Author: BKL

creative thinking, daily draw, random thoughts

10 Seconds to Zen…

BKL
Ginger, Tumeric Tea

Peace finds us if we prepare the way for it.

Peace, or a sense of calm/Zen had always eluded me as a child and younger adult. I used to think finding it was going to be outside my skill set– reserved for the wiser, more patient folks. I always had hope though– and that may be why I never gave up the quest. Hope, I am told, is a very human trait (emotion?), and I believe hope is what allows us to be creative problem solvers. Without hope what is the point of moving forward? Hope is futuristic and revolutionary. Hope, creativity, and skill is what drives innovation forward. Hope is not fluffy as some might suggest. It is downright necessary, and the stuff of radical positivity– it is the superhero battling entropy.

However, I digress. Back to the original topic: Peace. It IS possible to find a sense of peace or Zen (whatever you wish to call it) if you train yourself to be accustomed to it. You don’t have to be a Buddhist. You don’t have to spend all day meditating or doing yoga. All you need is a dash of childish wonder, and the willingness to begin a routine. I am no yogi nor master teacher, but I have found some calm in this ferociously beautiful and sometimes crazy chaotic world. I would like to share how I got there with you in an upcoming series of posts.

I believe all you really need is 10 seconds and regular practice. What your grandmother told you may be right after all, “Count to ten before you say anything you regret.” Great sage advice. In our hyper fast paced world, 10 seconds is a long time. I wonder when we will begin to divide time into nanoseconds. I am fairly certain it’s possible. Because all things are possible.

Today, I found peace in the ten seconds it took me to breathe in the sweet aroma of the fresh brewed pot of my ginger, turmeric tea while sitting quietly watching the date palms sway in the spring breeze.  What peace will you find in your 10 seconds?

random thoughts

Mama always said there would be dragons…

BKL

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Ok, no she didn’t. Not in those exact words. But the message that there would be pain and storms to endure was definitely clear.

This pic was clicked right outside the building in which I took my first and second SAT. Of course, the exam I took in the mid 80’s, I am told, in no way resembles what I survived. I will argue having not seen the latest version, that for many, it is still something to be survived.

I would like to think these magnolia blossoms represents the blood of a vanquished dragon. Well, at least my dragon. My children are in the throes of the repetitious events of standardized testing. And next week my eldest will take his second of three high school placement exams– well because– the schools need to find ways to eliminate who might not be the best fit. I’m not upset at that. The system works until it doesn’t. I sense the tides shifting. It may take 20 years, but the tests will eventually go the way of the Do-Do.

random thoughts

It’s that time of year, when…

BKL

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I realize that I am happy.  The weather bobs and dips like a fisher’s boat along with the tide.  Aromas glide in through the cracked window, warm and cozy: onion, sage and spice. It is a crazy time of year for me (work), but I still attempt to stop and focus on what moves me: waning light, sounds that crackle in the crisp morning air, the delight of roasting acorn squash with butter and brown sugar.  Join me in this moment of reverie.

creative thinking, daily draw, random thoughts

Third Time is the Charm! 

BKL
First Batch, no recipe
Third batch, Recipe!

 

Our summer has been about adventures at home and locally. Swimming at friends’ or family’s homes, having (almost nightly) water balloon fights/competitions, playing (video) games at home and Dave and Buster’s – it has been a blast so far!

On one of the really hot, record busting, days last week, I decided I was going to try my hand at making popsicles with and for the kids.  Right.  Good fun. Check.  Low Cal (mostly). Check.  Ready, set, go!

The first batch (the orange ones above) tasted like mango smoothies.  Not terrible, but really not so popsicle-y.  My sons ate it out of duty (sigh).  We can’t have that.  I figured my problem was probably not following a recipe. Yep.  Well, my grandmother trained me to be creative in the kitchen.  This is a good thing when improvising with something you actually KNOW how to make.  This is not quite a good thing when you have never made it before.  So, round two I didn’t really use a true recipe and just poured root beer (my favorite popsicle flavor as a child) into the molds and froze them. The taste– excellent!  The presentation, not so much.  You kinda have to wait for the root beer to go flat.

What did I learn?  Use a recipe!  So round three (pictured on right above): Fudge popsicles from a recipe by Live Simply .  Excellent smooth results.  Presentation: Good. Flavor: Intense and very popsicle-y.  Success!  Next we plan to try a Dole Whip imitation popsicle recipe.  Can’t wait!

random thoughts

The Pleasures of Summer

BKL
Mocha Latte @ThePeachCafe
Starbuck’s “The Pink Drink”


Colors are part of the fabric of who I am. Ask anyone and they will tell you I have a plethora of special gel ink purple pens in assorted nib sizes, my office is painted a lux Caribbean blue, and I wear jewel tones as often as I can.   That said, I truly enjoy colorful drinks as well. These two images are from the beginning of my summer adventures.  The mocha did not disappoint, but the “pink drink”, alas, was far too sweet.

random thoughts

Gradually, then Suddenly Everything Changes

BKL


The traffic slow down, the rubber band of cars moving slower and slower, and then the final slam on the breaks. Everything halts.

Or waiting at the car dealer is first gradual, no problem, the ebbs and flows of excitement and anxiety swirling as one, and then energy suddenly gone.

Too much and then deal done. Finally.

Is this the way continents move? Or how the sun will eventually extinguish itself? 

creative thinking, random thoughts

Summer Reading 2017 (Yay!)

BKL

IMG_0814.JPGThe pile of summer reads is here! I have been curating and choosing what I want to read for the last month or so, and now it is ready! This is just in time since I take vacation next week. Curl up. Lay out. Drink a summer beverage (most likely iced coffee). Read. Repeat.  I am looking forward to my self-education on Futurism. Thank you, Jane McGonigal, for sharing your syllabus online. I’m going to do my own research since I can’t make it to Stanford to take your class this summer! I have bought all the required reading. Can’t wait!

creative thinking, Poetry

Magic, naturally.

BKL

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It’s nearly the end of  National Poetry Month and today is World Book Day (yay!). Though I haven’t been a strong presence in my actual poetry community, I am trying to remain present in the online community.  I have been writing daily, and reading as much as time permits with my busy work-mom-life schedule.

So it is fitting that I am reviewing another poetry collection.  And I am over the moon excited about getting to do so!  This time, MAGIC WITH SKIN ON by Morgan Nikola-Wren is my latest dessert for poetry this month.

Decadent, a bit gothic, and filled with delectable moments of urban fantasy, Morgan’s writing atmosphere is complete and propels the story.  There is a whole world involved in the character’s need to make sense of and control the whimsy of her absent muse.  A tale told in seven acts, readers will devour it in less than two hours.

More than once, I was reminded of my favorite Lilith Saintcrow (fiction) series– Working for the Devil — the dark hues, the temptation the muse (or fallen angel), and the heroine’s quest to remember herself.  It is gritty and wonderful.  I highly recommend it for a fantasy escape into a chewy world in which the heroine finds enormous agency in a sea of doubt.  She magics herself into completeness; threads the muse into her body. They become one as she powers forward into a world of word-bliss.

I have always been a fan of genre crossing and mixed forms of art.  This collection is like that — it can be read as a collection of stand alone poems, but it is really a complete story. It drives the reader all the way to the end.  When I read poetry collections, it is common for me to jump around and bop in and out of place with the poet.  Here, I was bound to stay on track and read through.  But at the end of the journey, I find that reading it backwards also has its pleasures.

So many of Morgan’s lines are bite-sized and perfect.  The toothy-ness of her story is worthy of adorning coffee houses, and home-offices for writers and others to draw inspiration.  My own wall beyond the computer screen now boasts this, my favorite line, “tonight,/i say we host/a dinner party for our demons” .   Yes, let’s.  They have been eating me alive for years, but I never thought, perhaps if I invited them to dinner, we could be friends.

Morgan’s collection gleams with the kind of magic that heals our (very) human, messy lives.  A fitting read for our time/s.  Brava!