that is the only way my writing will improve. PRACTICE. PRACTICE. PRACTICE.

On a different note, I came across this book “Not Buying It, My Year without Shopping” by Judith Levine. She and her partner Paul decide to forego consumerism for a year. I love this idea because I find myself trying not to accumulate too much. I actually wrote about this back in January about clearing stuff out. But this concept deals with the flipside, not buying more non-essentials! This book chronicles her experiences for one whole year based on that decision.

February 22

Happy Birthday to you
Happy Birthday to you
Happy Birthday I love you
Happy Birthday to you.

Rainbow

We left Bernardus Monday afternoon and hit quite a bit of rain on the drive home. Somewhere before Half Moon Bay the sky was very dark gray and this large arch of rainbow appeared. It was beautiful, this picture does not do it justice. Aside from the rainbow being God's promise to never flood the earth again, it is such a miracle to see them. I sense God's presence in his beautiful, visible promise and it brings joy to my heart.

Bernardus

Last weekend we went to Bernardus Lodge in Carmel Valley. It's about 2 hours south of San Francisco. We enjoyed a beautiful room equipped with a fireplace,that was probably the size of our whole apartment! An amazing dinner in the Harvest Room, a luxurious bath tub, a morning walk, coffee in the lodge/lobby, a yummy breakfast in our room and a deep tissue massage to top it off.

chopped

Remember this haircut scene in "Roman Holiday"?

Inside the hair salon Ann sits on one of the seats in front of
the large mirror, holding up her long hair as the hairdresser
(Mario Delani) fastens the cover around her.

MARIO DELANI [speaking rather hesitant English] What a wonderful
er, hair you have. [He asks her something in Italian].

ANN. Just cut, thank you.

MARIO DELANI. Just cut? [Takes the scissors from his hair] Well
then, cut, er, so? [he holds the hair at a certain length].

ANN. Higher.

MARIO DELANI. Higher? [He holds the hair further up] Here?

ANN. More.

MARIO DELANI. Here?

ANN. Even more.

MARIO DELANI [impatiently] Where?

ANN [she holds her hair at the shoulders] There.

MARIO DELANI. There. [Snapping his scissors nervously] Are you
sure, Miss?

ANN [emphatically] I'm quite sure, thank you.

MARIO DELANI [he turns he round in the chair, taking her hair in
his hand] All off?

ANN. All off. (MARIO DELANI [uncomfortable as he
starts cutting off her long hair] Off.) Ann sits in the salon
still, her hair covering her face.

MARIO DELANI [pulling apart her hair to see her] Are you sure?

ANN [impatiently] Yes.

MARIO DELANI [dropping her hair back over her face] Yes. [As he
cuts her locks off, working his way round] Off! off; off...[wipes
his forehead with his arm]. Back in the salon, the
hairdresser cuts of the last lock of her hair.

MARIO DELANI. Off! [He stands to the side of her as they both
study the end result as Ann moves her head slightly from side to
side. She looks down at something but, engrossed in her, the
hairdresser jerks her head back to the centre to get a better
view].

ARIO DELANI. You musician, maybe? You artist, aha? Painter...? I
know: you model! [She smiles, flattered] Model, hah?

ANN. Thank you.

MARIO DELANI [says some Italian] Finito. It's perfect.

ANN. Oh.

MARIO DELANI [as the hairdresser turns her round from side to
side, looking in the mirror] Y-y-you be nice without long hair.
Now, it's cool, hmm? Cool?

ANN [turning her head to the side, playing with the ends] Yes,
it's, it's just what I wanted.

(This is from the actual script of Roman Holiday I found online.)

Well that was a little how I felt yesterday! It got a new, short haircut! About three or four inches gone. It was time for a change and I am happy with it.

Replenish the Soul

I have plenty of my own words I need to write but those will have to be on another posting, because I was moved by this part I read in "When the Heart Waits" by Sue Monk Kidd today:

"The soul craves experiences that offer it the rich depths of God. Silence, solitude, holy leisure, simplicity, prayer, journaling, the Eucharist, rituals that touch the space of the Mystery, symbols and images, the Bible, laughter, delight in the divine Presence, deep encounters with creation, and the merciful coming together of human hearts. All these feed the soul, producing energy for living the transformed life.

When I fail to feed my soul, I soon notice that I have less strength for living authentically. At times my energy becomes depleted. Weakened, I'm more apt to revert to old patterns. That's when I need to return to the deeper pockets and replenish my soul. There's truth in Psalm 23: allowing oneself to be led by still waters really does restore the soul."