Whimsical Wednesday, March 21, 2012

I'm tired this week, and when I get tired, I either crave beauty, or my sense of humor becomes, well, punchy at best.  I think it's safe to say that this week's edition of Whimsical Wednesday reflects a little of both!  As always, I'm interested to hear your feedback on any or all of the images, and what they stirred in you.  This week, just for fun, I'm going to add a little bit of commentary after each image, talking about what it stirred, or why I picked it.

Source: weheartit.com via Lisa on Pinterest

Life goes on.  Indeed.  I love the people framing this truth, I love the reminder of it at this moment when life has felt a bit overwhelming, and I love the backdrop of beach and ocean.

Source: flickr.com via Lisa on Pinterest

Because an image of the milky way galaxy adds beauty AND perspective.

Source: rebeccaersfeld.com via Lisa on Pinterest

Because all I want to do is curl up in this cozy space and read and sleep and rest.  If you're quiet, I'll invite you to join me.

Source: geekalerts.com via Lisa on Pinterest

Because I love a little bit of nerdy humor, and because I have a math teacher friend who announced that he and his wife were expecting a child by posting "x+y=?" as his facebook status.  I'm ordering this onesie for their little guy immediately.

Source: travelingcolors.tumblr.com via Lisa on Pinterest

Because this speaks to me of blessing.  Of a holy moment.  Because I love the color and life and holiness that cries out to me from this image.

Source: facebook.com via Lisa on Pinterest

Because I'm a history major.  Seriously, St. Patrick who drove out the snakes, and Medusa? That's some creative cartooning!  Also, what's with the saints driving out snakes?  When I was in Malta I learned that the prevailing belief for why there are currently no poisonous snakes on the island is that they were all rendered harmless when St. Paul shook the viper off into the fire after he was shipwrecked there.  Crazy!  Fascinating really... and something that this cartoon (which appealed to my tired and punchy sense of humor) reminded me of!

Source: fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net via Lisa on Pinterest

Because I don't think there can ever be enough beauty painted in the heavens.  And anything that makes winter look that appealing should definitely be celebrated and displayed.

Source: Uploaded by user via Lisa on Pinterest

Because this Irish proverb that I just discovered this week may just be one of the most succinct statements of some of my basic life philosophy that I've ever encountered.

Okay!  I told you why they caught my attention!  Now it's your turn - tell me which one caught you the most, and why.

Daily 5 - Year 3, Day 212

Today's Daily 5:

1. early morning quiet
2. the friend who showed up at my seat before an early morning class and handed me a brownie she'd brought for me, since she'd baked and noticed that I often commented about liking chocolate (and oh, was it a satisfying treat - so satisfying that I ate it in two parts and enjoyed it twice over the course of the day!)
3. a day that was a bit shorter than expected
4. practicing my blood pressure skills (with decent accuracy) on the simulation mannequins
5. coming home, getting a few necessary tasks accomplished, and then curling up in bed for an evening off, catching up on a bit of television, enjoying quiet, knitting, and going to bed nice and early.

Tuesday Anticipations, March 20, 2012

If I'm honest, the thing that I'm anticipating the most this week is the coming weekend.  I'm pretty drained, and in need of some lengthy quiet time, and while the weekend won't be able to fully meet that need, it will be something - a bit of a break from the ramp up of school and life right now.

But, there are other things that I'm anticipating, things that it is helpful for me to look forward to right now, when life is feeling a bit overwhelming.  Those things include:

• going out for Indian food with a classmate
• continued practice with vital signs
• getting the news that a friend has given birth (will likely happen this week obviously not fully predictable!)
• an appointment with a trusted advisor
• a skype date with my bestest far away friend
• the fun of house church
• my Friday night mini sabbath
• taking a bit of time to write out some thoughts that will likely brew into future blog posts

What are you anticipating this week?

Daily 5 - Year 3, Day 211

Today's Daily 5:

1. coffee with two different good friends today.  the kind of friends who offer hugs and encourage my soul.  the kind where the conversation is so gut level honest and spans so many topics that when I leave the coffee shop I find myself wondering what the people eavesdropping must have thought of us!
2. hearing God's confirmation in a friend's words, and receiving her prayers.
3. realizing that I needed to not have a "working lunch" today, and then coming back to work and realizing that though there is always more to do, self-care dictated that I would work for another hour to finish the most urgent, and then allow myself some time to breathe.  being able to see and know and create that time wouldn't have happened without guilt even a year ago, so tonight, as I reap the benefits of those hours of time off, I'm thankful for the lessons that have landed me here.
4. simple meals
5. feeling inspired by a new author (more on that later this week...)

Stunted

Folks, it's Monday, one of two days a week where I don't have previously scheduled series on this here blog.  One of the days where I usually try to write a nice long essay about things I've been pondering, or feeling, or experiencing.  But I'm pretty sure that barring some unforeseen miracle, that isn't going to happen in this space today.  I'm hoping to be back on Thursday with another instalment in the ongoing discussion about food and body and spirit, but I just don't have that in me today.

My brain feels stunted at the moment.

Group work at school has stepped up in volume and intensity as the end of the semester approaches and brings deadlines galor, and with the increase of work I feel my internal muse slowly grinding to a halt.  Remember the introvert video from Thursday?  Well, I've been spending somewhere between 20 and 25 hours a week doing intensive group work for the last ten weeks, and the wear on my poor introverted self is starting to show!

Life has been busy on the personal side too.  I've been puttering for hours every weekend at the house my brother and his wife purchased a little while ago, helping with anything from gutting some of the rooms to painting and even assembling kitchen cabinets.  I've been having fun doing it, too, spending this time with family, and working with my hands.  In the evenings I've been scurrying around trying to see a few friends, stay (sort of) on top of emails and blog reading, and keep up with the people I love who live far away.  I've continued to teach at house church, too, as we've made the leap into studying the book of Romans together.  Looking into the week ahead, there is more of the same on my schedule.

None of these things are bad.  (Actually, I take that back, adding more group work isn't something I'd class as good!)  But the combination of all of them means that the delicate balance of silence, stillness, and time alone that I rely on to keep my muse running at full capacity simply has not existed in recent weeks.

And so I don't have much to say today.  My muse feels just a bit stunted, and seems to have gone into hibernation, waiting for me to rework my schedule and/or reach the semester's end and settle into a space of rest again.  I'm hoping to carve out a bit of silence today, amidst two coffee dates with friends that always speak to the deeper parts of my spirit.  A bit of silence and soul-stirring conversation might be just what I need today.  I sure hope so, anyway!