About Me

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Born in the US, raised on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus, lived in Italy, the US, and Canada. Lover of language, travel, colour, and the natural world.
Showing posts with label taking time to slow down. Show all posts
Showing posts with label taking time to slow down. Show all posts

Friday, October 28, 2011

Uninterrupted sun Scrooge hits the you're-in-the-west-now-slow-down-and-appreciate-(uber) subtle-season-shifts button


Call me old fashioned, but I like activities that slow me down. Shelling beans, making a meal from scratch, even peeling almonds, crushing them, and pressing almond milk out of them (and separating three of my nails from the nail beds in the process) sounds like heaven to me. I like the physical motion, the smells, the colours, and knowing that when I am done I will have a very physical, visual result (or a bottle of very creamy almond milk in the fridge!!)

I have been on the computer a lot lately. That is how it goes when your life is job hunting, applying for jobs and writing. I try to take myself away from the computer throughout the day, but lately I have been finding myself in front of it more often than not. Through the window, or when I rush off to pick a family member up from work, or on my way to or from a friend's house, i notice that the season is changing in the trees, but since it is still hot enough to wear sandals and tank tops, I find myself becoming a bit indifferent about the weather. More sunshine. I notice myself not noticing the details of the shift in season. I hear my (charming) self answering "no" when family members ask me whether I have noticed a change in the smell of the air outside.

Every now and then I will stop and look at the trees, and think to myself: how is it possible that they are changing colour and losing their leaves when it is still so warm outside? Canada has effectively spoiled my lifelong distaste for any cloud that dares interrupt a perfectly blue sky, it seems. Where are the CLOUDS, I say to the sky when I roll up the blinds and sunlight pours into my bedroom at the end of October. I have to smile. My non-hockey playing friends back in Canada would kill for weather like this.

I may have become a bit of a weather Scrooge. Maybe it is time for me to slow down a bit more like I did two days ago when I trashed the entire kitchen trying to make homemade almond milk (for the record, it is DELICIOUS, and my nails are slowly healing -- but has anyone come across an almond peeling device? ). Maybe in order to tune into the shift of season I need to take more walks. I haven't taken a walk in over two weeks. I know. Awful. Not like me at all. I am glad it is Friday. I have been working on a job application all week that I finally finished this evening. Maybe I will take a walk this weekend. Crunch through some leaves. Notice the (uber) subtle changes that characterize the shift of seasons out west. Make peace with my outer landscape. Tomorrow is Saturday. The newspaper says it promises to be sunny yet again. Maybe I will take a walk under that irrepressible blue sky and watch the squirrels collect nuts. Maybe I will lie on my back under a tree and watch leaves falling. Maybe I will collect a few and bring them home.

How do you tune in to your outer landscape? How do you slow down and bring your own rhythm into sync with the natural world around you? Enjoy your weekend, friends!