Lushness and Locks in Everyday Ramblings

It is quite lush out there in my world. Yesterday was totally overcast with layer upon layer of cloud and cool but there was no rain.

I am getting hardly any birds at my feeder array but what I am getting is squirrels, a crazy madhouse of tumbling squirrels, which the cats enjoy.

Something got a scrub jay nearby so they aren’t coming either. It is sad to see those beautiful blue feathers on the ground. And now I have this large ungainly raccoon that I realized a few days ago must be pregnant. She is coming in daylight. Around the edges of the day but daylight still sliding lopsidedly down the interior wall of the patio well.

Although they installed our new mailbox a few weeks ago we are still waiting for the contractor to come set the keys for the postal service. I trekked over to the post office last Thursday and I may go again tonight. It is about 4 miles over there. We have a big transit delay going on because of some work that is being done so walking is actually about as efficient as taking the bus.

Traffic here in Portland is horrid. Really.

I have been considering Uber or Lyft too. But then there is still traffic.

A whole bunch of new security measures are now installed. We have plates around the locks on all our doors so it is more difficult to open them; we have more lighting and now for the first time ever, NO TRESPASSING signs.

But the biggest change is locks on the garbage and recycling bins. It is a hassle but I admit I am thrilled. We often have 20 people a day going through our garbage and raccoons and possums and there is often broken glass, trash, the days of generously leaving things out for others to share are gone. For the last few years I have felt the need to carefully listen before I step into the open garbage areas to see if I hear anyone going through the bins.

With drugs or mental illness or both one just doesn’t know…

Last night in class I taught a little about Pratyahara (one of the 8 limbs of yogic philosophy) and it means sense withdrawal. Like a tortoise bringing its limbs and head into it’s shell it is a practice that teaches us to withdraw from things that do not nourish us.

Withdraw from wrong food (I did eat a pint of coconut milk frozen dessert the other night, sigh), wrong impression, (I read an article yesterday about how Donald Trump interacts with women, sigh) wrong associations, (this one I am doing okay on except for some of the folks at work).

Today it is a month since I have had a Diet Coke. The really powerful allied activity that I have not been doing during this time is going to convenience stores. It is way cheaper there; they do that on purpose to lure you in to buy other unwholesome things, fatty and sweet, at a high profit margin.

The convenience stores attract the same folks that go through the garbage. Literally. I recognize them. These desperate suffering folks who live on the edges that are becoming legion as the traffic worsens and the population swells.

When we practice harnessing our senses we get stronger and we are able to move more towards things that nourish us on all levels.

Otherwise our mind reverts to the impressions of the last song we heard or the last movie we saw. Ear worm, anyone?

Last night chatting with F, my friend and student that is turning 80 in a few months, standing on the sidewalk with a weed and a banana peel in her hand headed for the municipal garbage can with the metal lid locked down so it won’t be sold as scrap, she expressed despair at the state of things, the crazy crazy state of things these days.

And then she told me a joke.

Last updated May 17, 2016