Keep a keen sense of observation … NOTICE

Summer has found itself comfortable here on The Ledge. Simple things take place at the moment, appreciating the cycles of life through the observation of the Moon Calendar I take time to notice. The past four days of the Hawaiian Moon Calendar (check out the sidebar for more on the Hawaiian Moon Calendar) were the 'ole days ... times when Pete and I restore and slow even more. Living on the Ledge in the Woods is priming us for a life more in sync with natural patterns. Pete and our friend "Anna Paint" who shares her land with us are playing Scrabble. It's a routine the two old dears engage in to pass time companionably, and in the process something happens with the synapses in their brains. Across the strawberry fields I hear them in Scrabble conversation ... not hearing them exactly I simply notice they are engaged.

The mid-morning sky is delicious ... clear, and exquisite a background to the tall rising firs growing slowly around the Vardo. Our lives include many journeys; some extensive and repetitive others tiny and almost unnoticed. With the challenges of living with a long-term and surprising illness like chemical sensitivities and environment illness the quiet moments and still times need a different sort of attention. Without the cloak of defensiveness I notice my body is disoriented: like at night when the light of sun, street lights that are completely void here, and the empty night sky. It is so completely dark within the walls of our Vardo I seek the flannel curtain and draw it back just a bit to give me perspective. Claustrophophia? Perhaps, or maybe a bread crumb ... simply reaching for the bread crumb in my familiar fairy tale of a transforming life.

An update and seven-day report on Bounce and Shaking. It really works wonders. It's fun, moves lymph like the massages that I've not been able to have for years and I had a chance to share the simple jirations with our MCS Seattle friends. So, early this week in a North Seattle Park three friends and I did the Bounce and Shake moves. Two minutes of movement and goofiness. And then stillness, notice the tingling. "That's the lymph moving!" "That's amazing. That's all it takes?" "I believe so." "Wow." The 'ole days of the moon happen approximately ever 2-3 weeks and are a perfect time to restore and attend to the maintainence I lose track of for any number of reasons. I notice the small routine fits gently into my day without extreme, adds a quality of goodness that I can feel and is easily shared with friends.

Lovely morning.