City Bird Sings

City-Bird Sings

                           by Debora Rorvig

Where skyscrapers reach for the sun
and black and yellow taxi cabs buzz up and down the noisy street
like bumble bees,

Where black Armani suits stroll down sidewalks
with people neatly tucked inside
and blue-collar workers push and shove,
 and lift and heave,
building up and tearing down the tenements
she dares to sing.

Above the din and factory smoke
clear and sweet
she calls me from a gnarled elm
from a little patch of worn out grass
just outside my flat.

Though it is only February, she doesn't care
and so I, taken by her optimism
open wide my window and lean upon the sill
just to hear her song.

Perched on a leafless branch almost
obscured by dappled winter-light
tiny, brown and unadorned
she sings and chirps with all her heart,
a heart so tiny it would fit
inside a child's palm...
and yet so large she dares to raise her voice
even in this dismal place,
without a thought that no one may be listening
but I.

As the voice of God she lifts me
above the smogged unholy din
and gives me hope that
even I
might have a voice
in this place; in this world.

Small that I am
 mayhap there is a grassy patch,
a place for me-
and someone sitting by the sill
who will listen
if I only dare to sing with all my heart
the song He placed within.

A Message for You

Words of Wisdom from Shel Silverstein

Listen to the mustn'ts, child. Listen to the don'ts.

Listen to the shouldn'ts, the impossibles, the won'ts.

Listen to the never haves, then listen close to me...

Anything can happen, child. Anything can be!

~Shel Silverstein ~

 
Sneaking on-line in the midst of the remodel chaos to share this great bit of advice from the great Shel Silverstein. This appeared on my Facebook page via Calming Your Inner Storm. 
 
All things are possible to him that believes...
 

P.S. Linda O'Connell, turn on your speakers...the music is for you! (And other romantics!)

***

Sunflowers, Spinach, and Community

Have you ever wished for something, but never really pursued it becaused it seems frivolous?

 I've always wished for a greenhouse. But with all of the practical things that we need to do...I've never even put a greenhouse on our list.. Besides,  our yard is very shady,so a greenhouse seemed out of the question.

 But sometimes our wishes come true in ways we could never have imagined. It all started when we began  attending a new church...Methodist.. That's a long way away from this girl's Pentecostal roots. But it felt right. It so happens that this church hosts a community garden spot. (I've always thought that churches should use their grounds for community gardens, their classrooms for all kinds of education, their kitchens for feeding the hungry, and their libraries should be open to all. Why oh, why, should a lovely facility sit idle for most of the week when it could be used for so many purposes?) So I joined the community garden group. Then at our first meeting I discovered that our local middle school had offered space in their greenhouse for our gardening group to start plants. Just think...a church and a school, working hand in hand for the good of the community.
How lovely is that?

 So this afternoon I took my seed packets down to the local middle school where Alyce showed me the finer points of greenhouse gardening.

 That's Alyce.

 Some of our members planted seedlings two weeks ago. Look what sprouted!

 Pamela stopped in to plant her sweetpeas! She'd gathered the pods from last year's crop. Alyce stayed busy separating and transplanting starts while I planted Walla Walla sweet onions, wild Kale, Sunflowers, Zinnias, spinach, lettuce and lettuce. Next week...tomatoes and peppers.

This experience is teaching me that we needn't always strive and struggle to obtain things we long for. Jesus says that our Heavenly Father knows what things we need, before we ask him. I never asked for a greenhouse. And though I still don't own one, I have access to one...and it cost me nothing.

I'm also learning some things about  gardening...and about community.

Turn Your Can'ts into Cans...

Take another step toward your dream today.

Never give up.

***

It's Never Too Late To Be Who You Might Have Been...G. Eliot

I stopped by to see an old friend this week. A friend I shall never forget.

How can I tell you what this friend means to me? The one who gave me another chance. Who, when I doubted myself...said "Yes, you can!"

A friend who saw me overcome with emotion and weeping in my car after reading Shakespeare's Macbeth'...and understood.

Who helped me find balance in my life and regain something I thought I'd lost...

Who showed me that art is not something that's only for the gifted few...

Who gave me a place to grow...

and permission to take time to reflect and ask questions of myself and others.

Whatcom Community College.

 As a young person, lack of money and poor personal choices had prevented me from going to college.

I married, had children, got a job, then another and another. I was making good money; but never felt happy with what I was doing. And there was always that nagging question in the back of my mind..."What if?"

 Through a series of what I call miracles I enrolled at WCC. Now I've heard people scoff about going to Community Colleges. But they are a godsend for some of us! Never let someone belittle an opportunity that you are taking to better yourself.  What a gift WCC was for this 40-something woman! Some people go to school for money. Some for their parents. I went for me. I went to learn about Shakespeare and art...to do calculus and to write poetry. To find out what makes people think the way they do. I went to learn about myself and quell the nagging doubts. I went to change my life.

I believe that we are all born to be something. Some are teachers, some are nurses, some are lawyers, some are mechanics. Schools don't make us these things...God does. He's the one who gives us the aptitude and desire for certain vocations. Schools give us the tools we need to fulfill our passions.

It's never too late to be who you might have been.       

George Eliot

Note: Charcoal drawings are not mine. This is a photograph taken of a display in the art department at WCC. I did however, take that very class and enjoyed it immensely!

***

A Journey Of A Thousand Miles Begins With A Single Step

   

 Chinese philosopher Laozi said "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." Another translation of the same quote is "Even the longest journey must begin where you stand." 

    Last week Aunty Belle wrote a piece about her life-altering pilgrimage to Santiago. I want to to that. Or something like it! Maybe walk across the moors and seacoast of England, or trek St. Olev's Way in hubby's ancestral home of Norway. Here's Aunty's inspiring post: http://abporkrinds.blogspot.com/2011/07/santiago-ya-changed-mah-life.html

     But first, to achieve such a goal, there are a couple of obstacles to clear away. The first is time. Unless we come into money (and I'm definitely open to this idea), hubby's job would prevent him from taking a month off for the journey. Now as I write this, I'm not so sure this is a true obstacle. We haven't asked for the time off. Sometimes you just have to ask! Once I applied for a job as Materials Manager and Purchaser for a company. They hired me and offered to pay me the middle of the salary range. I countered by asking for higher than the salary range. They were shocked...but they figured anyone with that kind of chutzpah would probably negotiate very aggressively for the company. They agreed to my terms. When they called to say they'd agreed to my terms, I could scarcely conceal my surprise...but I learned something important...ASK FOR WHAT YOU WANT, maybe even a little more!  

     The other obstacle is that of conditioning...my lack of it.  If I'm going to walk all day, every day for almost a month; I need to get into shape. I figure I should lose about 35 pounds and work on muscle tone + stamina before beginning this undertaking. And yes Laotze, that journey can begin right where I stand.

     Here's my plan... I'll buy a pedometer and start walking; every day if possible...even if it's not that far. Every Sunday I will report to this blog how many miles I walked the previous week. I'll tell you if I've lost weight, or heaven forbid-gained weight, and let you know what is working-and what isn't.
    
     Here's the method to my madness... I figure if I link my walking and conditioning efforts to my blog I'll be more likely to keep my focus. After all, I've been blogging for over 2 years pretty faithfully because I love to write. So if I commit to writing about walking...I'm more likely to follow through.

NOTE: Here's what I'm NOT going to do. I'm not going to beat myself up for not walking far or fast enough. It is about the journey, and I plan to enjoy it. Nor will I quit because the scales aren't reflecting my effort like I want them to. And since this is my journey, I won't flaunt my success in the face of those who are on a different path.

Here goes! Just put one foot in front of the next...

My Walking Journal for the Week of July 23

July 29th.    I started walking. Walked about 1 mile. (I've yet to buy the pedometer.)

July 30th.   Today I walked 1 mile on the beach, came home, and walked another mile and a half. However, my diet was abominable today. Ate coffee cake for breakfast, peanut butter sandwich, chips, apple and M&Ms for lunch. Threw a pizza in the oven for dinner, but my oven caught fire because I spilled turkey grease all over it last week while cooking a turkey. Put out the fire and threw the pizza away. Ate 2 slices of raisin bread, a slice of cheese, 2 glasses of lemonade, and another bag of M&M's for dinner.  I felt so lousy from eating all of that sugar, I walked that 1 1/2 miles afterward, just to shake off the sugar buzz. Tomorrow I plan to buy a pedometer. Probably oughtta clean my oven too.

***

Dreaming When You're Awake

Good Morning! It is the very last day of 2010! It's a chilly December morning here in Lynden. When I took Koda out at 6:30 am for her morning constitution, the ground was frosty and hard. It was dark and still, and the moon shining on the frosty ground made it look like diamonds were scattered about the grass. When we came back inside, I left my cozy woolen socks on, jumped back into bed and tucked the quilt up under my chin. But try as I might, I couldn't go back to sleep. I am just so excited about the New Year! I lay in bed dreaming about how I might accomplish some of the goals I've set for myself. Isn't it lovely to dream when you're awake? As children, I think it's quite common. But as we grow older;  we often stifle those outlandish thoughts and dreams, so as not to become disappointed if they don't happen. What a pity. For certainly they will not happen if we dare not to dream. So I allowed myself to think lavish thoughts. Then it dawned upon me that it's not so much the dream that we seek; but the feelings or experiences we associate with the dream.
This got me so excited that I jumped out of bed; fixed myself some oatmeal and toast; and here I am at my computer; talking to you! What I mean to say is this...One of the things I've written on my bucket list is to own a little cottage on the beach. But to be absolutely specific; I'm not actually yearning to save up hundreds of thousands of dollars so that I might sign a paper stating that I own said cottage on the beach. What I want is to reside in a cottage on the beach. To wake up smelling the ocean; and to hear the sound of the wind and waves and seagulls. I want to take morning walks in the sand with Kelly and Koda, while searching for agates and shells. I'd like to sit on a piece of driftwood with nothing to do for hours but look at the horizon and think. Perhaps I'd take some photographs or do sketches in muted greens and greys of grass and sea and sky. And I wouldn't worry about my hair. Not one day would I fight with my curly locks. I'd let them go as wild as the sea...yes I would! My  faded jeans would always be rolled up haphazardly and my tennis shoes would be dirty and full of sand, and I wouldn't care a bit! Make up? Forget it. My skin would become even more ruddy and freckled from wind and sun and age...ah well, isn't there something to be said for character in one's face? But here's the best part about it all...it's do-able! While I work and save toward the actual purchase of a cottage; I can still experience all of the components (the feelings and emotions) of it. I can rent a place on the beach during breaks from school. We are blessed to live near scores of lovely beaches that are not a long commute from our workplaces. We could stay for a week or two; even a month or more if we wanted to. If that's not an option, I can drive for 30 minutes to any number of beaches; pack a lunch, just grab the dog and my camera or sketchbook...the dirty dishes will wait...after all, how can you weigh doing dishes against living your dreams?

What are YOU dreaming about when you're awake?

Where are my dirty tennis shoes? I'm gonna need 'em.
***