Well, Monday, here you are again—a start to the five days
that lead to Sunday. I’ve gotten used to you. I don’t dread you any longer. I
try to find the joy in you and your other six brothers and sisters. Today,
though, dear Monday, I’d like to have an extra day—just one more. I know this
isn’t possible and that I must begin motivating myself to get out the door.
These past few days, weeks, months, I’ve jotted down little
something’s in my private notebooks and journals, both of the paper variety and
the electronic. I’ve had ideas come to me, things that I want to write about. I
have starts—that’s a step in the right direction. All the little bits and
scraps, though, have added up to so many directions and pieces that it becomes
a challenge to decide where I want to go or if what’s there is enough.
And sometimes, like a record that skips and stays in the
same spot for a time, that’s where I find myself. I don’t think it’s a bad
thing, really. I know that when it’s time the lever will be jiggled and the
skipping and repeating will subside. It’s just that I’m aware of it and being
aware of it brings a sense of self-consciousness. At the same time, writing it
out here, will release me for the time being; it may even cause more self-consciousness.
It’s all part of the process—that is one of my mantras—and I can’t help coming
back to it over and over again.
It rained last night, Monday, while I was sleeping. It
rained and rained until this morning; and right now, I can see the sun bursting
through the back window. It’s tempting me to come outside, to smell the
freshness that rain brings. I suppose this morning, Monday, I would like to
stay cuddled up with a book, write some more, drink some tea because I’ve had
my fill of coffee for the morning. I would like to know what I’m preparing for
dinner and I have something in mind, but nothing concrete, nothing that jazzes
me, that beckons me into the mindset of wanting to be in kitchen. I want the
kitchen to grab me, twirl me around and make me dizzy with joy.
Well, Monday, thanks for listening. It’s time for me to go
to work now. It will be a fine day.
Miraculous
Outside
New
Dazzling
Alfresco
Yummy
Monday, Let’s go have a Yummy Day!
Showing posts with label thoughts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label thoughts. Show all posts
Monday, October 22, 2012
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Bookindipity
Introvert.
**
Labels are tricky and for the most part I try to be careful with them. When the labels are applied very carefully in medical and psychological settings, they can help. However, I also believe that there is a fine line and even if appearances reveal black and white, there are still those shades in between and labels can also cause harm, trapping a person. I am also optimistic and know that there are great exceptions and, as a whole, it’s better to have ways in which to categorize if done with care, understanding, and caution—and maybe a little dash of love.
I have continued reading The Fourth Treasure and am enjoying it immensely. It leaves me with much to think about and it is also a love story. When I was done reading for the morning, I turned on my Kindle and wanted to see my Amazon “Wish List.” I had added a few books there and I was curious. When the screen flashed, it briefly showed another screen and my eye barely caught what book it showed but I saw the words Power and Introvert. I double checked to make sure I hadn’t added this to my “Wish List.” I had not. I was curious and tapped in “Introvert Power” to see if I could find the book I saw. Why had this title flashed up on my screen? I have always identified—and I’m careful to use the word identified and often substitute it for related—If my memory serves me, I recall reading something by Joseph Campbell that made an impression on me. He was speaking of how when someone identifies too strongly to something, they may lose a part of themselves in that which they identify with—this is how I remember it anyhow. My curiosity may take me to the memory later on.
Introvert, though is a word that when I first learned of it, made sense to me and I do identify with the concept. And that’s the elusiveness of concepts: there is the black and white of it and then there are the individual layers and nuances. Aside from the usually cut and dry definitions of an introvert, what stands out for me besides tending to turn inward is the energy aspect—of my understanding—that a main difference between the introvert and the extrovert is how they derive their energy. And of course, we often have the tendency toward both qualities, some leaning more one way than the other. My understanding is that introverts can be in socially stimulating situations, but they can become drained and then need the solitude to re-energize, their energy coming from inward activities; whereas, an extrovert tends to need the extra stimulation of social settings and may actually feel drained in a quieter setting. Extroverts derive energy from the buzz of crowds and activity.
When I woke up this morning, I would not have guessed that I would be thinking about introversion and then trying to think about when did I first come across that word? I’m not sure. It took looking for one thing and having another flash before my eyes. If I wasn’t paying attention, I may have missed the moment. I’m glad I was there—now I’m running late—but I feel good; now I’m off to get ready for work.
Happy Day!
1. To turn or direct inward.
2. Psychology To concentrate (one’s interests) upon oneself.Intro- + Latin vertere, to turn;
From the Free Dictionary and American Heritage Dictionary.
**
Labels are tricky and for the most part I try to be careful with them. When the labels are applied very carefully in medical and psychological settings, they can help. However, I also believe that there is a fine line and even if appearances reveal black and white, there are still those shades in between and labels can also cause harm, trapping a person. I am also optimistic and know that there are great exceptions and, as a whole, it’s better to have ways in which to categorize if done with care, understanding, and caution—and maybe a little dash of love.
I have continued reading The Fourth Treasure and am enjoying it immensely. It leaves me with much to think about and it is also a love story. When I was done reading for the morning, I turned on my Kindle and wanted to see my Amazon “Wish List.” I had added a few books there and I was curious. When the screen flashed, it briefly showed another screen and my eye barely caught what book it showed but I saw the words Power and Introvert. I double checked to make sure I hadn’t added this to my “Wish List.” I had not. I was curious and tapped in “Introvert Power” to see if I could find the book I saw. Why had this title flashed up on my screen? I have always identified—and I’m careful to use the word identified and often substitute it for related—If my memory serves me, I recall reading something by Joseph Campbell that made an impression on me. He was speaking of how when someone identifies too strongly to something, they may lose a part of themselves in that which they identify with—this is how I remember it anyhow. My curiosity may take me to the memory later on.
Introvert, though is a word that when I first learned of it, made sense to me and I do identify with the concept. And that’s the elusiveness of concepts: there is the black and white of it and then there are the individual layers and nuances. Aside from the usually cut and dry definitions of an introvert, what stands out for me besides tending to turn inward is the energy aspect—of my understanding—that a main difference between the introvert and the extrovert is how they derive their energy. And of course, we often have the tendency toward both qualities, some leaning more one way than the other. My understanding is that introverts can be in socially stimulating situations, but they can become drained and then need the solitude to re-energize, their energy coming from inward activities; whereas, an extrovert tends to need the extra stimulation of social settings and may actually feel drained in a quieter setting. Extroverts derive energy from the buzz of crowds and activity.
Back at my Kindle screen, the three book choices that popped up were: Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking by Susan Cain; Introvert Power: Why your Inner Life is Your Hidden Strength by Laurie A. Helgoe; and The Introvert’s Guide to Success in Business and Leadership by Lisa Petrilli. The first two caught my interest and I’ve downloaded a sample copy of the second book. I’m sure I will end up purchasing the book. The Amazon Kindle price is $1.79—can’t beat that. Even though I’ve lived with the concept of what it feels like to be an introvert from my perspective and experience my whole life, I look forward to reading more about it from this author. It’s time to “empty my cup again”!
When I woke up this morning, I would not have guessed that I would be thinking about introversion and then trying to think about when did I first come across that word? I’m not sure. It took looking for one thing and having another flash before my eyes. If I wasn’t paying attention, I may have missed the moment. I’m glad I was there—now I’m running late—but I feel good; now I’m off to get ready for work.
Happy Day!
Monday, January 16, 2012
Following my Thoughts
The shower used to be the place where I was calm, where ideas would come to me; running from the shower I would dry off enough and grab for the pen and paper. Now showers are sometimes rushed, still enjoyed, some thoughts, but not the same as before.
Just this morning, while I decided to do those dishes in the sink—washing dishes is not a favorite activity of mine—but today I was there with those dishes and the thoughts were there and I realized that this would be my new space, besides the other little entry points within a day that can cause me to go into a reverie, into the world of my thoughts. When I was done with the dishes I didn’t come directly to the page. Some time went by, and as I was reading and browsing, I realized too that I receive just as much joy reading about books, the description, other reader’s reactions, etc., as I enjoy reading the books themselves. I download more samples than I’ll ever be able to read. Some samples get deleted, some I keep there in case I scroll through the many pages one day in search of a book on top of the many new books that keep showing up. This is one of my races with time. It’s not a race really, but it goes along with my path. Some worlds I enter with my toe and leave it in the shallow end, never to return; other times, my toe keeps nudging in until I’m up to my calf and then my whole body is swimming and I keep on swimming until I reach that end point.
And then I realize that my hair looks scraggly. Something has stirred in me of the want of remaining a pretty flower and I know that inside I feel it, but then the outside—I try to maintain the balance of what is portrayed in the media, what feeds the ideas of perfection—you know what I mean—not perfection but unrealistic physical expectations. I watch my mood go from medium-high to low. Too much in my head. Too much thinking of silly things. These thoughts this morning played into yesterday. I decided to give my hair a trim myself. When it’s short, it grows so fast and it gets costly to maintain. I took the thinning shears I purchased months ago and only used once for two or three quick snips so my hair would stay down on the sides a little better. Yesterday I noticed my sides were getting too long. I asked for them to be longer when the stylist cut my hair last month and I don’t like how they grew out. I snipped and snipped with the thinning shears, which only cut pieces of hair. I liked that the sides were shorter and I thought it looked alright. As I started looking closer, it didn’t look so good. I’m going to need to call and make an appointment to get my hair cleaned up. I used to do this when I had longer hair too. I’d get frustrated and cut my hair myself and then make an appointment. My eyebrows are growing in too and I like them, yet I don’t like them. I think I’m being too hard on myself. I think that there are too many annoying things that are available for women to pay too much attention to the outside. I’ve always been an inside person—not always, that’s not true. For a great part anyway I have been an inside focused person. And I must say being solo makes it that much easier, in my opinion, to not get too wrapped up in those outward things. This will pass; it will also cycle back.
**
I went to pick up a book on hold from the library last week. I was running short on time, but decided to take a quick look for a certain book. When I didn’t find what I was looking for I quickly looked for something to catch my attention. A white spine with red and black stood out: The Fourth Treasure: A Novel (2002) by Todd Shimoda with calligraphy done by his wife, L. J. C. Shimoda. I was intrigued on reading one of the endorsements on the back cover:
“Brushing heart and mind, The Fourth Treasure has depth and nuance of a skillfully calligraphed scroll. Todd Shimoda balances the worlds of neuro-psychology and the ancient ‘Way of the Brush,’ from Kyoto to Berkeley, from Japanese culture to American and every shade in between.”
—Liza Dalby, author of Geisha and The Tale of Murasaki
I began reading the book that night and knew I was going to be right at home in a world of learning, beauty, and culture. I’m not too far in yet. The story goes back and forth between time periods. I love that throughout the book there are Japanese kanji with a description of the meaning of that particular kanji.
There is a part in the beginning that has moved me and I hope to live these words, to keep them close to my heart:
“Before leaving his studio, the sensei quickly bowed toward a wall scroll, a work of calligraphy completed by the first Daizen sensei on the day he founded the school. The poem—“Live Life as Art”—had become the Daizen school’s motto” (pg. 9).
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Kindled ~ Reflections
So far I am enjoying my Kindle. I'm trying to think about what a morning is like with it. In the beginning I was worried about whether I should power off completely or just put it to sleep. Little silly things. I decided after reading up about it that putting it to sleep is a little bit better than just completely powering it off, but that powering it off at least weekly is good for Kindle.
At first I thought I would use Kindle a lot to read the newspaper. Then I realized that it was hard to keep up, just like with the regular paper. I didn't want to spend too much money on new Kindle books, so I tried to find some freebies, and that was exciting. It's always nice to be able to get something for free.
What took me so long?
Not exactly sure what took me so long. I had a deep resistance to buying the Kindle. I think I was afraid that I would ignore my books but that's not the case. I tried to think of excuses to not buy the Kindle, even when I looked at the store model at Target, I tried to convince myself: “Oh, the screen is not really that great to look at, and look the screen is ghostly and the words don’t even look real.” But really in Target those florescent lights make anything difficult to see. At the same time that I was taken aback at the whiteness of the page, I was also in awe—to look at this page that looks so much like a page—this e-ink technology was something special. Of all the e-readers that I’d heard about, by far, the ease on the eyes of the Kindle, and that I love Amazon so much sealed it for me.
Kindle is yet another book on my shelves, a book within books, neatly stored. Here I sit with Kindle, and I still have a few books checked out from the library and I continue to check them out and read them alongside Kindle.
Highlights
Some of the highlights for me are of being able to sample books before you buy them. A big bonus for me is that little did I know that I would start using my Kindle as a sort of CD player. I had previously downloaded audio books from the audible site which is also part of Amazon, and I haven't actually listened to them much because I don't own an MP3 player and I don't have a portable CD player, nor one in my car. Now with Kindle I can easily download or transfer my audios to the Kindle. I’ve been listening to an audio book on my morning drive to work on Kindle. It’s a short drive, yet I manage to chip away at the audio, whereas before it just sat there on the computer or a CD, untouched. The speakers aren't that loud so it's difficult to hear with the noise of the car and the traffic outside, so I tried it with my headphones and now it works much better.
I've always enjoyed reading out loud and being read to. And a book that has come up again is called Sophie's World by Jostein Gaarder. I own the book and it sits on my shelves. I came across this book many years ago at a bookstore in Berkeley and the idea of it grabbed me right away. I began reading it, and I loved the story and how the author weaved a philosophy course into a story that could easily be read by adults and young adults alike. This is one of the books that I have revisited in audio. The narrator brings it alive in such a way that I wasn't able to get when I read it myself; even though I enjoyed it when I read it, now it’s so much more. There are certain books that I would not choose to listen to in audio, certain books where I choose to be the voice of the book, even if inside of my own head. But with this book there is something about it that beckons to be read aloud, and it could be because to some degree it follows the way a conversation would have gone if you are sitting down with Socrates. So that has been a real treat. It's amazing how much you can read, even in those little moments when you're sitting at the stop light.
Here is the audible.com website if you’d like to have a listen to the sample of this book.
http://www.audible.com/pd/ref=sr_1_1?asin=B002V5A2WS&qid=1301589428&sr=1-1
One new item that I learned about through a blog called, “A Kindle World Blog” that I subscribe to via the Kindle is an application for the Kindle called Notepad by 7 Dragons. It’s a somewhat raw App. that allows you to tap down notes through your Kindle pad. Many people have Smart phones and other gadgets, but I do not, so it’s an attractive feature for me—to take my Kindle one step further. I can then hook Kindle up to my computer and transfer the note to computer, edit and voila!
http://www.amazon.com/Notepad/dp/B004LSLN0I
The other cool thing about the Kindle is that you can actually e-mail documents or pictures to your Kindle e-mail address and then it arrives on your Kindle, so the you can read it on your Kindle. It does cost a small fee which I learned by surprise, but I didn't go crazy so it wasn't a big deal. And you cannot e-mail from your Kindle so you can only e-mail documents to it.
I like that there is a web browser in the experimental section. It's not perfect, but it’s nice to know it’s there. It works well if you need to look something up, and of course it functions better if there are not a lot of images on the page.
I have not transferred any MP3 music to the Kindle because I don't usually like to listen to music while reading, but that is also a nice feature.
Text to speech is a great option when publishers enable this feature. It would be great if in future generations of the Kindle they were able to improve upon the voice and not make it sound so electronic.
All in all Kindle works well for the ways that I read which is to dip in and out of books. On the other hand, I become stuck because there is such a variety to choose from that I've downloaded that it's almost hard to really keep up. I'm glad that I bought a Kindle and as I said, and as I'm sure most people feel, Kindle does seem to act more as a supplement, not a replacement, to regular books and reading.
Happy Reading!
At first I thought I would use Kindle a lot to read the newspaper. Then I realized that it was hard to keep up, just like with the regular paper. I didn't want to spend too much money on new Kindle books, so I tried to find some freebies, and that was exciting. It's always nice to be able to get something for free.
What took me so long?
Not exactly sure what took me so long. I had a deep resistance to buying the Kindle. I think I was afraid that I would ignore my books but that's not the case. I tried to think of excuses to not buy the Kindle, even when I looked at the store model at Target, I tried to convince myself: “Oh, the screen is not really that great to look at, and look the screen is ghostly and the words don’t even look real.” But really in Target those florescent lights make anything difficult to see. At the same time that I was taken aback at the whiteness of the page, I was also in awe—to look at this page that looks so much like a page—this e-ink technology was something special. Of all the e-readers that I’d heard about, by far, the ease on the eyes of the Kindle, and that I love Amazon so much sealed it for me.
Kindle is yet another book on my shelves, a book within books, neatly stored. Here I sit with Kindle, and I still have a few books checked out from the library and I continue to check them out and read them alongside Kindle.
Highlights
Some of the highlights for me are of being able to sample books before you buy them. A big bonus for me is that little did I know that I would start using my Kindle as a sort of CD player. I had previously downloaded audio books from the audible site which is also part of Amazon, and I haven't actually listened to them much because I don't own an MP3 player and I don't have a portable CD player, nor one in my car. Now with Kindle I can easily download or transfer my audios to the Kindle. I’ve been listening to an audio book on my morning drive to work on Kindle. It’s a short drive, yet I manage to chip away at the audio, whereas before it just sat there on the computer or a CD, untouched. The speakers aren't that loud so it's difficult to hear with the noise of the car and the traffic outside, so I tried it with my headphones and now it works much better.
I've always enjoyed reading out loud and being read to. And a book that has come up again is called Sophie's World by Jostein Gaarder. I own the book and it sits on my shelves. I came across this book many years ago at a bookstore in Berkeley and the idea of it grabbed me right away. I began reading it, and I loved the story and how the author weaved a philosophy course into a story that could easily be read by adults and young adults alike. This is one of the books that I have revisited in audio. The narrator brings it alive in such a way that I wasn't able to get when I read it myself; even though I enjoyed it when I read it, now it’s so much more. There are certain books that I would not choose to listen to in audio, certain books where I choose to be the voice of the book, even if inside of my own head. But with this book there is something about it that beckons to be read aloud, and it could be because to some degree it follows the way a conversation would have gone if you are sitting down with Socrates. So that has been a real treat. It's amazing how much you can read, even in those little moments when you're sitting at the stop light.
Here is the audible.com website if you’d like to have a listen to the sample of this book.
http://www.audible.com/pd/ref=sr_1_1?asin=B002V5A2WS&qid=1301589428&sr=1-1
One new item that I learned about through a blog called, “A Kindle World Blog” that I subscribe to via the Kindle is an application for the Kindle called Notepad by 7 Dragons. It’s a somewhat raw App. that allows you to tap down notes through your Kindle pad. Many people have Smart phones and other gadgets, but I do not, so it’s an attractive feature for me—to take my Kindle one step further. I can then hook Kindle up to my computer and transfer the note to computer, edit and voila!
http://www.amazon.com/Notepad/dp/B004LSLN0I
The other cool thing about the Kindle is that you can actually e-mail documents or pictures to your Kindle e-mail address and then it arrives on your Kindle, so the you can read it on your Kindle. It does cost a small fee which I learned by surprise, but I didn't go crazy so it wasn't a big deal. And you cannot e-mail from your Kindle so you can only e-mail documents to it.
I like that there is a web browser in the experimental section. It's not perfect, but it’s nice to know it’s there. It works well if you need to look something up, and of course it functions better if there are not a lot of images on the page.
I have not transferred any MP3 music to the Kindle because I don't usually like to listen to music while reading, but that is also a nice feature.
Text to speech is a great option when publishers enable this feature. It would be great if in future generations of the Kindle they were able to improve upon the voice and not make it sound so electronic.
All in all Kindle works well for the ways that I read which is to dip in and out of books. On the other hand, I become stuck because there is such a variety to choose from that I've downloaded that it's almost hard to really keep up. I'm glad that I bought a Kindle and as I said, and as I'm sure most people feel, Kindle does seem to act more as a supplement, not a replacement, to regular books and reading.
Happy Reading!
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