Category: very random thoughts


Besh-Ba-Gowah (34) by 3nglishN3rd
Besh-Ba-Gowah (34), a photo by 3nglishN3rd on Flickr.

I love to wander around and explore. But sometimes I get lost. I usually get most lost in an area adjacent to one I’m very familiar with. Like the time I ended up half-way to Vegas trying to get from Rancho Cucamonga (where I was visiting) to Rubidoux (where I lived). 10 minutes away and I could’ve been on the moon, I was so lost.
But I don’t mind being lost, really, because then I never get lost there again. And sometimes I end up in really cool places.
Like the middle of a cholla patch.

(p.s. I wasn’t really lost. (this time) I was at Besh-Ba-Gowah)

 

Santa Anita Canyon hiking tripOn the hike the other day, we ended up at this waterfall. We’d crossed the streams several times, and while watching everyone, including myself, balance on rocks, I had an epiphany.

I am learning how to accept the fragility of beginnings and learning how to give them the space they need to solidify. And though I knew beginnings were tricky, what I learned while navigating the wobbly rocks is that sometimes the second step is sometimes even trickier.

Because the second step requires the first step to have been stable. If the first step crossing the water on slick rocks isn’t solid, it usually results in a fall into the water when you shift your weight to continue your journey. And these falls can result in cuts and bruises or broken bones, if you’re particularly uncoordinated.

Falling and dealing with the resulting pain would normally be enough to keep me from trying (I really hate pain), but if I never take the first step, I miss out on all the fun and adventure on the other side of the river. I don’t want to simply stand in the place where I am or where I was; I want to stand in a new place. I know that the new place might not be better than where I’m currently standing, but I’ll never know if I don’t visit. And sometimes the trick to making the second step successful is making the third step faster to build momentum so that the steps take care of themselves.

And if I fall in the water, at least I’m en route to a new place and on an adventure. The journey begins whenever you step outside your door, and you never know where the second step will take you – possibly to the treasure chamber of a dragon.

So I will take the second step. And the third. And see where I end up, even if it means walking through the Mines of Moria or the Wasteland. Because sometimes the only way home is through a gate that was never there before that requires a second step to reach.

My brainSometimes I have more time than I know what to do with. Now isn’t one of those times, which means that I’m finding everything in the world to do that isn’t my ToDo list. Including Facebook.

I was wandering through my friends’ quotes, as posted on their profiles, and I decided that was a game I could play, too.

So I culled some of my favorite quotes (and 1 paraphrase) and put them in a list. I left off the authors on purpose to see who could ID the quotes without my assistance. I figured bonus points for getting the paraphrase, too.

And I decided to post them here, because why not? Also, see 1st paragraph. For those of you who share my loathing of the Facebook (or can’t figure out how to see them in the new iteration), I’ve pasted them below. Have fun!

“In a minute there is time / For decisions and revisions which a minute will reverse.”

“Remember your name.”

“Trust dreams.
Trust your hear, and trust your story.”

“‘We all love you. No matter how different you are, no matter if you leave us one day.’ She kissed his cheek. ‘And if and when you die your bones will lie undisturbed, we’ll see to that, you’ll lie at ease forever, and I’ll come see you every All Hallows’ Eve and tuck you in more secure.’”

“I dwell in Possibility –”

“Mother says she prays for me… to learn, away from home and friends, what the heart is and what it means to love.”

“‘You’ve a good heart,’ she told him. ‘Sometimes that’s enough to see you safe wherever you go.’ Then she shook her head. ‘But mostly, it’s not.’”

“‘Kiss a lover
Dance a measure,
Find your name
And buried treasure…
Face your life
Its pain, its pleasure,
Leave no path untaken”

“These fragments I have shored against my ruins”

 

Vote

Vote by 3nglishN3rdThe students at work today asked if I voted. Some of them had taken the “I voted” stickers from other adults in their lives, so I think they wanted to make sure that my sticker was legit.

My Dad gave me my sticker. But only after he watched me, as one of my polling place workers, slide my completed ballot into the box.

I told the students that I voted in this election because I vote in every election. So the students asked how many that is, and I really had to think.

It’s around 22.

California, where I’ve always been registered, usually has 2 elections in a year, and I started voting when I turned 18. I know my math could be off…

I didn’t vote in this election because I believe in everything President Obama has done (Spoiler: I absolutely don’t). I didn’t vote in this election because there were Propositions on the ballot I believe strongly in (Spoiler: There were).

I voted because it was the time set aside for everyone to speak out in the larger conversation of the country, county, city, community where I live. I voted with my passions/concerns/loves/dreams/hopes in mind. I voted with those same thoughts in mind for my friends who are not allowed to speak yet must suffer the decisions made. I voted because there was a time when I couldn’t and there are places in the world where I would still be banned.

I voted because that’s what we do in the U.S.

Tonight, I was relived with the Presidential outcome (and no, this post isn’t where I’ll discuss that). But the races I am most concerned with are the new U.S. Congressional Rep, State Senate and Assembly seats that came from the last census. The results will not make national news, and I don’t expect it to. But it matters to me, because it means for the first time in my history of voting, I will have a more direct voice in the laws that will directly impact my life.

And that’s really to point of voting.

So I’ll see you at the polls in the next election. If you live and are eligible and registered to vote in California, the next election could be this spring! And I can’t wait to see what it holds…

Vote, a photo by 3nglishN3rd on Flickr.
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