Both sides Now.

Family time : to each his own.

For Mom who loves flowers. For whom this natural sprouting out of the land is a felicitous surprise that always brightens her eyes.

Everything is aglow and in the saffron light of the afternoon, you cannot help but wonder at this beautiful world. Something inside is changing, spinning, into bloom. You could say it’s the season but it feels like a little more.

When I was in high school, the country song entitled “I Hope You Dance” by Lee Ann Womack struck a chord with me. I forgot it because I left Florida and no longer had as many opportunities to listen to country music from my neighbor’s yard. But it came back to me when I took [...]]]>

When I was in high school, the country song entitled “I Hope You Dance” by Lee Ann Womack struck a chord with me. I forgot it because I left Florida and no longer had as many opportunities to listen to country music from my neighbor’s yard. But it came back to me when I took this photograph.

I hope you never lose your sense of wonder
You get your fill to eat
But always keep that hunger
May you never take one single breath for granted
God forbid love ever leave you empty handed
I hope you still feel small
When you stand by the ocean
Whenever one door closes, I hope one more opens
Promise me you’ll give faith a fighting chance

And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance
I hope you dance
I hope you dance

I hope you never fear those mountains in the distance
Never settle for the path of least resistance
Living might mean taking chances
But they’re worth taking
Lovin’ might be a mistake
But it’s worth making
Don’t let some hell bent heart
Leave you bitter
When you come close to selling out
Reconsider
Give the heavens above
More than just a passing glance

And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance
I hope you dance

The New Yorker just published a wonderful article about the rise of couples using marriage counseling. The article drives through the history of marriage counseling which is oddly but not surprisingly intertwined with that of the Eugenics movement. The article did not address why people go to marriage counselors in such great numbers, [...]]]>

The New Yorker just published a wonderful article about the rise of couples using marriage counseling. The article drives through the history of marriage counseling which is oddly but not surprisingly intertwined with that of the Eugenics movement. The article did not address why people go to marriage counselors in such great numbers, sometimes for decades before they capitulate before a judge. Would we rather have bad company than no company at all?

I love the colors v paleness in this picture and her long, lean shadow following her faithfully.

February 2010 in Williamsburg, NY.

There is only one way to live life. This is my conception of it. “Put yourself into life and never lose your openness, your childish enthusiasm throughout the journey that is life, and things will come your way”, Il Maestro Federico Fellini.

Details:

I relished walking as other some people enjoy solitaire.

When I think of exercise, I think of omnimous gymnasium collossi strapped to some young guy’s back, 100 pound bars up and down. I think of the straggly gym-bunnies who stumble out of the gym next to my apartment, unable to stand erect after beating their sinew [...]]]>

I relished walking as other some people enjoy solitaire.

When I think of exercise, I think of omnimous gymnasium collossi strapped to some young guy’s back, 100 pound bars up and down. I think of the straggly gym-bunnies who stumble out of the gym next to my apartment, unable to stand erect after beating their sinew into submission.

Walking to me is not exercise; walking is my panacea. I cannot sleep tonight, what should I do? Walk.  I have a fight with a friend. Walk. I want  to write but I don’t know how to say…Walk. Life has become unbearable and I think this whole journalism thing was a mistake. Walk.

I am lucky  to have a 20-minute walk to and from work 4-5 days a week. It sounds longish to regular folks but to a walking enthusiast, it just a modicum of he/she craves. Even as we got hit with 20 inches of snow this winter, I walked to and from work. Then, I walked just for the pleasure and novelty of walking in snow.

I have been known to drag my middle aged parents on 12 hr walks while on vacation. I was a teenager then but my mother paid no mind to fragile self-esteems and would ask me “why are you so weird?” Once, she actually sat down in a ditch on the side of the road and demanded I walk back the 10 miles alone from town back to hole-in-the ground resort where we were staying and bring my stepfather hither to pick her up. My mother, a total homebody, will look at me perplexed and ask if I don’t get tired as if I have been walking without rest since I took my first step. Yes, after an entire day of walking I am tired but I am also totally blissed out!

Walking is the least anyone can ask of a healthy body. And yet, with every small step you are moving forward, propelling yourself by  your own  small efforts – this is an incredibly powerful feeling that can inspire a wonderful attitude when dealing with other less enjoyable aspects of life.

Whenever people get complicated on me, I urge them to walk with me. It is not unusual for me to read for 4 hours while walking from room to room. I have a very indulgent house-mate. There is also the fact that walking allows you take in details that you probably had missed or inspire new ideas -a great benefit for inventors and writers.

A perfect day to me involves walking. A day set up without the possibility of walking for me is like a germaphobe submitting herself to a scrubbing in a public Turkish bath (pls think before you get offended on behalf of Turkish baths, please think like a germaphobe).

And as someone who has spent some time in therapy, I can say that walking was the most useful thing in helping me re-surface emotionally.

This week, I became interested in different ways of looking at things – I was interested in taking pictures the way I saw them, not necessarily the “correct” way. And this is why came out!