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Keeping current in wellness, in and out of the water
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#WeekendCoffeeShare Winter Wonderland
December 17, 2017
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Luminaria night Tubac
Luminaria night Tubac
If we were having coffee this weekend, 17 December, I would say life has been very festive indeed since we last met. I am very pleased to see that Electric Alli has revived the tradition of sharing a beverage and some personal news each weekend. This open invitation to stop, linger, chat, and share digital drinks is the perfect spot for a holiday party. Do drop in for some fun. Read what is new with the group, or share your own post here. The movable feast is on the move once more. Please join us.
I have a fire in the wood stove today to take a mild chill off the house. We have not really experienced any winter here yet, which is confusing all the plants. Although I sold the property with my big citrus trees I still have a large Lisbon lemon and a small Meyer lemon at my condo. Like many other trees in Tucson they bloomed several times last year, and then dropped all the fruit because the weather has been so bizarre. I am hoping this year will be better, but so far it is ridiculously warm. Please relax and let me make you one of my holiday teas. I have gone wild ordering flavored teas for the season, so I probably have exactly what you like. I can brew some coffee if that is what suits you.
I would tell you our lives have been super festive and bright since I sold my real estate and downsized to fit our belongings into our condo. It is a relief to be free of the tax burden and all the extra junk I had stored in the barn. I have gone a a little shopping spree to celebrate, acquiring upgrades for the home. Yesterday I had to buy a new garage door opening system, but I feel fine about it because I had the money to pay for it, and it will last for the rest of my life.
Our company had a holiday party this week. Since it was a workday Bob was too tired to attend. I was pleased that my neighbor Heidi was available to go at the last minute. The party was in a super location above the city, with a view of the lights. Food and drinks flowed lavishly, and every guest got a gift. We all had a great time, including Heidi. This happy situation was followed up by a generous bonus for every employee on Friday. The mood at work has been very festive. We are all having very happy holidays.
Heidi and my boss, Kevin
Holiday Party Heidi
We began our holiday party by attending the Fiesta de Tumacacori on the first weekend of the month. It was wonderful. I love the mission and the natural setting next to the river. We stayed at a cool air bnb, and attended the gallery openings in Tubac for luminary nights, then enjoyed two days of street food and Mexican folkloric dancing, cum National Park Service, cum Catholic church. It was everything I hoped for and so much more. I think I will need to go every year in the future.
Fiesta de Tumacacori
Fiesta de Tumacacori
Folklorico at Tumacacori
The next weekend we attended a magic show at the Scottish Rite temple downtown Tucson. Both the show and the amazing historic building were great to see. Outdoors after the show we enjoyed bands and food trucks set up for the Second Saturday downtown. The nights are still very warm, and downtown is decorated for the season, so we went back down last night for the Holiday Parade of Lights. It was pretty corny, but lots of fun. We discovered a new restaurant we love and enjoyed a great dinner while the parade finished and the crowd dispersed. It was another excellent trip to downtown for fun. We have been living it up without any regrets lately. I hope your season is turning out as well as ours.
Scottish Rite
I have not been writing as much as I would like. Starting tomorrow my work schedule will change. I hope it will restore my previous diligent writing practice. At least I know I will write a post each weekend to keep up with this talented and diverse group of writers. Happy holidays! Thanks for stopping by.
Tradition Scrapped
April 11, 2017
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Getty Image Easter weekend is fast-approaching, which means the annual White House Easter Egg Roll is just around the corner. Or at least some semblance of the popular, kid-friendly affair will occur, as the Palm Beach Daily News reports that Donald Trump will instead spend the upcoming holiday at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. To…
Ritual vs Habit
December 29, 2016
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Hygge
I have started to read about the Danish version of minimalism known as hygge. I purchased a few books on sale and have started to read Hygge: A Danish Concept of Cozy Simple Living, by Noah Neilsen. This simple but elegant lifestyle is core value centered as opposed to consumer centric. Keeping a mindful ritualistic pace as well as a clean clear space leads to happiness and contentment with life. This Danish version of minimalism is more multi dimensional than the similar Spark Joy book about tidying up, Japanese style. I believe the lessons and the system proposed by Marie Kondo in her joy through tidying books, but I have not yet managed to follow through with the whole system. Her books have guided me to vastly improve my tidying and set a long term goal of carrying out the system from the first step to the last. She has outlined what I know will be the final solution to clutter in the space and on the schedule.
I am successful at keeping my time to myself and my schedule light and easy to accomplish. I begin early on most chores, like filing taxes. I have certain ritualistic practices at the end of the year designed to make the first of the next year run smoothly. I clear my desk and clean out my files. There is always a pile of paper I can use for starting first in my wood stove. I keep an IRS pertinent file which I carefully fill for my trip to the accountant. I file as soon as possible in order to experience the great feeling of relief from having finished it. I never let it slide because the reward is to be basically finished with the year in taxes until my property taxes are due in November. That is a wonderful vacation from concern. I don’t make resolutions. I work for an early tax return in order to liberate myself from that drudgery for an extended period.
I like the elements of Hygge that go beyond cleaning and clearing clutter. Meditation, simple hospitality, and artistic self expression are part of the Danish happiness template. Dedicating time to pleasurable shareable activities is stressed over using time to consume things. A monk like attention to the meditative qualities of daily work and life creates a person who is fully present. Yoga is designed to train the mind to focus in spite of distractions. There are other practical ways to unplug from the constant clammer of commercial interests to be closer to nature and to friends and family. Any chore can become a source of pride and contentment. The satisfaction in doing little things adds up to a content way of living.
I practice a few rituals upon which I can build my hygge. My gym time, followed by steam room is a part of my life that reward me directly and over time. I also exercise at home in my community hot tub. Few others use it, so I virtually always have the pool deck to myself for a morning or evening stretch and relax in the water. In summer I enjoy using the big pool as well. This lifts my spirits and keeps me flexible. I incubate ideas, but do not allow any worry or distress to enter my work out time. The movement is a remedy which needs to be applied in a pure state. The steam room and personal grooming time that follows the gym time is part of my daily ritual that makes me feel good as well as look a little better. I leave refreshed, relaxed, and ready to face any task. The gym love is probably my strongest positive practice.
I believe the key to happiness is to find contentment in every moment, the face of God wherever one looks. In 2017 I plan to hone and perfect some rituals I love, as well as find some new helpful ways to be present and find joy. I believe that less is more and that simple pleasures are always abundantly available. Here are some examples I find very pleasurable:
- Bathing
- Skin care
- Journaling
- Mediation
- Food sharing
- Writing
- Gardening
- Art
- Poetry
- Exercise
The Danes are some of the happiest people on earth. I had heard that this was because they have low expectations. Now that I am intrigued by the hygge concept I see that they have very high expectations for presence, for authenticity, and for intimacy. I have a couple of other books to read on the subject, but I have already embraced this idea. I believe that coziness and simple abundance are much overlooked sourced of fulfillment in our society. It is no wonder these Danish writers are all the rage now. We need a big dose of it in the United States. How is your own hygge situation, gentle reader? Can you think of ways to leave bad habits in the dust by taking up purposeful happiness?
rest awhile
Healing Through Hedonism
November 22, 2016
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- vinegar face
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- helpful staff
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- blackberry ginger balsamic
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- perfect gift
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- Alfonso’s
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- lunch
Without further ado I dedicate the rest of 2016 to pure pleasure. If politics is the malady, happiness and personal fellowship is the remedy. The election will not dominate my December. The inauguration and the results will come soon enough for me. What I do best is cook and entertain. The drudgery of politics not only bores me, but usually astounds me with the futility of it all. I have spent some time trying to change the political horizon during my life, but I now look upon all that time as a monumental waste. I could have been just living my life in the most pleasurable way possible at the time. This investment would serve me better than taking time to convince others to participate in political causes. Being happy and free is where it is at.
When I use the word hedonism I mean only fun. I do not mean overindulgence to the point of ruining all the good times. This common mistake has given fun a bad name. Addiction is perhaps the shadow side of hedonism, but it is not pleasurable. Fun is only fun when it is well managed. Well executed pleasurable pursuits provide stimulus to all the senses and a feeling of time well spent. It can be a week in Thailand or a walk around the block. The difference between the ordinary and the hedonistic is attention to detail. Wear what you want, see what you like to see, eat what delights you, linger over what intrigues you without trespassing on the pleasure of others. Travel to your own happy place. This will require that you get to know your own true preferences, which will naturally change over time. Self care for a teen is different than it will be when that person turns 65. We must evolve with our own best interests in mind.
My good friend and neighbor and I have opposing political views. We never need to talk about politics at all. If we do we joke about how crazy people are. We have much in common, including an interest in cooking and cuisines. To celebrate Heidi’s birthday we visited one of my favorite stores in Tucson, Alfonso’s Olive Oil, for a tasting of their vast selection. It was a blast for me to introduce her to this wonderland of flavor and my great pleasure to buy her first bottle to start her own specialty oil and vinegar collection. We tasted all over the store for a long time before she came to a decision. She wisely selected the classic best unflavored dark balsamic vinegar because she can infuse it herself if she wants. The vinegar she chose is exquisite, deep, complex, fruity….everything you want in a vinegar. I was happy to buy the gift, but more happy to introduce her to someplace she did not previously know. Then we had lunch, also very good. The balsamic birthday will go down as a complete success with little effort or expense on anyone’s part. It was all about the discovery.
I suggest you look into your heart and decide what makes you happy. Just do that, gentle reader. Start with that.
Pygmalion Revisited
September 16, 2016
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I subscribe to Hulu for a month at a time, then put the subscription on hold for the maximum time, 90 days. This means it is only in the home 4 months out of the year, which is perfect for us. I binge down on different new shows, and by the end of the month I have seen everything I care to watch. This month I have watched a lot of very well produced series. I have focused on comedy, seeing at least 10 stand up comedy specials. I also found many comedy tv series that make me very happy. My favorite, now that the month is coming to a close, is Selfie. This modern day version of Pygmalion is hysterically updated to show characters typical to our times. This social satire hits all the notes.
Eliza Dooley, the same archetype represented in My Fair Lady by Julie Andrews as Eliza Doolittle, has a modern twist as a self obsessed social media star. The romantic comedy takes a satirical look at workaholics, socialnetworkaholics , and corporate hierarchy. It is set in a children’s pharmaceutical company where Henry Higgins, the British snob, is thinly disguised as Henry Higgins, branding expert. The plot and characters are instantly recognizable, but the story unfolds in ways I could never have imagined. All the parts are extremely well played, but the writers and producers get major credit. This script makes me laugh for every reason, from physical comedy schtick to sophisticated satirical commentary woven into the whole story. Some of the smaller parts are the very best because they have such extreme personalities and dialogue. I will not give away more than that. Just watch it if you can.
The story of Pygmalion comes for the mythology of Greece. It is based on a god who fell in love with one of his own sculptures. In 1748 the story was presented at the prestigious Paris Opera House. This production, written by Jean-Philippe Rameau, was staged as a one act piece. Since that time this story has been told and retold, including the popular musical version with Rex Harrison playing the stuffy and rude Henry. The story has the same punch line every time.
Greek god Pygmalion
Death by Side Effect
June 2, 2016
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skull and crossbones
The death rate in the US has risen in 2015 for some alarming reasons. The new statistics for Alzheimer’s disease, chronic liver disease and cirrhosis show that our population suffers from toxic overload. The liver disease is normally caused by alcohol consumption, and Alzheimer’s is still a mystery. I took care of both of my demented parents until death. My own suspicion about their memory loss issues is that they were primarily caused by alcohol consumption that continued for more than 65 years. My parents were not seriously into drugs like people are today, but they did like to drink. Their diet choices and alcohol consumption worsened as they aged. I often wondered if could have been reversed if they had reformed rather then slipped into worsening habits. We will never know. For myself I am making different choices. I don’t think I have a genetic risk from my parents, as much as I cultural one, from being raised at a cocktail party.
Now the middle aged white population is into opioids. There is an increase in suicide by drug overdose happening in this group. Heroin is often a cheaper option for those who begin their use of opioids with a doctor’s referral. I don’t use any prescription drugs, but I know very few people of any age like me. Almost everyone is on something. The idea of taking meds for everything, real or imagined, has become so common that doctors have basically become drug dealers. Now Americans are killing themselves willfully and accidentally with these dangerous substances. I am concerned about our society. These are not social drugs, but drugs designed to kill pain. Have we no skills to deal with pain? I am afraid of this trend. I watch the evening news that is punctuated with drug commercials that must quickly mention the side effects. Often the side effects mentioned in the commercials include increased possibility of death. In my mind the whole country is on one dangerous drug or another with increased risk of death as a general side effect. I have no solution, gentle reader. I will close with the words of Prince, our recently deceased rock royalty:
You can be the president. I’d rather be the Pope.
You can be the side effect. I’d rather be the dope.
It is assumed that Prince’s death involved a drug overdose of pain killer.
Tempting Tempe
December 9, 2015
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Beer flights on the balcony
A quick weekend trip to Tempe to take in the sights and sounds of the Festival of the Arts was a perfect get away (but not very far away) for us last weekend. I found a great Air bnb apartment in the perfect location for walking to the action. We discovered new places to drink and dine, and purchased a few pieces of original jewelry at an artist’s booth. My parter Bob is a big beer fan, so we sat for a while overlooking the fair on the balcony of the famous landmark Gordon Biersch Brewery. The beer is okay. The view is fabulous.
Our favorite new spot for food drinks and a lively crowd is Culinary Dropout. We enjoyed wonderful service in a very jovial atmosphere there before we went to the fair. The menu was innovative bistro style food. It was tempting to eat all our meals there, but we wanted to do some investigating into other places. Tempe is full of bars and food offering of all kinds. If there is nothing you like to eat or drink there, you are just too picky.
Culinary Dropouts
Culinary Dropouts
appetizer Culinary Dropout
cocktail menu
Culinary Dropout
The Arts Festival turned the town into a large outdoor party with plenty of opportunity to people watch. We had such a good time we may just make a habit of visiting Tempe. There is much to discover.
art
art vendor
art
reflection
Hedonism vs Addiction
October 18, 2015
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The hedonist archetype is both admired and disrespected in our society. We receive mixed messages about fun, enjoyment, and merchandise. “How much is too much?”, is a question we are in the process of answering. During our holiday season excess is encouraged in all things. We see images of over decorating, over eating, over indulging in sweets and alcohol as mandates to celebrate with certain products. If we give in to the marketing engines we will let our health and finances go in order to buy holiday goods. There is a fine line between genuine appreciation that brings joy and repetitive addictive habits that have flatlined. The solution is not to give up pleasure or fine things in life. To find balance we each need to find our own specific definitions of pleasure. We also need to monitor exactly how much pleasure is still left in long standing habits. We may be fooling ourselves sometimes.
Since I am a hedonist in the first house it is important for me to evaluate and stay aware of the ways in which I indulge myself. I am attached to sensuality and leisure which could easily lead to lack of discernment. In order to stay healthy I must stay clear about how much time, money and effort I spend to feel good. A feeling of wellbeing and good energy is the reward for putting health first. The shadow hedonist is like the cartoon red devil sitting on a shoulder acting as the conscience. This little delusion devil is persuasive. The dark side of hedonism is ironically anhedonia. The pursuit of pleasure to one’s detriment eventually results in a complete inability to experience pleasure. Addictions that require treatment are common now in America. What starts as a good time ends frequently in heartache.
When you think of the hedonist does someone you know come to mind? Do you recognize a hedonist in yourself? Calibrate the Fun-O-Meter to make sure you are still having some.
