A beautiful weekend...a peaceful beginning

The sorrows of duty,

like the heat of the sun have scorched your heart.

But, let stillness fall on you with its sweet and cooling showers,

and you will find happiness.

Ashtavakra Gita 18:3

And I breathe; in through my nose and out through my mouth. I took a much needed break from the rigors of reality this weekend. I let go of my health concerns, my perfection paralysis, housecleaning, cat and cavy grooming, cooking, jewelry design, communication with other carbon based beings and more. And, it felt wonderful. I ate what I wanted, drank what I wanted engaged in mind numbing television-except for The Dog Whisperer, that is intellectually stimulating. A great many thoughts are born hypothesizing about how seemingly sane people keep large carnivorous creatures that aren't fond of them as pets.

So what did I do? Well, what I didn't do (although I wanted to) was rewrite the accidentally deleted Brillante nominees posting. As sweat beads began to form across my flaring nostrils and I could feel the bowling ball of fiery bio-chemical rage traveling through my oropharynx headed toward my occipital lobe (trace the path it totally feels like that), I remembered this is the same frustration that my children experience whilst playing video games. A frustration that is almost always met with me snatching said insanity inducing device and forcing them to, "Cool off and go read something"! So, that's what I did. I read one of my many beautiful crafts magazines.

Following the inspiration that is Somerset Studio, I worked on some projects of my own. One being the Namaste Swap project that I try only to work on when I am in good spirits. I want to convey the energy of Namaste through my creation, not the fury of Kali. Creating a piece for an artist whose work I've purchased has been a blessing and a curse. There are few areas of the left brained world that escape me, but the right hemisphere is much less traveled. This endeavor has come to mean so much more now that it combines the physical, spiritual, courageous and fearful, the humble and proud. It isn't easy to step so far out of your comfort zone, but the air is fresh, trust me. Winks.

I also managed to get in a lighthearted while no less thought-provoking film, Ushpizin. My cinematic tastes tend towards the obscure or as favorite guys says, "Weirdo" movies. This one isn't weird at all, it makes perfect sense if you're attuned to all of the subtle nuances and idiosyncrasies of the human condition. I can almost guarantee you have been where Moshe and Mali have been, and hopefully not where the ushpizin have been. No spoilers here, it's available on Netflix. No worries if your Hebrew is a bit rusty, there are subtitles abound.

And, lastly I re-read one of my favorite Shel Silverstein books. I'm a long-time fan of Mr. Silverstein's work. I have managed in my adulthood to replace all of my original underappreciated copies of his books with new shiny ones, this makes me very happy. Today I read The Missing Piece. Funny, it didn't read like a love story or a self help book in third grade. Do you ever read something over many years later only to rediscover something about the story or author you never noticed? That never fails to amaze me about some of my favorite children's books; further strengthening the argument that they really are just unripened people, all of the same thoughts feelings and aspirations as the rest of us only from a greener perspective. I think they may be on to something. Here's to a peaceful week. Breathe.