Believing in Gravity

Posted on April 15, 2013 by

My latest meditation image is of the Sun viewed from about the location of Jupiter.  In my imagination-meditation, I see our home star as a bright speck, brighter than the other stars but clearly one of them, not owned or governed by us or anyone else.  I imagine Earth & the other inner planets as mere dust motes circling the Sun, barely visible (really, not at all visible, but hey, this is my imagination!), & definitely not in charge.  It’s only gravity that binds us to this star.

Gravity binds us to our planet, too.  Debates about evolution & morality & climate change aside, is there anyone out there who doesn’t ‘believe’ in gravity?  Please raise your hand…& please also notice the effort it takes to do that.  Gravity is one of the fundamental forces in the universe.  As with many of these forces of nature, we human primates take it for granted, but don’t have much of a grasp of why or how.  Mostly, we understand it metaphorically.

As in, the gravity of our current situation.  Random explosions in the east. Drought in the west.  Sunless days in the north.  Leaderless nights in the south.  The embracing weight of our (still admittedly limited) understanding of Life on this little dust mote of a planet circling our relatively small star in this vast & unimaginably complex universe…ah yes, a few moments of meditation can be helpful for humans.  & always, music…thank you John Mayer.

So here we are…near & distant starlight, familiar but mysterious gravity, known & imagined planets, fragile bits of life, love & suffering here on earth, unknown kin out there in the vastness…what’s a human primate to do but breathe?

“Just keep me where the light is…”

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Poppy’s Playlist

Posted on March 19, 2013 by

I took a piano class last Friday night – R was out of town & I actually got myself out of the house & over to our beloved local community college for Todd Walker‘s famous workshop Piano Your Teachers Never Taught You.  Why did I do it?  I have a goal: to play When I’m 64 when I’m 64.

Like many boomers, I’d had a few piano lessons on the upright in the kitchen corner (way back when 64 seemed very far away), but it hadn’t stuck…couldn’t stand that metronome. In the 60′s I joined the throngs who gravitated to the guitar, visions of Peter, Paul & of course Mary dancing in our heads (& maybe Jimi Hendrix if you were of the male persuasion).  I love listening (& moving) to music (& singing out loud when I’m by myself or with the grandson), but those strings on my old guitar are rigid from disuse, & the cheap Casio keyboard sits sadly untouched.  I’d long ago given up on being a music-maker.

Those three hours with Mr. Walker happily got the concept of me-&-music-making moving to a different beat.

Here’s the basic concept: cultivate playing chords with the left hand.  Doing this apparently accomplishes the the most important work in music: it keeps the beat & defines the style & mood of the piece.  Wow.  I knew the role of chords from my girl scout guitar days, but – duh – I’d never thought to apply that to my keyboard in the corner.  (Apologies to all you musicians out there who already know about fake books & all of that…but better late than never, as they say…).

Music is something shared by all human primates & is seen by some as ‘one of the most primal & fundamental aspects of human culture‘.  Some scientists hypothesize that we sang before we talked, & that shared song & dance around the fire were part of our early bonding experience as humans.  The idea that only some of us are ‘music-makers’ is relatively recent – part of the continuing stratification of human culture.  Uh, not really our best foot forward, imho.

I’ve been awed though by my amazing ability to remember the words & tune of a song from some long ago era while other no-doubt-much-more-significant memories remain curiously buried…no doubt you’ve been amazed by yourself too!  This memory lock that music has on our brain can bring solace & comfort in old age.  At a memorial recently I was given a CD of favorite songs of the departed one…music can evoke deep emotions in life, & even from beyond the grave.

So call me morbid, but I’m already compiling my playlist.  Actually, playlistS: upbeat (for enthusiastic cooking, laundry, & party time); easy listening (for working, mah jongg & dinnertime); morning fog (for walking in same); & of course, quiet (for, well, all those other times).  When I’m old (hopefully older than 64), please load ‘em into my iPhone (or whatever it is called by then), hook me up with some good headphones (don’t forget the hearing aid), & put on your dancin’ shoes or get out of the way – I plan to be rocking my way into old age!

& just so you know, I even practiced a few left handed piano chords today, voluntarily, with my free metronome app.  Flexing fingers feels fabulous.

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Skyfall Happens

Posted on March 7, 2013 by

I happened to glance skyward during dinner on the outside deck @ Paradise Grill a few weeks ago & noticed a brilliant dropping blue flare in the western sky, thinking it was some kind of failed fireworks.  Turns out it was our very own Bay Area meteor, appearing on the same day as expected asteroid fly-by 2012 DA14, & real skyfall newsmaker: the dramatic & unexpected Chelyabinsk, Russia meteor.

Friday Feb. 15th seemed to be a major asteroid/meteor day on the home planet.  By now we all know that meteors are asteroids which enter the earth’s atmosphere.  Shooting stars – very small meteors – are what we see most often, & meteorites are skyfall that survives

This picture, captured a 1 a.m. on Dec. 14 in Saukeville, Wisconsin, was posted by Twitter user Susan Kim.

photo by Susan Kim

the searing trip through earth’s atmosphere, eventually laying around near meteor impact sites for excited humans to discover.  Scientists assure us there’s no connection between these three February 15th events, & that earth is constantly being bombarded by asteroids, most of which are tiny, burn-up during entry, &/or fall unobserved into the ocean (…71% of the earth’s surface being ocean, after all).

Asteroid contact with Earth is random & unavoidable.  It causes major extinctions (the most recent being Chicxulub, pronounced chick-zuh’-lub, 65 mya) & leaves huge holes in our landscape.  It happened unexpectedly last month & it will happen again.

If you count deaths, we were lucky this time – no humans died on February 15th due to these three asteroids.  But many people and other living creatures did die that day, and days before & after, in random & unpredictable circumstances that, with human hindsight, we will try to understand & explain.  We will ask ‘what-if’ and ‘why’ thousands of times, & we will move through the days attempting to craft our stories of what we saw & heard, what we think we know, what we thought we knew, how it has changed us, & if & how we can change anything to feel safer & more secure into the future.

I’d originally, a few weeks ago, entitled the draft of this post “Why I love Jupiter”, in appreciation of Jupiter’s huge role in encouraging asteroids to hang around their own neighborhood in the Asteroid Belt, just beyond Mars, rather than heading out on an 

independent journey around the Sun (& maybe someday, into a potentially disastrous - for us -rendezvous with Earth).  But then, mid-sentence it seemed, more randomness showered down, crises multiplied, daily life became heavier than usual, & now, here we are, again on a path of recovery & accommodation.

It seems to me that in light of these greater forces in the universe, safety & security are illusory.  Skyfall happens.  Nevertheless, human primates highly value the embrace of love & security, & we’re righteously thankful for those in our lives who help us feel that way.

- in honor of Jupiter, & of those whom we embrace and who embrace us in this circle of life.

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Lemon & Salt

Posted on February 15, 2013 by

My new favorite condiment for nearly everything:  preserved lemon.  Lemon & salt, salt & lemon, that’s it, & who could ask for more?  And happily, it’s very easy to make* - gotta use your hands though!

The veneration of salt peppers human history, & rightly so.  Once people had that saline taste, they would do almost anything to keep having it.  The search for salt fueled wars & varied ventures of conquest.  Salt might have to be another post though, because this one is really about lemons.

Lemons are not valentines, which are oh-so-yesterday.  But unlike valentines, can you imagine life without lemons?  Can you imagine life without that lovely blossomy aroma…that startling brilliant color in the garden (even if you don’t usually love yellow)…that perfect acidic addition to your slightly-too-bland soup?  I’ve often thought that I could live happily with just lemons, salt & olives…accompanied by a bit of bread & fish & maybe a little wine too.  I sometimes imagine that this may have been how humans lived for generations as they slowly migrated along coastal waters east out of Africa & then later, into the Mediterranean region.  Well, I guess technically they didn’t have bread yet, or even lemons or olives, but there’s no doubt they ate seafood & discovered the preserving properties of salt along the way.  Cultivation of wild grain & citrus & fermented grapes & olives assuredly followed close on the heels of the advent of agriculture around 10,000 years ago.

I’ve wondered why lemons have a bad rap, as in (eye rolling): ‘if life hands you a lemon, make lemonade!’  In our language, lemons always have something wrong with them.  I think it must have something to do with expectations…we don’t expect that a fruit so tantalizingly lovely will result in such a visceral response.  But you (well most of us anyhow) can’t just eat this tart & sour fruit raw…the lemon lesson is that it’s gotta work with other stuff.  Team up.  Collaborate.  What doesn’t necessarily work all that well on its own can be amazingly effective in a group. & healthy too.

Well, ain’t that just like life.  We’re all, excuse the banality, handed a few lemons, & it’s up to us to make a savory condiment out of them, to enhance the flavor of whatever else we’ve got on hand.  Not sugary lemonade – this blog isn’t (too often) about sweetness.  For me, the preserved lemon lesson is about accepting that otherwise-discarded fruit & creating something with it that’s deeply satisfying & yes, salty.

Tuna sandwiches, bean soup, marinades, stews, stir fry, salad dressing.  If you don’t wanna make it yourself, please ask for a jar of my homemade version…I’m happy to share.  Or better yet, bring over your bag of unwanted lemons & we can pack in the salt together.

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* There are many recipes out there for preserved lemon, but here’s one tip I haven’t seen in them: juice nearly 1/2 your lemons first so that you’re sure to have enough juice to fill up the jars after stuffing in the salt-filled ones.  If you have juice left over, refrigerate it to use to top up the jars in the few days, or freeze it in ice-trays.

Posted in Humans Love Food!, Just an Everyday Life, Our Primate Nature | Tagged , , , , , | 9 Comments

Leftovers for Breakfast

Posted on January 25, 2013 by

A while ago I noticed a slew of news articles about how much food is wasted…realizing that I’m part of the problem really hit me in the gut.  I now feel especially guilty about bread crusts – I’d always thought of those tossed bits of bread as a way to reduce my carb intake.

But then I remembered that I actually have been doing a bit to reduce food waste – I love having leftovers for breakfast.  I can’t claim to have initiated this habit in our household, although I’m the one to employ it more often now than originator R (he’s currently in a daily-bowl-of-steel-cut-oatmeal rut).  Of course, my favored breakfast can’t be just anything…some variety of leftovers just don’t cut it (say, spicy chili, or for that matter, anything too spicy).  Usually though, it’s truly exciting how good leftovers can be the morning after.  If you can throw them in the frying pan with an egg or add them to a slice of toast (with the crusts), all the better.

This breakfast probably wasn’t always as odd as it might seem – people during most of time, & most places around the world, ate & eat whatever’s on hand, & probably felt/feel fortunate to have it.  We’re so spoiled with our ubiquitous markets & ‘standard of living’ – not that it doesn’t come without a cost, but when it come to food & hunger, yes, we are spoiled.  Like all the food we waste.

Some estimates put global food waste & food loss at about 1/3 of total global food production.  This staggering statistic just overwhelms me – how can I possibly do anything about it?  Well, doing something with those leftovers is something.  Breakfast.  Refrigerator meals (I know this doesn’t sound very appetizing & it’s definitely not something to advertise when you bring it to potluck, but these are those often terrific – well, not always – concoctions made from random stuff in the fridge).  Composting (we have two bins but I haven’t gotten up the courage for worms yet – working on it!).   The freezer! – geez, how lucky are we to have freezers & refrigerators…2013 even happens to be the 100th anniversary of the domestic version.

Right now I’m recovering from the stomach flu virus sweeping our area.  I’ll spare you the details (you’re welcome), but I’m at that point where I’m recovered enough to be hungry, but not recovered enough to think it’s a good idea to eat.  I will no doubt be famished tomorrow morning.  I’ll be happy to scout out the fridge for suitable leftovers for breakfast.  I’ll be happy that we have a refrigerator.  I’ll be happy to not be hungry.

Maybe I’ll even look into that worm composter one of these days.

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5 Million Years on Kauai

Posted on January 18, 2013 by

I’m sure this will come as no news to all you Kauaiophiles: it feels nearly impossible to enthusiastically plunge back into daily life – whatever & wherever & however satisfying it may be – after a few days on the Garden Isle.

Until two weeks ago, R & I had proudly served as members of an admittedly small group of stubborn iconoclasts who refused to join the rest of Western Hemisphere humanity in their reverence for Hawaii.  Despite the songs, the lyrics seemed unintelligible.  Plus we don’t especially like hot, we don’t like humid, we don’t like to be tourists, & we have a fantastic beach right around the corner, thank you very much.

Well, it’s always humbling to be proven wrong.  We’d felt kinda sucked into this vacation – our job was to deliver our grandson to our daughter, then join her for a few days @ a friend’s place on the Kauai east coast.  (To be frank, this is probably the only way we would’ve gotten motivated to get over there, or anywhere else, for a few vacation days.) We somewhat reluctantly accepted our mission…5 days with the family then 3 on our own…the family part sounded great, but 3 days as members of  the predominant local tourist demographic -yikes!

kauai hen 2Silly us.  Kauai really does live up to the songs, & not only because of ubiquitous & colorful chickens.  This 5 million year old lesson in volcanic erosion & sloowwwiiinnnnggggg down (gotta stick to 40 mph on the two lane island roads) was oh-so-needed, & in time, welcomed…irrespective of torrential rain, R’s bad cold, comings & goings, & omg do we really have to fly home today??  & it wasn’t hot (a comfortable 70-75 F the whole time), it wasn’t humid (if you don’t count the downpour dampness), it was terrific to have a conveniently located & comfortable home to sleep & create random refrigerator meals in (e.g., an especially yummy homegrown avocado, snow pea & cucumber salad), we loved the family time (of course), & why had we thought slipping & sliding down muddy trails to new beaches wouldn’t be wonderful?  The house even offered up a well-worn copy of The Autobiography of Charles Darwin 1809-1882 as a serendipitously fun read (along with Moloka’i by Alan Brennert, lent to me by my good friend Tom).  Two books in one week – that counts as a real vacation.

I love that Kauai is 5 million years old.  Our ancestor primates were just starting to walk on their two hind legs about 5-6 mya.  This juxtaposition of time – of being able to observe what 5 million years looks like on this dramatic island landscape – was very helpful to my ongoing process of trying to integrate scientific information with an all-too-human perception of life & time.  5 million years is new volcanoes becoming old ones, unimaginable & ongoing climate & sea level change, & a lot of teensy mutations to countless generations of hominins & all other living things.  5 million years from now Kauai will be gone, new Hawaiian islands will have spring up & gotten old, & as for humans…well, hard to know what we’ll be up to at that point, if we’re even still hanging around in this home solar system.

The last night of our visit, as we lay in utterly black & silent darkness beneath the shadow of Mount Wai’ale’ale, one of the neighborhood male members of Gallus gallus domesticus let loose with a serious crowing challenge.  Over the next few minutes his fellow cocks joined in, each echoing the other in a joyful chorus weaving around the hills, eventually winding back to our local guy for the last word.

It was the song of the island, & we were finally able to understand at least some of its lovely lyrics.

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Turning a Corner on Time

Posted on January 2, 2013 by

It’s Day 2 of the New Year.  2013 is already strengthening its foothold, but I still chirp “happy new year” at the beginning of each sentence.  You’ll hear me say this for at least another week…as long as I can get away with it, really.  I love the optimistic nature of this humanity-wide holiday.  (I know…frivolous optimism isn’t my strength, but with the help of a useful annual ritual, this human primate can get there almost as easily as the next monkey.)

Planning for New Year’s Eve can be kinda stressful though.  We don’t have a tradition we honor every year, as many do, & I really do enjoy celebrating this intentional turning-a-corner-of-time (almost as much as I dislike the immediately-previous holiday).  Two (relatively) recent memorable New Year’s Eves were in Japan & Switzerland, & also one with good friends at the local Harbor.  This year the two of us had a bonfire in the backyard with detritus gathered from recent home improvement projects – wet & random, a few shots of tiki torch oil helped the fire along…we even made it to midnight to hear the firecrackers & clanging pots.  It was great – thank you R…the grilled mackerel was delicioso.

The ritual of new year, of turning a corner, is nearly universal in the world these days. Some cultures still celebrate their own calendars’ new year too, but the new year of our common worldwide calendar (thank you Pope Gregory XIII) is a time for humans around the earth to put the past behind & affirm admirable intentions for our coming cycle around the sun.  We do this as humans together, without regard for religion or class or nationality or political party or sexual orientation…as humans, together. Wow.

Apparently most of these admirable intentions, a.k.a. new year’s resolutions, don’t have the desired longevity, but the one I really do make an effort to keep is offering kindness. In the Buddhist tradition it’s called loving-kindness, & tonglen practice helps.  I’m also working on the concept of reframing…as in reframing the past.  Wish me luck!

& speaking of the past, in 2012 President Obama was re-elected and the Santa Cruz branch rail line moved into public hands.  I don’t need to reframe these; along with a huge sigh of relief, I feel a great deal of satisfaction at my dedication to & role in these matters, in particular the latter.  So, good-bye to the past year: thank you for the good it brought us, & farewell to the hard times.

I wish you all the best, or at least more sharing, smiles & satisfaction, in 2013.  & go Obama! – our greatest president in modern times.

Posted in Just an Everyday Life, Our Primate Nature | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 12 Comments