rhythm

Rhythm – Day 1056

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Satisfied Sunset 2 Oct 2021 – Photo: L. Weikel

Found a Rhythm

I don’t know if it’s the fact that I only have 55 posts left to write in my 1111 Devotion, but lately it’s been feeling harder and harder to think of things to write about. Again. I ran into this feeling often during the days, weeks, and months when I was first immersing myself in this Act of Power, as I like to refer to it. But then it seemed like I found a rhythm. I developed a trust in my process that became a way of life.

I’m not sure why I’ve been struggling lately.

Swimming Upstream

Some nights it just feels like I’m swimming upstream in a river that’s flowing with the adage, “If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.” Yeah, sure; that’s a tidy intention. But I’m not engaging in this every night to simply be a purveyor of bromides. Nevertheless, I try to bear in mind that my posts are read first thing in the morning by some of you. I try to remain cognizant of setting a tone for your day.

But then you get treated to a barrage of frustration like the one that poured out of me the other night. I’d apologize for my rant, but I’m passionate about where we’re headed as a country. I’m freaked out that nothing substantive has been done to bring accountability to the myriad crises and abuses we’ve watched unfold in plain sight over the past several years.

And I’m especially appalled that investigation into the insurrection has, so far at least, yielded a dearth of information about and zero accountability for anyone who was actually a ringleader of that debacle and near-coup. And the sentences meted out for the truly egregious behavior of the people egged on by those in power seem paltry and pathetic. Mere slaps on the wrist when you re-watch what we all witnessed unfold in real time.

“My Bad”

So I must take responsibility. The spirit is willing but the flesh (as obviously expressed by my fingers tip-tapping on the keyboard) is weak.

I’m genuinely worried about the state of our country. And I’m especially troubled by how a failure to hold the big names accountable is going to end up trashing the foundational pillars of our democracy.

I’m relieved we’ve been given a reprieve (at least somewhat) from the constant bombardment of outlandish lies. But sadly, it’s not enough.

We need to get involved; we need to speak up. Too often – and too much like the ‘silent majority’ baloney of 40 years ago – we regular people who’ve bought into the fundamental principles of our country (such as no one being above the law, the existence of an impartial judicial system, majority rule – with minority given some stop-gap measures but not so powerful that they hijack the system – to name a few) are being told to sit down and shut up.

I for one am not inclined to do so. And I hope neither are you.

(T-55)

Tonight is Silent – Day 576

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Magical Twilight – Photo: L. Weikel

Tonight is Silent

Perhaps it’s because it’s a Tuesday evening and everyone who isn’t working a night shift somewhere is probably at home in bed. The night tonight is silent.

I imagine those who are just getting back to work this week, their job resurrected by their state or county ‘moving to yellow’ – or perhaps even ‘green’ (albeit not around here) – are reeling a bit from the unfamiliar chafe of resuming their old routines.

The past 11 weeks or so have proven uncomfortable for many of us. Initial binges on bread, Netflix, and puzzles actually, maybe, gave way to a gradual unraveling of the knot that’s resided in our gut for longer than we can remember. Perhaps we actually were getting the chance, for once, to sit with that knot for a bit and start picking at it. Loosening the restrictions. We began untying it ourselves.

Oh Those Retrogrades

There’s definitely a comfort to resuming old habits. The rhythm. The routine. The sense, real or imagined, that we have control over our lives. Or at least some dominion over our unique piece of real estate in what we collectively experience as our reality.

But now that we’re back to work, how does it feel? Has the extended time spent away from the mundane made the mundane feel any more or less compelling? I’m asking completely without judgment, just wondering if your job feels like a welcome relief or a much bigger oppression than it did 11 weeks ago.

With four major planets retrograde right now, our arms are being twisted to review, reassess, and remember. We’re being asked to look at what we’re doing and how we feel about doing it.

How did we feel when we thought, however fleetingly, that we might never return to our job? Does it feel as though we’re putting on an old, comfortable slipper when we return to work? Or have our feet spread out a bit, connected barefoot with the Earth while we were off, and now refuse to fit comfortably in those work shoes?

Grackle Persists

What jumped out at you in Grackle’s message last night? Are your emotions congested? Is there a situation in your life that you realize right now is keeping you stuck, trapped, or disempowered? Perhaps it isn’t your work that’s hindering your breath but another aspect of your life.

Perhaps you’re just supposed to stop talking (to yourself or everyone else) and act.

To be honest with you, I’m still reflecting on the myriad ways in which Grackle’s message dips in, pulls out, circles around, and braids an amazing tapestry of interconnection between my mundane life and the stuff the rest of the world is confronting.

The night tonight is silent. No crickets, no peepers, no bullfrogs nor owls. No foxes screaming or raindrops splattering. No wind whooshing through freshly unfurled leaves.

Just silence. My thoughts. And a willingness to dream a new reality into being.

Grackle Pair – Photo: L. Weikel

(T-535)

Update – Day 529

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Pastel Sunset – Photo: L. Weikel

Update

I’d like to provide you with an update, lest you all think I was hallucinating (or perhaps fantasizing) in yesterday’s post about having given an interview on KYW Newsradio. The most recent information I have is that it will air over the weekend.

To be honest, I’m not entirely sure what that means, but I think it may air a couple of times over the course of the day Saturday or Sunday. At least that’s how I recall segments playing on that station. And let’s face it: I have no idea. So if you happen to catch it, yea!

They’re quick – I think they’re only like a minute long or something. Which actually feels like a trick of time. I’m fascinated when I watch any kind of program that involves interviews and they say, for example, “We only have 40 seconds left, Jim, but tell me you life’s story.” And then it seems they have enough time to do precisely that!

Regardless of whether anyone happens to actually hear it in ‘real time’ on the radio, though, I can promise you that I will indulge my delight and gratitude for this opportunity by providing the link in a follow up blog post.

In the Meantime

In the meantime, I am sitting here listening to the steady beat of raindrops falling outside. I knew it was coming (and I flirted with the idea of cutting the grass earlier this week), but I’m dreading our first lawn mowing. I thought about mowing earlier in the week, but now that we procrastinated on getting the job done today, it’s probably going to have to wait until the weekend. It will be a mile high in some places by then.

Funny. I don’t know what made me write that last paragraph. I think it was the sound of the rain and the sense that I can almost feel the grass growing as I sit here typing this.

Ha.

It’ll probably be good to get into a familiar rhythm again. The rhythm of mowing the lawn. Yes, it will be a good thing.

Sign of the Times – Photo: L. Weikel

(T-582)

What Day Is It – Day 522

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Tigger, annoyed by my question – Photo: L. Weikel

What Day Is It

I know I’m not alone. I know I’m not the only one who asks, “What day is it?” to whomever is nearest me – usually Spartacus or Tigger, but occasionally Karl – far more often than I should.

Sheila has two paws into the next world lately, so she’s definitely not a reliable source to ask. She usually just looks up at me with her rheumy eyes and says, “Seriously? Don’t ask me that. If you’re not going to open a can of food, just cover me with a blanket and let me go back to sleep.”

Fair enough. I can relate.

A New Rhythm

I’m finding it frustrating that I’ve yet to establish a new rhythm for myself.

If you had told me a month ago that the one reliable part of my day would be listening to Governor Cuomo’s daily briefing, I guarantee I would’ve scoffed. He’s not even governor of my state, for heaven’s sake.

But that’s my truth. Listening to him give us the facts, lead with logic, and support all of us (not just New Yorkers) with compassion and heart, has been a reliable centering post for me. I happen to be one of those people who believe that government can be, and is, when properly staffed and maintained, a force for good. So it’s a comfort to me to listen to him respect his constituents enough to tell them the truth– and then expect them to handle it.

As I go about trying to find my new rhythm I’m realizing that, at least lately, I’ve been having more trouble concentrating. Intellectually, I know this is probably a natural consequence of dealing with the stress of all the unknowns that have suddenly become part of our lives. But it feels a little lame.

A Bracing Slap

I don’t need to tell you guys how important walking is to my quality of life. If nothing else, my walks more often than not yield the photos around which I write many of my posts – which is reason enough to get me out the door.

Well, today’s walk was a startling experience. Just as we were heading out the door, my phone bleeped an alert that cautioned we should expect rain to begin in 20 minutes. It was tempting. Should we stay or should we go? We decided to initially ‘just do a stop sign,’ which effectively ruled out our longer four mile trek, but hey – it got us out of the house.

Imagine our surprise when it started snowing little spitballs at us as we rounded our first corner. Brrr! The entire walk ended up feeling like a bracing slap by Mother Earth – telling us to buck up and snap out of our somnambulism. At least, that’s what I felt like I was being told. I guess I shouldn’t speak for Karl.

Ultimately, I think it will serve me best to stop asking, “What day is it?” and just get on with living whatever damn day it is. If it takes a couple more days or weeks or whatever to fully acclimate to the transformation that’s taking place across the globe and within our lives, so be it. There is a balance to all of this if we just give ourselves the chance to find it.

Again, that’s where that patience and acceptance comes in. It’s not a lesson to be glibly ‘learned’ one day and forgotten the next. No. I’m pretty sure that’s part of that new rhythm I seek.

Oh – and you’re probably reading this on Friday. (wink)

“Really? Open a can of food and we’ll talk” – Photo: L. Weikel

(T-589)

A Quickie on Dolphin – Day Three (T-1108)

Posted on by Lisa Weikel 4 Comments

A Quickie on Dolphin

Tomorrow I expect to have some extended time to myself which will permit me to focus exclusively on writing about those mysterious “signs” I said I received on Sunday, which urged me to embark upon this 1111 Devotion journey.

One of them was choosing “Dolphin” reversed with Jaguar underneath from my Medicine Cards.

I’m not going to get into how I interpreted those two cards, both with respect to their configuration to each other and how I felt they pertained to the concept of “DEVOTION” in this post. I really want to spend more time on that post than I have tonight.

So I will share with you the additional “insight” I had on what Dolphin was conveying to me when I chose it on Sunday – an insight which actually came to me in the very earliest of moments this morning (Wednesday), when I found myself feeling some regret over the fact that it seems to be taking me a long time to write about stuff that I should’ve just blurted out in my initial post.

As soon as I started realizing that I was feeling a bit bad and like I’m “behind” already, some words I know that are associated with Dolphin popped into my head: Pattern and rhythm.

And that quickly, I realized Dolphin is still guiding me. Indeed, it’s reassuring me.

I am at the very beginning of this quest. It’s OK if it’s not unfolding exactly how I might hope or expect. One of the things this 1111 Devotion commitment may be teaching me is how to bring a consistent pattern and rhythm to both this blog and my writing in a greater sense.

The realization that Dolphin was bringing me more messages than I even realized initially, lessons deeply important to me on a personal level, made me smile and breathe a sigh of both relief and gratitude for the magic that infuses my life.

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