Time in the New Mexican desert

I just returned from an amazing trip to New Mexico and the mesas surrounding Santa Fe. The trip was so restorative and invigorating that I'm trying to keep up with all the new ideas which have flooded my mind since my arrival and subsequent departure. In the coming days, I'll post poems, musings and some pictures of my time there...hoping to do this land and its people justice.

Until then, enjoy these quotes about New Mexico:

"If you ever go to New Mexico, it will itch you for the rest of your life."
~ Georgia O'Keeffe, 1960

"When I got to New Mexico that was mine. As soon as I saw it that was my country. I'd never seen anything like it before, but it fitted to me exactly. It's something in the air--it's different. The sky is different, the wind is different. I shouldn't say too much about it because other people may be interested and I don't want them interested."
~ Georgia O'Keeffe, 1976

Little whispers from the universe

Sun card from a tarot deck.

At the beginning of 2009, a good friend of mine suggested I shuffle my tarot deck, pull a card and ask it to accompany me on this year's journey, meditating on its meaning from time to time. So, I did and I ended up pulling the Sun Card, which was a great boon to my spirit as it perfectly fits where I'm at these days.

I say this because the universe has been whispering this message to me ever since. For example, it found me two days ago when I began my morning commute. I said, "Okay, universe...please give me a message today. What's my lesson for today?" Within about a minute of uttering those words, I found myself stuck behind a very slow moving truck that was a few cars ahead of me. It was so big that I could make out the big sun painted on the truck's back door and the word "SHINE" in capital letters. Underneath it was written very faintly "Philippians 2:15". I looked it up when I was next at a computer and discovered the passage is this: "so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe"

It made me giggle out loud!

Then, I woke up this morning to an especially clear sky and thought to myself, "This is a blessed day." And, it was confirmed to me when I received all green lights on my morning commute (this never happens in DC traffic...EVER!). Upon parking, I looked up and saw three great blue herons flying overhead. Again, the blue heron is a solitary animal except when mating, so it is rather rare to see more than one flying together. The blue heron is a totem and message animal of mine, so this was a real treat. THEN, this afternoon, I was running with my buddy, Lynn, and we were discussing the sacred goddess. All of a sudden this gorgeous barred owl flew right in front of us (again...another rarity given that it was the afternoon) and sat up in a tree, looking at us. We greeted it (Hello, OWL!!!) and called to it (sounds like "Who cooks for you?) and just felt so gifted in that moment. It flew in front of us again, almost encouraging us on our journey and we both felt like we were in the presence of something great.

The barred owl holds even more significance for me because it last spoke to me during a camping/white water trip in West Virginia in the fall and during a Native American sweat lodge in Ohio last April. One of my nicknames as of last year has been "Owlie". Prior to today's sighting, the last time I saw an owl was out in Montana, appearing to me there in the shape of the "Great Horned Owl." Again, I offer all of this to signify its importance.

I feel like these messages are just the universe's way of encouraging me to shed even more "old skin" and dance in the newness that is my life. How exciting!

Moving!

So sorry that I've been slow to post these days but I'm in the process of moving! The good news is that I should be back to regular posts in early April. In the meantime, I'll post when I can...so, for today, enjoy these quotes. Good food for thought, methinks.

"Most people can no longer see the subtleties in color because it isn't important for day-to-day living. But what we see helps us understand the world: What we see is our world."

~ Anonymous

***

"You can never solve a problem on the level which it was created."

~ Albert Einstein

Synchronicities

I just finished reading "The New Feminine Brain" by Dr. Mona Lisa Schulz and was struck by this statement she made about Jung (one of my literary boyfriends):

"Jung believes that the images in our environment, including our front yard, are frequently a symbolic communication from our unconscious" (p. 352).

So, with this in mind, I've been trying to make sense of all the band-aids I've been seeing wherever I go. What does this mean? I wonder if I'm supposed to repair something or if I'm peeling off the band-aids (they've looked used) because I'm healed of something. This idea of things being broken and/or getting repaired has even found me in my dreams. Last night, I dreamt that "Pebble Beach was rent in two" (have no idea what that means) and this morning when I hopped in my car, the radio was playing Tom Petty's "You Wreck Me" but I caught the song at the lyric "you break me in two."

I chatted about it with my friend, Lynn, today while running and she just said, "Oh, you're just tidying up and spring cleaning!" And, I had to chuckle, even pausing in mid-stride for a second because she was absolutely right. It's a trend that began last year when, among other decisions, I decided to let go of everyone and everything that no longer felt good to have in my life.

So the journey (and tidying up) continues. I suppose in some ways I'm just sweeping the old out of my interior to make room for the new! Never easy but always necessary.

The Need for Quiet

Perhaps it is the Lenten season or the hint of a new season upon us but, for whatever reason, I've been thinking a lot lately about silence and the need for quiet in my life. It is not so much that this is a new need; rather, it is a continuation of a commitment I made to myself last May to quiet my mind so that my intuition and heart may be better heard and understood. And during this period of deep reflection, I learned many lessons but the largest one was that I am only responsible for myself and my own happiness. I also learned that it is not wise to take on responsibilities which are not mine, like feeling responsible for the happiness of others. I tried that once and it left me feeling depleted.

And I cultivated the silence and sat in it often. My intuition was "tuned in, tapped on" and my creative projects flourished. I felt acutely alive and it was lovely.

Lately, though, I've been feeling a little cloudy. I also have been feeling feisty and a little unsettled -- not surprising feelings given that I decided to change jobs and apartments all within the past 17 days! With so much "moving" going on, I've neglected my quiet time and I can feel the difference...'tis palpable. My creative juices have slowed and I find I'm much more emotional these days than I've been in a while. Free time ends up being "moving and unpacking" time and it leaves me feeling a tad cranky because of I feel like I'm neglecting myself in the process.

But, I've decided not to be so hard on myself for this reason -- when you put down roots, sometimes it's a little painful to rip them up and plant them anew, even when you know the new soil will help them flourish better than the old soil. And, this is doubly hard for a Cancerian like me who craves stability and security and likes a shell to crawl into when waters get muddy, even if it's slightly too small these days. The unknown becomes more tangible and my little reptilian naysayer, Zed, likes to growl out fears. EEK! Sometimes this has me running sideways!!!

The good news is that this experience of moving on reminds me how important it is to cradle yourself in the midst of some uncertainty and to quiet your mind so as to allow your intuition to guide you along the new path even when you're not sure of the way.

Some quotes which speak to me right now:

"Let us be silent, that we may hear the whispers of the gods."

~ Emerson

"In the attitude of silence the soul finds the path in a clearer light, and what is elusive and deceptive resolves itself into crystal clearness. Our life is a long and arduous quest after Truth."
~ Mahatma Gandhi

Reason 754 why I like C.S. Lewis

He writes about stars!!!

Consider this quote from The Magician's Nephew, chapter eight:

"One moment there had been nothing but darkness; next moment a thousand, thousand points of light leapt out--single stars, constellations, and planets, brighter and bigger than any in our world."

***

The cosmos and our place in it continues to fascinate me. There are so many reasons to keep looking up in wonder and awe.

Wisdom

A good friend of mine recently shared with me some advice she frequently received from her parents growing up. It's so perfect, I wanted to share it here.

"Take the bitter with the sweet -- the sweet may increase the desire but the bitter increases the drive."

Well said, methinks! Well said!

Lessons about Pinot

pinot noir

I'm taking this wine class at Vienna Vintner with Kirby Pope, only the world's best sommelier, and discovering so much about the grape! Our most recent class featured Pinot Noir which has been described as being "romantic", "sex in a glass" (Madeline Triffon), "a seductive yet fickle mistress" (Peter Richardsson of OenoStyle) and "the most romantic of wines, with so voluptuous a perfume, so sweet an edge, and so powerful a punch that, like falling in love, they make the blood run hot and the soul wax embarrassingly poetic" (Joel Fleischman of Vanity Fair).

Here's some of things I learned from Kirby:
Pinot is the Jane to Cabernet's Tarzan. She is a fickle grape with a thin skin, temperamental and a tendency to ripen early. She is hard to plant because she prefers a higher elevation, no sun after 4:20pm and an east facing slope. She is full of flavor -- bing cherry, spiced plum, strawberry, raspberry, chocolate, earth and pairs well with sweet fruits, pork, duck, salmon, veal, chicken and other fowl. While tasting pinots (or any other wine for that matter) be sure to stay away from too much salt and pepper as this can ruin one's palate. Kirby also taught us the four essentials behind encountering any wine. First, you must gain a visual. What is the color? Is it bright? Cloudy? Clear? Second, you must stick your nose in the glass and smell its fragrance. Third, you must taste it. Swish it around in your mouth. Swirl it across your tongue. What flavors do you detect? Last, you must draw conclusions. Give your opinion!

We tasted several wines from all around the world (all available at Vienna Vintner). Here they are in case any of you out there are keen to try them. Highly recommend!

1. Luigi Borca Pinot Noir 2007 from Argentina's Mendoza region (equivalent to our Napa).

2. Sherwood Estate Pinot Noir 2006 from New Zealand's Marlborough region.

3. Sancerre from France's Loire Valley. This was full of licorice and anise.

4. Alguerira Ribeira Sacra from Spain but close to Portugal. This wine was full of crushed lavender and rose petal.

5. Lazy River Pinot Noir 2006 from Oregon. The Lumpkin family produces this gorgeous wine full of bright, deep fruit (think cherry, plum, raspberry and a hint of chocolate). This was my absolute favorite from the tasting!

6. Oberbergen Pinot Noir 2005 from Germany. This was on the sweeter side but still nice.

7. Belevedere from northern California's Russian River Valley. Full of bing cherry and plum. Really lovely.

Quotes I'm Adoring

This past week I discovered two quotes in my readings that really hit home with me. The first deals with trust and was a powerful reminder that in order to trust others, you must trust yourself first. The last quote reminds us that we are an example to others wherever we go, do and say. I find myself thinking about this little shadow following me around and try to live better because of it.

"As soon as you trust yourself, you will know how to live."

~ Goethe

***

"In bathrooms, boardrooms, buses, bagel shops, and everywhere else, we all need to imagine a little girl following us around, repeating everything we say and everything we do. Think about all the things you want for yourself and your daughters, granddaughters, and girls everywhere -and teach them by living it yourself."

~ Nell Merlino, in Stepping Out of Line: Lessons For Women Who Want It Their Way In Life, In Love, And At Work.

Neighborhood Watch?

"have you ever noticed that vegetables are very similar to humans?" she said.

"baby, what do you mean?" he asked.

"well, think about it," she replied,

"cabbages have heads, corn has ears

and potatoes have eyes."

"you've got a point," he said with a smile. "freaky!"

"yeah," she continued, "so it makes you wonder if you're really

keeping tabs on the garden or if the garden is really keeping tabs on you."

Dr. Kenneth C. Lindsay -- Death of a Beloved Friend and Advisor

Me visiting with Ken Lindsay at his home in Vestal NY, January 2007.

I received sad news yesterday that my beloved friend and advisor, Ken Lindsay, passed away on Monday. He was 89 years old and lived one of the fullest lives of anyone I have ever met or known. I wish you could have known him! He possessed an effusive warmth, was endowed with an extremely generous personality, told the best stories and kept everything spicy with the most delicious sense of humor. There aren't many people built like Ken Lindsay or his wife, Christine, and I consider myself lucky to call them both "friends".

I first met Ken through my pre-dissertation project with Princeton's Center for Arts and Cultural Policy Studies in which I was seeking to learn how the US Government and its military chooses sites of cultural heritage to protect or destroy during wartime. This led me to the work of Richard Berge and his documentary film "Rape of Europa" in which the looting of Europe's great works of art at the hands of the Nazis is told. Furthermore, the producers and directors included interviews with remaining Monuments Men from WWII -- Ken is among those interviewed!

Ken played a crucial part in the war by serving at the Wiesbaden Collecting Point, discovering, among other treasures, the bust of Nefertiti. He once told me that upon gazing into her face, he fell instantly in love. (Be sure to click on the Wiesbaden link for the full story!)

A letter and phone correspondence turned into visits at his home in Vestal, NY, and I usually wound up either at the kitchen table or in his study immersed in deep conversations with him -- his wife, Christine, frequently joining in the fun. The three or four of us (depending on who else was visiting) would chow on good food and delve into every topic under the sun -- from WWII to Bach and everything in between. These were rich conversations told by individuals who had led rich lives in service of others. And I always found myself thinking that Ken and Christine and their life together were models for how life could be led.

He was the best man and I shall deeply, deeply miss him.

(Click on the following links to read more about him and the important work he did during the latter years of WWII.)

Growth

they sat in the quiet courtyard,
taking in the stark scenery and the silent tree before them.

"oh, what a great tree!" she enthused.

"yes," he replied. "it looks like it's getting ready to bloom."

"i'll say!" she replied, examining the reddish new growth on its slender branches,
"she looks all gussied up, like she's on fire,
which is probably the look she was going for given her bold choice of
"you're SO trees chic" opi nail polish for her branch tips."