Jeff Flesch 3:00 pm on October 3, 2021
Tags: .poetry ( 531 ), abloggersdiary ( 2 ), blogging ( 56 ), diary, education ( 10 ), leadership ( 54 ), Poems ( 279 ), publications ( 7 ), reflecting ( 11 ), self=expression, wordpress ( 2 ), Writing ( 94 )

21: On the Week, Writing and Reflecting, Publications and A Poem, WordPress, and Self-expression

The week

Over the past couple of weeks, the team has been preparing for school to begin, which means the registration team has been, is, well, super duper busy, which is awesome. Instructors are prepping for classes, as the rest of the staff are doing things like, getting computers out to in-person locations for late registrations, and supporting instructors as and where needed.

It’s been an amazing couple of weeks, filled with registration numbers the likes of which we haven’t seen since prior to the pandemic. Amazing.

The past couple of weeks, I’ve also been reflecting upon the concept of self-expression in relation to human beingness; and, then in relation to leadership more specifically. I’ll have a little more to write about that in a moment. First, let’s take a quick look at some writing reflections from the past couple of weeks.

Writing and Reflecting

About two months ago now, I switched my blogging schedule. Previous to that time, I was posting every day, which just became too much to manage. Now, I am posting an average of 4 to 5 times a week, and that is working well for now.

I’ve been thinking of possibly reducing it to 3 to 4 times a week, yet, we will see.

I’ve been writing a lot, as I always do; sometimes that means I write a poem each day, sometimes 3 or 4. It depends.

Most of my poems over the past couple of weeks have taken love at their center, which is, well, quite wonderful. I never really know what is going to come from my heart, through my fingers, and onto the page you’re reading; really, I never really do.

I usually begin with a concept, or more likely, a sentence or two, and go from there. It is so much fun.

For instance, the poem heart-related centeredness was a response to the WDYS photo prompt, hosted by Sadje, from Keep it Alive. I love to participate in this prompt, as I am able. The photo, to me, sparked an immediate response about the connectedness of all that we see, sky, clouds, sea, and, well, you; and me, of course. It just works that way for me today; it is what I see and feel.

And, the poem referenced above, from my heart, and through my fingers, was literally a reflection on the process of writing from my heart; and how it feels to me. Is simple, and quite beautiful to me.

I’ve also been blessed with another publishing opportunity, and have just heard back from Spillwords Press on one other submission. How fun!

Publications and A Poem

I’m super excited about being a part of the first ever Word Weaving – A Word Craft Journal of Syllabic Verse, the kindle version of which is available now. You can access it from the link above. If you are interested, you can also learn more at the word weaving blog.

I also just learned that my poem, Smoulder Now and Forever, has been accepted by Spillwords Press. Excited. When the poem is scheduled for publication, I will let you all know.

I also have a few more pieces coming up in both MasticadoresUSA, and MasticadoresIndia. When those are scheduled for publication, I will also let you know.

If you’ve not yet checked out these cool publication houses, please do so when you have time. Amazing people, and talented writers. Much fun!

Oh, before I forget, here is one of the poems that wasn’t accepted recently. I am including it here, well, because it reminds me of some of my recent reflections on the moon, which has been so beautiful in the night sky recently.

Dazzling delight

the moon

dazzling delight

transformed ages of night

called on by gods and goddesses

alike

WordPress

Alright, in my last diary entry, several of us had a conversation about blogs that we follow not showing up in our reader. I did contact WP, after some coaching from our friend Cindy, from Unique Times with Cindy, thank you, dear Cindy, and here is what I learned.

There is no solution at WP for this issue. Their suggestion was to do, well, what most of us already know how to do, which is unfollow, and then refollow. Usually this will work, and the blog posts will once again begin to show in our reader.

Therefore, I will be unfollowing and refollowing some of you. We will see how that works.

Self Expression

The past couple of weeks, I’ve also been reflecting upon self-expression. As a human being on this planet, it is so important to be fully self-expressed. I know this, as I spent some years not being fully self-expressed.

When we are fully self-expressed, we get out all of the ideas, concepts, and love we have for life. We experience aliveness, through the difficulty and ease that comes with life. And, for me, it’s inside of this aliveness, through all that we receive from life, where the beauty for and of life lives.

It is interesting to write about self-expression within a beautiful community that self-expresses continuously; yet, what I also know about being a human being on this planet, is that even those of us who are fully self-expressed, have times when we feel not fully self-expressed.

In those moments, I usually take a walk, sit quietly, and just detach myself from all things. Inside of this space lives the possibility of reconnecting within, which for me, means insights will arise, and self-expression will follow.

Alright, that’s all for this entry.

Have a beautifully blessed week, everyone.

#poetry, #abloggersdiary, #blogging, #diary, #education, #leadership, #poems, #publications, #reflecting, #selfexpression, #wordpress, #writing

Jeff Flesch 3:00 pm on September 12, 2021
Tags: aliveness ( 7 ), blessed ( 3 ), blogging ( 56 ), connection ( 125 ), diary, gardening ( 9 ), gratitude ( 7 ), heart ( 180 ), humanity ( 59 ), Life ( 507 ), Love ( 509 ), reflection ( 77 ), wordpress ( 2 ), Writing ( 94 )

A Blogger’s Diary 9/12/21: On the Week, Writing and Reflecting, The Garden, WordPress, Site Changes, and Gratitude

The Week

It’s been a couple weeks since I’ve posted a diary entry, and in the past four weeks, there have been some developments with the garden and to my site, which I am excited to relate; and, I also have a question for you about WordPress. More on that in a moment.

First, let’s take a look at some writing reflections.

Writing and Reflecting

I’ve published several poems in the past four weeks, many of them taking love as their central theme or concept.

The poem, shaded in love, we agree, was a reflection upon my time living in the desert. I’ve been fortunate to live in several types of geographies, and the desert is among them, and holds a special place in my heart.

Sometimes people conflate the desert with barrenness, and the poem was an ode, if you will, to the splendor of the desert landscape, which I miss. There is something magical about being in the desert, especially at sunrise and sunset. The beauty is magnificent.

The poem, just like a star spangled night, was part of a much larger reflection about living life with an open heart. As I’ve written about in many posts and poems, living life with an open heart today is a blessing, and I am grateful to many people, especially, my life coach and teacher, for showing me a different way to understand the world, and our place in it.

It’s taken a lot of internal work, and, yet, what I understand today, is that all of my life happened just as it was supposed to. Exactly as it was supposed to; and, I am blessed with many different levels of understanding today because of all of the paths I’ve traveled. They were all needed, and are all important.

The Garden

Well, it’s also been a while since I’ve updated you on the garden, which is continuing to produce, and has been so much fun.

Here is a pic of some tomatoes I pulled last week.

Coming soon, broccolini, one of my favs!

WordPress

Over the past two months, I’ve had several regular readers send me messages that my posts are not showing up in their WP Reader. I actually emailed WP about this issue, and have yet to hear back.

The only workaround I know for this type of issue, which I’ve used before, is to unfollow the blog, and then refollow, which got me thinking.

Might any of you know of other workarounds to mitigate this issue? If so, I would love to read about them in the comments section, or, if you prefer, you can email me, thank you!

Site Changes

Earlier this year, I created a goal to make some changes to the site; and, I’ve finally made some of those changes.

I wanted to mention the changes here, in the event you notice anything that is not working well, or you have any suggestions, which may improve your experience. If so, please do let me know, thank you.

Gratitude

The week-beginning message I scheduled to go out to the team last week, was about gratitude; and the deep gratitude I have for everyone in my life.

My life has been, and is, blessed with connections to amazing people; and, today I am connected to many, many, more amazing people.

I think it is important to pause each day, and reflect upon the impact we make with our lives, and about the connections we have. They are so important.

In fact, I believe that human connection is one of the most important aspects of being alive. Experiencing aliveness is, for me, about being deeply connected to yourself, and then to those that you choose to surround yourself with every day.

Therefore, on this beautiful Sunday afternoon, I am feeling deep gratitude for everyone in my life; my family, my friends, the team I work with, the community I live in, and, each and every one of you. Very grateful.

Thank you for being just as you are, and for being there, and supporting my work. It means the world to me.

Have a beautifully blessed week everyone.

#aliveness, #blessed, #blogging, #connection, #diary, #gardening, #gratitude, #heart, #humanity, #life, #love, #reflection, #wordpress, #writing

Jeff Flesch 3:00 pm on August 8, 2021
Tags: .poetry ( 531 ), act, blogger ( 29 ), blogging ( 56 ), breathe ( 6 ), diary, Life ( 507 ), masticadoresusa ( 30 ), openheartshavehealed, oregon ( 8 ), pause, poem ( 568 ), Poems ( 279 ), portland ( 3 ), reflect ( 2 ), reflecting ( 11 ), Writing ( 94 )

A Blogger’s Diary 8/8/21: On the Week, Writing and Reflecting, Portland, and Living Life as it Comes

The Week

This past week has been full of more change, as the delta variant continues to spread in the State, new cases are being reported regularly, and those vaccinated and unvaccinated are becoming infected. Scary, yet the current reality.

What does this mean for the team’s fall term in-person classes? I have no idea. We have a plan, and will execute on this plan, as possible, and if not? We will pivot, as we’ve done so many times in the past 16 months. Like we all have.

Alright, though a precarious time here locally, and across the globe, it does remind me of a reflection of mine from last week. Taking life as it comes, which I’ll write more about in a moment.

First, let’s take a look at some writing reflections from this past week.

Writing and Reflecting

This week, the poem The Brilliance of Life, was published in MasticadoresUSA; thank you again, Gabriela and team. A true honor.

I also found out this week that MasticadoresIndia will launch September 1, and will be edited by Terveen Gill. I am super excited for MasticadoresIndia, and for Terveen. Amazing.

Alright, poem reflections, here we go.

The poem, The Brilliance of Life, like many of the poems that come forth today, was a reflection and reminiscence on working through layers and layers of trauma; and just as importantly, the newness, or brilliance, that life takes on as these layers are uncovered, and removed.

Though the process of removing these layers is difficult, there’s always a knowing that I’m (we are) never alone. We are all connected through our shared humanity, and the love and affinity we share for each other and our home, this beautiful planet.

The poem, open hearts have healed, speaks to the truth just elaborated on; when we work through our grief, sadness, insert any other emotions here, our heart does break; and sometimes, it breaks again and again, yet there is always a healing and wholeness on the other side. It is so clear to me today, yet, as you all know, was not clear to me for a very long time.

Inside of the concept of brokenness, healing and wholeness are already there. Quite simple, yet profound as we experience this reality.

Portland

Last weekend, I took a quick trip, two nights, to Portland, for a very simple and pragmatic reason; to shop. Where I live in the Willamette Valley, let’s say, shopping for clothes can be difficult.

The shopping went quite well, and I also got to spend some time with Justin. We went to a lovely vegan breakfast place, called Nectar Cafe. Was delicious.

We also visited a super cool record store, Music Millennium. Awesomeness. The store is huge, and, I think, is the second largest in Portland. There are 5 different rooms, and an upstairs. I found three records, one of which is by John Coltrane. Soul stirringly beautiful.

Living Life as it Comes

As I mentioned earlier, the past couple of weeks, I’ve been reflecting on how life shows up; and how inside the experience of life showing up, we have, as leaders, as human beings on this planet, the opportunity to respond to a situation, or react.

Sometimes reaction is needed and necessary; yet, often, we can pause, breathe into life as it shows up, whatever the situation might be, reflect, and then respond.

Creating a pause like this in our lives holds enormous power and potential. When we can be with life as it shows up, and hold the knowing that we can pause, breathe, reflect, and then respond; we create more possibility for ourselves and everyone around us.

As life continues to show up for you, and me, today, tomorrow, this week, this month, over the course of the next couple of months, remember, life just shows up; it just is, and we can create the space to pause, breathe, reflect, and then respond.

It is quite beautiful and inspirational, just like each of you.

Have a splendid week, everyone.

#poetry, #act, #blogger, #blogging, #breathe, #diary, #life, #masticadoresusa, #openheartshavehealed, #oregon, #pause, #poem, #poems, #portland, #reflect, #reflecting, #writing

Jeff Flesch 3:00 pm on July 18, 2021
Tags: blog ( 17 ), blogger ( 29 ), blogger'sdiary ( 9 ), blogging ( 56 ), community ( 10 ), diary, gardening ( 9 ), japan, london, travel ( 8 ), UK, update, vegetables ( 4 ), website, writingandreflecting ( 3 )

A Blogger’s Diary 7/18/21: On the Week, Writing and Reflecting, Veggies and Blueberries, and Updating the Site and Traveling

The Week

It’s been a couple of weeks since I’ve posted a diary entry. I am excited about this entry, as I’ve got a couple of veggie pics, a blueberry picking adventure, and some news about traveling. Fun.

Last week, the team and I completed the team building I wrote about in my last diary entry. It went well. The theme of the team building was Back to the Future; yes, termed such after the movie, and the concepts we discussed were connection, continuity, and change.

We discussed these concepts because we know that there will be more change, there always is, every moment something is changing, we are all changing, yet, we also know that within this change, there is also continuity and continued connection.

An important paradox to understand and be at ease with.

Writing and Reflecting

The past couple of weeks, I’ve been reflecting a lot upon the internal work I’ve been engaged in these past 4 years, and how this work has shaped the man I am today. Transformational is the concept that comes to mind.

Transformational because when we look at the pain we carry, get in touch with it, work through it, we get back so much more. The only way to let go of something is to actually be in touch with it first, and to then work through it. Then, we can let it go.

I imagine my poetry will always be shaped by these experiences, because they are not static, they continue today.

Veggies and Blueberries

The garden is healthy and well, and is producing, and will produce even more in the next month. Exciting.

Here are a couple of pics.

Justin and I went to a local blueberry farm last weekend, and picked almost 40 pounds of blueberries, which are one of my favorites. I eat them everyday, and enjoy them most in my evening smoothies. Delicious.

Here are a couple pics of that trip.

Updating the Site and Traveling

As I wrote about a few months ago, I will make some changes to the site this summer. I’ve already removed the videos page, as it is very outdated, and am creating a couple of new pages, and condensing some of the other pages.

At this time, I am not planning on changing the overall site theme, yet, you never know. As I work through these changes over the next two months, if something occurs differently for you, or becomes difficult for you on the site, I would love it if you would let me know. You can get my email from the contact page. Thank you.

As I’ve written about before, I am excited to travel in the coming years; and, I’m excited to share that I’ve booked my first trip. It will be to London, next May. Since I’ve been at my current job, I’ve not taken off more than a few days here and there, and am excited to be in London for 12 nights.

That will be the 2022 trip, and in 2023? India; and, then in 2024, Japan. That’s the plan anyway. We all know that plans change, yet, having a plan is important. And, then? Let the change come. It’s all okay.

Alright, that’s all for this week.

Wishing you all a beautiful coming week.

#blog, #blogger, #bloggersdiary, #blogging, #community, #diary, #gardening, #japan, #london, #travel, #uk, #update, #vegetables, #website, #writingandreflecting

Jeff Flesch 8:00 am on May 16, 2021
Tags: blog ( 17 ), blogger ( 29 ), blogger's diary ( 35 ), blogging ( 56 ), clarity ( 17 ), creatingpossibility, diary, difficultsituations, education ( 10 ), emotionalintelligence ( 19 ), listenandlearn, navigating, noncreditclasses, summerschedule, writingandreflecting ( 3 )

A Blogger’s Diary 5/16/21: On the Week, Writing and Reflecting, Summer Schedule, and Navigating Difficult Situations

The Week

This past week was, well, like many of the weeks that preceded it, in this year of pandemic. Meaning, my days, for now, look similar from week to week. Work, eat, meditate, write, sleep. Not in that order, or, rather, sometimes, yet not always.

Yet, as you know, there is a trip coming to Los Angeles. Only a couple more weeks, and I’ll board an airplane for the first time in over 15 months. Pretty wild.

Anyway, let’s take a look at some of the writing that occurred this week.

Writing and Reflecting

This past week, I completed the second installments in both the Willamette Valley Wanderings and Wonderings series, and the Community Gardening series. The latter has already been published, and the former will be published next week. Super fun.

I am enjoying being out in the sun right now, and am looking forward to more sun as we move towards summer. Yes, I love the sun and the heat. As I lived most of my life in LA, where it is sunny, well, almost all of the time, I have a special affinity for sunshine.

Being out on hikes and working in the garden when it is sunny, is especially lovely.

Summer Schedule

Linn-Benton Community College, Albany, Oregon

As I wrote in last week’s entry, the Summer Schedule is out and registration starts Monday, May 17. Our summer offerings are on the small side, yet, we have plans for a large fall term. Exciting.

The team and I are also now talking about introducing more in-person classes, as possible, this fall. As I’ve written before, I see the next 15 to 18 months as a slow reintroduction to in-person classes, while also continuing to offer remote classes.

With the reintroduction of in-person classes, including the team back in the office beginning this summer, will come mixed emotions for, well, everyone, me included. Exciting, yes, and also anxiety producing. Normal.

That, as a team, we are aware of this truth, simply means we can talk through these emotions as they arise and work through them together. Lovely.

Navigating Difficult Situations

Invariably, you have, and will continue to be presented with difficult situations; we all have and will. It’s part of being a human being. I was presented with a couple this past week. Both of these situations are work related, and are, well, navigable. Just like all difficult situations.

When we stay present to what is known, and get clear on what caused the difficult situation to arise in the first place, we make a space to create new possibilities.

In both of the situations I was presented this past week, I, first, listened, then did my research, and learned. Once I was clear on what was happening, I was ready to create.

And, you know what?

From the space of clarity, anything is possible. Both of these situations presented me with challenges, and, at times, felt, well, not so great. Yet, once worked through, I was able to create new ways forward.

When you are presented with difficulties, remember to stay present, listen, learn, and then create.

From the space of clarity, we get to then stand in the current reality. And, on a team, or in a family, when we are all clear and understand the current reality, no matter what the reality is, we can all work together to move forward. Beautiful.

Alright, that’s all for this week.

Have a lovely week, my friends.

#blog, #blogger, #bloggers-diary, #blogging, #clarity, #creatingpossibility, #diary, #difficultsituations, #education, #emotionalintelligence, #listenandlearn, #navigating, #noncreditclasses, #summerschedule, #writingandreflecting

Jeff Flesch 3:00 pm on May 9, 2021
Tags: acknowledgement, blogger ( 29 ), blogger's diary ( 35 ), blogging ( 56 ), diary, Emotional Intelligence ( 11 ), emotions ( 87 ), Life ( 507 ), Love ( 509 ), moms, mother's day ( 2 ), reflecting ( 11 ), Writing ( 94 )

A Blogger’s Diary 5/9/21: On The Week, Writing and Reflecting, Emotions, and Acknowledgement

The Week

A lovely week this past week, as always. I’ve been continuing to prepare and plant my plot at the community garden. I’ll have another installment in the gardening series in the next week. Fun.

I’ve also been playing the guitar more. There is something about music. I’ve always known this, yet I’ve rediscovered, or, maybe it’s, renewed a deep passion within me for, and with, music. I love it so much.

I’ve also been working, well, a lot. The team is as busy as ever. We just finished the summer schedule, which we will publish next week. I will share it with all of you in my next diary post.

And, of course, I’ve been writing. Less this week, yet, it’s always there, and inspirational.

Writing and Reflecting

I completed the first entry in the Willamette Valley Wanderings and Wonderings series, and am contemplating my next hike. It will be next weekend, and I may drive up to Salem. Not sure. We will see. However it goes, I’ll have some lovely pictures and reflections to share with all of you.

I also published the purpose post this past week, which was fun. I think about purpose in such a different way today. Actually, I think about everything today quite differently. Purpose is just another concept that I like to think about; and, for me, purpose lives and breathes in each moment. It’s always there, and doesn’t need much attention. Just being, living, and loving. Awesome.

Emotions

As you all know, I write a lot about emotions. The reason I write about emotions so often, is that for most of my adult life I held all of my emotions in, and didn’t process them.

Once I learned how to understand my feelings, I began to learn how to process them, talk about them, and, yep, write about them.

Therefore, in the past 4 years, I’ve lived through, and engaged with, a lot of emotional processing. These experiences serve as the foundation for many of my poems, and are quite beautiful.

I appreciate each of you for walking through these experiences with me, and supporting me as we do so. An honor.

Acknowledgement

I’ve also been reflecting more upon the concept acknowledgement this past week. Partly because as I was preparing the quarterly team report, it occured to me that I had so many acknowledgements to make, if I made them all in a single communication, it would be, well, rather lengthy.

Therefore, I chose to create a 4-day communication event, acknowledging a few team members each day. It feels right, and is important. It’s also important to acknowledge ourselves, and to do so often.

When we acknowledge how we feel, the lows, the highs, the middle spots, we get so much more back; and, we develop a real sense of what it means to be a human being on this wonderful planet.

As a final acknowledgement this week, I’d like to acknowledge my beautifully strong mother, sisters, exwife, and all of those moms out there who, for so many reasons, exemplify strength, persistence, determination, compassion, love, and kindness.

Thank you. Thank you for being exactly as you are.

Alright, everyone that’s all for this week.

Have a fantastical week.

#acknowledgement, #blogger, #bloggers-diary, #blogging, #diary, #emotional-intelligence, #emotions, #life, #love, #moms, #mothers-day, #reflecting, #writing

Jeff Flesch 6:00 pm on April 25, 2021
Tags: apnachatbhavan, bhagavadgita, blogger ( 29 ), blogger's diary ( 35 ), blogging ( 56 ), breathing ( 3 ), contemplation ( 155 ), diary, indiasupermarket, introspection ( 160 ), mahabharata, Mindfulness ( 19 ), oregon ( 8 ), poem ( 568 ), Poems ( 279 ), portland ( 3 ), reading ( 5 ), resturants

A Blogger’s Diary 4/25/21: On Writing and Reflecting, Portland, Reading, and Breathing

I’ve been thinking more this week about how important it is to take time for ourselves. It is interesting, as I know this truth viscerally today, and have written about it several times in the past few months, and yet as life continues to move, I am continually present to the need to stop and breathe. Important.

Alright, more on that in a moment.

Writing and Reflecting

First, let’s take a look at a few reflections from the week.

Flush

The poem Flush occurred to me this week after I dropped off my guitar to be worked on at the local music store. I hadn’t realized how much I’ve loved learning to play the guitar until, all at once, it was removed from my presence for a couple of days.

I actually went to the music store one day, while they were working on my guitar, just to play the guitars on display. I love the feeling that comes with playing the guitar. In fact, I’ve always loved music, which has been a large part of my life, for, well, always. Moving, deeply satisfying, and inspirational. Lovely.

Hug

The Hug poem was inspired by the WDYS #78 prompt from Keep it Alive, by Sadje. As I pondered the picture of a small table, set for two, it reminded me of times as a child and youth at my grandparents house. Being around all of my cousins, and feeling that deep sense of connection and love you get when you are near so much family.

Though I don’t get to see much of my extended family today, I relish these memories. Beautiful.

Next Week

I don’t have much to write about the writing that is coming. That’s fun.

I know there will be more poems, and I do have plans on a post about purpose, yet have not begun to write this piece. All of this unknown is part of the process and joy of creation, which I adore.

Portland

My oldest son has an internship with Intel in Portland this summer. Yes. Exciting. I went up to visit him yesterday, which was my first time in Portland in over 15 months. It was an amazing experience.

We went to a wonderful local grocery story called the India Supermarket, and ate at an equally lovely restaurant called Apna Chat Bhavan. Delicious. We then played guitars for the afternoon. It was so lovely to see him and spend time with him doing things we love to do, two of which, we’ve been unable to do, or have chosen not to do, for a long time. Lovely.

Reading

The remote book club is still alive and well. We just finished The House of the Spirits, by Isabel Allende. An elegant and descriptively written book about war, violence, oppression, love, family, and life. I highly recommend this book. Just know that the book does contain many violent scenes, which may be disturbing to some readers. The book contained about as much violence as I can handle these days.

I am now reading the Mahabharata, by Kamala Subramaniam, which is part of my continual spiritual and devotional development. I am only about 100 pages into the text, and am already seeing parallels to all of life, which I know will continue.

Breathing

Have you ever had someone ask you if you are breathing, or, have you had someone say, don’t forget to breathe? Yep, me too. In fact, I am the one that often says to people, remember to breathe. Yet, more context is needed.

When I say to someone close to me, remember to breathe. These words come along with a historical conversational context about what remembering to breathe really means.

It means creating time in all of our days to stop. Stop working, cooking, cleaning, erranding, working, etc., and just be. Creating time to focus on our breath and be with ourselves. As I’ve written before, you can accomplish this by taking 5-minutes away from everyone and everything, and just focus on the inhalation and exhalation of your breath.

And, as thoughts arise, such as I need to do this, and I need to do that, just let that be. And, return to the breath. If you choose to walk during this time, count your steps as you inhale and exhale, which will help keep the mind at bay.

The point?

We all need time to let ourselves be. Away from all of the “needs” that are arising within us.

When we begin to learn that, in fact, those “needs” never really cease, and that we can take actions to slow down the reactivity of the mind to stimuli; by, for example, taking a 5-minute break away from everyone and everything. Using this time to just breathe, we begin to deepen our understanding of how our minds work. Helpful.

Alright, that’s all for this week.

Have a lovely week.

#apnachatbhavan, #bhagavadgita, #blogger, #bloggers-diary, #blogging, #breathing, #contemplation, #diary, #indiasupermarket, #introspection, #mahabharata, #mindfulness, #oregon, #poem, #poems, #portland, #reading, #resturants

Jeff Flesch 6:00 pm on April 18, 2021
Tags: .poetry ( 531 ), becoming ( 4 ), blogger's diary ( 35 ), blogging ( 56 ), communitygarden ( 2 ), corvallis ( 3 ), dhyana, diary, gardening ( 9 ), hiking ( 10 ), Meditation ( 22 ), poem ( 568 ), Poems ( 279 ), sprite ( 2 ), willamettevalley ( 3 ), Writing ( 94 )

A Blogger’s Diary 4/18/21: On Writing and Reflecting, 2 New Series, Vaccinations, and Gentle Yoga

Wow, how is it that we are now in mid-April? Phew, not sure, time is moving, well, rather rapidly at the moment. Anyway, the past week was busy for numerous reasons. Yes, lots of work, and writing, and I did get my first vaccination dose last week.

Writing and Reflecting

Sprite

The poem Sprite, was inspired by the WDYS #77 prompt from Keep it Alive, by Sadje. I had a lot of fun with this little poem. Sadje’s prompt reminded me of being at the coast. Many of you know how much I love the beach, or coast, or sea, or shore, or whatever the ocean is called where you live. I grew up near the ocean, and love it much.

As I was reflecting upon the picture, it reminded me about my trip to Yachats a couple of months ago, and an antique store I visited during my trip. The prompt picture looks like something that the little shop would have stocked and sold. From there, it was off and running. One insight after another; and then, the poem was finished. Super fun.

Becoming (2)

The Poem Becoming (2), was inspired by a breakdown I had last Saturday. It was a rather large breakdown, which, as you might surmise I would write, is perfectly okay, even needed and wanted. Why?

Because it’s part of the process of being a human being. If we hold our emotions inside all the time, and actively resist them, we are resisting life. However, when we are with our emotions as they come, we are going with the flow of life.

I actually wrote the poem in intervals during the breakdown. Writing is, at times, how I process my emotions. It reminds me I am not alone; never, in fact, alone. None of us are. We are all connected. Always have been, always will be. Lovely.

2 New Series

Alright, some of you already know about one of these new series, Community Gardening, the first post of which was published this morning. As I wrote in the first post, it occurred to me this weekend that I’ll have many more updates from the community garden, which is why a new series made perfect sense.

I am excited to continue to update you as we move deeper into Spring, and then Summer.

One of the things I love to do where I currently live, Corvallis, Oregon, is hike. I love hiking, especially during the Spring and Summer. The weather in this part of the US is gorgeous during Spring and Summer. Love it.

It occurred to me that a series on hiking the Willamette Valley, then, made sense. I will travel throughout the valley this spring and summer and hike, reflect, and learn more about areas in the valley I’ve not yet visited. And, we can hike, reflect, and learn together through my trips. Fun.

I’ve not come up with a title yet. If you have ideas, please let me know. I’ve already completed my first hike, which was lovely, and will create the first entry in this new series in a week or two.

Vaccinations

Yep, I got my first vaccination dose, well, two Fridays ago now. It was actually a super simple process. I am grateful to all of the people working and volunteering to make the vaccine more and more accessible. Thank you.

Gentle Yoga

Well, as many of you know, I do yoga everyday. Meditation is a step of yoga, which I’ve now practiced for almost 4 years. There are 8 steps in yoga, and while I have been meditating, or practicing Dhyana for years now, I am not as well practiced at body movement with the breath.

Therefore, my life coach and teacher has put me on a very gentle path to increase the movement and blood flow in and to my upper body. It is important that the practice is gentle, as I have two shoulder injuries, which happened some time ago, yet have been exasperated by the pandemic.

Anyway, the point is that I am finding great relief in the practice; and am excited about the movement returning to my shoulders. Awesome.

Alright everyone, that’s all for this entry.

Have a splendid week.

#poetry, #becoming, #bloggers-diary, #blogging, #communitygarden, #corvallis, #dhyana, #diary, #gardening, #hiking, #meditation, #poem, #poems, #sprite, #willamettevalley, #writing

Jeff Flesch 6:00 am on April 11, 2021
Tags: .poetry ( 531 ), blog ( 17 ), blogger ( 29 ), blogger's diary ( 35 ), blogging ( 56 ), collaboration ( 19 ), collaborativewriting, creatingpurpose ( 2 ), diary, poem ( 568 ), Poems ( 279 ), Purpose ( 12 ), reflection ( 77 )

A Blogger’s Diary 4/11/21: On Writing, Reflecting, Collaboration, and Purpose

This past week, I’ve been reflecting upon purpose, which I’ll write more about in a moment, and planning in the unknown, which will be the topic of a post, well, I’m not sure when, yet will get to it eventually.

Before we get to my reflection on purpose, let’s take a look at a couple writing reflections.

Writing and Reflecting

Mind

The poem Mind was, as you may have already surmised, a reflection on my meditation practice. A large part of my life today. It is a beautiful experience, to sit and watch as the mind does it’s thing, and to become detached from it’s activity. It is also a wonder to sit and watch as your mind, over time, begins to slow and become more quiet. Magical.

The Mind poem was also my first foray into the Hexastich poetry style. I learned about this poem style, like many others, from a lovely blogger friend of mine. I’ve written another poem in this style already, and will have more to share in the coming weeks and months.

Gift

The poem Gift was a reflection of the many things I’ve learned in the past 4 years, as I’ve learned to go within from my life coach and teacher. It’s been difficult and one of the most wonderful experiences of my life.

And, like I write often, this nexus of the difficult and wonderful, a paradox (and not), is where the jewels of life live. When we slow down, go within, really get to know ourselves, we get back so much more. Beautiful.

Collaboration

Photo by Christina @ wocintechchat.com on Unsplash

As you may know, yesterday I posted The Dance Dances A Life of Its Own, which was a collaboration with Amber of DiosRaw. As a relatively new blogger, I’ve only done one other collaboration, which was the post, Vulnerability: A Paradox, with Maja of Lampelina.

Amber and I created the poem this past week, with the former, sending emails back and forth throughout the creative process. Was superb. A wonderful experience.

With the latter, I submitted a request to do a guest post on Lampelina, and Maja reached out to me to do so. Was also a great experience.

A lot of fun all-around.

There is another collaboration, of a different kind, coming soon, with another inspiring blogger. I’ll have more on that in the future.

I love the concept of, and practice of, collaboration. You learn so much more when you work with other people. It is by far one of my favorite things to do in this life, collaborate with inspirational people. I’ve been very lucky to have had these opportunities and many others in various areas of my life; and, I look forward to future ones.

Purpose

While I’ve written on purpose before, it is a concept and practice that I reflect upon, well, not quite often, yet it does come up now and then. This week, purpose has come up in regard to planning inside of the unknown.

There was a time in my life where I continually questioned my purpose. Was in fact, confounded by the idea of purpose. Maybe even a little afraid of the concept.

However, today, I accept my truth in regard to purpose. That, in fact, each moment we are alive, we can find our purpose in, well, exactly what it is that we are doing. Right now, typing this end of the week diary entry. In the next moment? Don’t know, it doesn’t exist yet.

What I am pointing to, is that purpose lives inside of us. Purpose is a concept that we attach meaning to, just like every other concept. If you believe that purpose needs to look and feel a certain way, and you don’t see or feel what you are looking for, well, then you’ll have a hard time finding your purpose.

However, if you believe that purpose lives within, and lives in each moment every day, doing exactly as you are already doing, well, there’s nothing to find. Your purpose is readily apparent in each moment everyday.

We can all develop an awareness of purpose that is different from the current one we hold. It just takes practice. Practice letting go of the concept of purpose as we understand it today, and learning a new way to think about and feel purpose.

Remember, purpose is first and foremost a concept. It is not a living breathing thing. We breathe life into the concept of purpose, as we do all concepts, when we give life to it by attaching meaning, which we create, to the concept.

And, just as we breathe life into the concept of purpose as we do today, we can learn a new way to breathe a different life into a new concept of purpose.

It is up to you, me, and everyone else; and, well, that’s quite empowering.

Alright, that’s all for this week.

Have a blessed week, my friends.

#poetry, #blog, #blogger, #bloggers-diary, #blogging, #collaboration, #collaborativewriting, #creatingpurpose, #diary, #poem, #poems, #purpose, #reflection

Jeff Flesch 6:00 am on April 4, 2021
Tags: .poetry ( 531 ), blogger ( 29 ), blogger's diary ( 35 ), blogging ( 56 ), brene brown ( 4 ), connection ( 125 ), COVID-19 ( 34 ), diary, Life ( 507 ), martin luther king jr, pandemic ( 8 ), poem ( 568 ), Poems ( 279 ), reality ( 42 ), reflecting ( 11 ), Relationships ( 28 ), self-awareness ( 3 ), travel ( 8 ), vaccination ( 2 ), Writing ( 94 )

A Blogger’s Diary 4/4/21: On Writing, Reflecting, Travel, and Connection

This past week, I’ve been reflecting upon connection. How we are all connected to each other, yes, and to everything else we see. All of it. Quite beautiful.

Before I write more about connection, let’s take a look at a couple reflections from this past week, and a few ideas I have for next week. Sound good? Okay, here we go.

Writing

This past week, I’ve continued to write quite a bit of poetry. It just happens like that sometimes; and, of late, there’s been much more poetry within me. Fun.

Tanka #9

The Tanka #9 poem, occurred to me one day after meditation. Well, in fact, the concepts found in the poem occur to me all the time these days. That is, existence, and the connection we all have to each other and all that surrounds us.

We have the idea that we are separate, due to socialization and the creation of the ego-self. The separateness we feel, however, is illusory. Not real. Reality lives behind and beyond the concepts we hold of ourselves and all that we see. Beautiful.

Heed

The poem Heed, is a reflection, in part, on my sensitivity; which I’ve written about before, in the post, The Paradox and Gift of Being A Highly Sensitive Person: Clear and Strong, Not Hurt and Damaged.

I didn’t understand my own sensitivity for most of my life. In fact, my sensitivity was something I ran from in many ways. When you are a highly sensitive person and unaware, the world feels more frightening and incomprehensible. The paradox?

When you are a highly sensitive person and aware, the world feels more, well, like you, beautiful, strong, and very comprehensible. Being a highly sensitive person is a true gift.

Travel

Well, in my diary entry last week, I wrote about being on the waitlist for the vaccine; and, I now have an appointment next Friday, which means I will be fully vaccinated by early May.

Now, as many of you know, my whole family lives in Los Angeles, California, where I lived the majority of my life; and, I have a niece graduating from high school this year. The question? Yep, you guessed it; do I travel? Not sure? Me either.

Instead of thinking about the choice, I looked at flights, and found that the quarantine policy for traveling into LA County is still in place, which means that when you are traveling into the County from out of state you must quarantine for 10 days.

I could not find a single resource on the flight booking site, nor on the CDC website about traveling once fully vaccinated. So? I called the LA County Public Health Department. The person that answered the phone was super nice, and, to my question, replied, that’s a good question. They didn’t know the answer either.

The LA County employee that helped me is going to do some research and call me back. Thus, my choice on traveling to LA remains, for now, on hold.

Connection

This past week, we had our remote Spring Instructor Forum. These forum’s are a chance for our Community Education Instructors to get to see each other, and to interact with us. In the Community Education program we have over 200 instructors, and they live all over the area, so this is one way we stay connected.

As I prepared my small talk with the Instructors, I pondered this past year, the current year, and the upcoming year. And? What occurred to me was that, yes, so much has changed this past year, and more changes will come.

Yet, one thing that will not change is the connection we have with each other, which is why I am calling next fiscal year (2021/22), The Year of Continued Connection.

There will always be change, and, in many ways, change is wonderful. Terribly hard at times, yes, and also beautiful.

Though we have no idea what the rest of this year will bring, we know that our relationships are strong, and that they will endure through whatever change comes our way. We have proven this this past year.

I’ve written many posts about relationships and connection. I always say, there’s nothing more important than the relationship we have with ourselves, and with those people we surround ourselves with.

Everything starts with us. And, when you have a quality connection with yourself, you will have quality connections with others.

I’ll leave you this week, with two quotes I shared with the Community Education Instructors this past week, as I think they speak very well to the value of connection.

“I can never be what I ought to be until you are what you ought to be, and you can never be what you ought to be until I am what I ought to be… This is the interrelated structure of reality.” Martin Luther King Jr
“I define connection as the energy that exists between people when they feel seen, heard, and valued; when they can give and receive without judgment; and when they derive sustenance and strength from the relationship.” Brené Brown
habits for well being

Alright, that’s all for now.

Have a beautiful coming week.

#poetry, #blogger, #bloggers-diary, #blogging, #brene-brown, #connection, #covid-19, #diary, #life, #martin-luther-king-jr, #pandemic, #poem, #poems, #reality, #reflecting, #relationships, #self-awareness, #travel, #vaccination, #writing

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