A Momentary Life...

[annabenedetti]

A couple days ago I was driving to the post office in the area I grew up in, it's familiar territory even as I've watched it change over the decades from overwhelmingly white to expansively diverse. I came to an intersecion with a clinica medica on one side of the street and a business on the other that had a nicely designed sign in Arabic. I have no idea what the business is but I really like their sign. As I sat at the light a short distance from a group of homeless who'd circled their carts, a cream-colored Rolls Royce with its unmistakeable hood ornament rolled past.

Next stop was Home Depot, and as I parked, two Franciscans in their brown robes and sandals walked past with a cart of home repair items. Franciscans have to fix their stuff too.

Across from my last stop, there was a car on fire, black smoke billowing into the sky and the fire department just pulling up. I sat in my parking space and watched a car try to drive past the cop blocking the street and chuckled as the driver got chewed out by the cop the whole time he was backing himself out of there. The firefighters were efficient, and black smoke turned to white. The young man in the car parked next to me was too engrossed in his phone to notice.

I had a dream the other night, I was in an elevator (common theme for me) and when the doors opened, the way out was blocked by sheets of plywood. There was a button on the plywood, and next to the button a sign that read: "If you push this button then you are dead." I pushed the button.

Apparently it's not common to be able to read in your dreams, but I've been able to in various ways and forms, and that was one of the more interesting ones. I've also heard that it's not the dreams themselves that are as significant as the meaning the dreamer attaches to them. That seems plausible. Dreams are your mind doing housecleaning at night, processing memories, anxieties, problem-solving, all kinds of busy work. Although your real-life experiences can be manifested in your dreams, I don't believe dreams are prophetic in and of themselves. I do think people will see prophecy in their dreams when they want to see prophecy in their dreams.

I had the chance to catch up with TH recently. He's doing well. I wish he'd have come back to take care of his own thread but that doesn't seem likely ever at all. I miss the TOL of the past. But as Evoken once told me, "don't swim with the current that's carrying you." Considering his words again after all these years I wonder what he'd say now about determinism. I wish I could ask him. There are a lot of questions I'd ask if people were still here to be asked.

Anyway. Merry Christmas to TOL past and present.

 

[annabenedetti]

While out on a walk:



Who could resist that?

 

[annabenedetti]

If you're interested in getting back to a life with more analog moments:

Read physical books.​

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Use paper calendars, grocery lists, journals, and to-do lists.​

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Go back to wearing a watch if you stopped, so you don't have to pull out your phone to look at the time.​

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Leave your phone on a counter, or in another room when you're at home. Turn off unnecessary notifications. I have everything turned off except for texts and calls.​

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If you drive and have extra time, try driving to a new place without using Google Maps. Buy a Thomas Guide (or similar).​

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Get yourself outside, and leave your phone behind, if you can. (This is harder, and isn't possible for many. It's not possible for me; my family needs to be able to reach me.) If you do take your phone with you: while you're out, don't pull it out while you're waiting in line or in the waiting area. Be in the moment, whether you're indoors or out.​

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[annabenedetti]

It's a beautiful day today, a sunny and breezy 74° with bright blue sky. Not bad for January.

The red-crowned parrots are back chattering in the date palms. So loud! I hadn't seen them for awhile.

 

[annabenedetti]

I was at Costco pushing my cart toward the register, tired of dealing with a very crowded store. As I moved toward a very elderly man taking a rest along the aisle in one of those walkers that has a seat, I thought to myself he sure looks like Christopher Walken...
He had the most mischievous smile, it makes me smile just to think of it. He gave me a thumbs-up, so I gave him a thumbs-up in response, and then as I passed by, we did a spontaneous fist-bump. Neither of us said a word, but we didn't have to, it was just a momentary human connection that it brightened everything. I'll bet he was a hellraiser in his day. He's probably still a hellraiser.

 

[Idolater]

Gay.

 

[annabenedetti]

Gay.

I'm assuming the very elderly woman he was waiting for might disagree with you. BTW, your overactive radar reminds me of ACW.


I was reading through this thread yesterday looking for something but not finding it, and a couple posts of yours under your old name and current name, they surprised me. They showed a different side of you that was good to see.

And the other thing, is that I've been paying attention to the night sky recently, how the constellations move around with the seasons. Of course, it's us who are moving around, since the constellations have been the same for millennia, but it's very curious to watch the Big Dipper and Little Dipper, and now Orion, in different places in the sky than from the summer. I've also been struck at the fact that all these stars are always up there, shining down on us, and that it's only when we've rotated away from the sun that they are visible. And, that our atmosphere is crystal clear, in order for us to be able to see these stars, shining from hundreds, thousands, millions, and many millions of light years away. And finally, that in looking up at the stars in the night sky, we are not seeing the night sky, so much as we are seeing into outer space itself. And even more than that, that we are in outer space, and the only thing keeping me breathing is this crystal clear sea of air that envelops the earth, protecting us from the dark nothingness.

All of this is because I'm now taking a dog out for its night time bathroom run, and there's not much else going on out there. :chuckle:

And on another note, I'm watching the night sky and trying to understand the earth's place within it. The Big Dipper revolves around the North Star. By now, it's hidden under the horizon where I'm at, but I did notice recently, emerging out of the east, the constellation Orion. He's lying on his back right now, but soon, he'll stand up and run across from the east to the south and then to the west, where he'll hide until next fall, when he'll once again rise up from his slumber, to make his annual walk across the sky once again, as he's been doing for millennia.

I love the way you animated Orion, which has always been my favorite constellation. I don't think I'll look at Orion the same way after reading that. I like the way you look at the sky, and actually experience it. So many people forget to look up.
I think you're always thinking. And I suspect the way you are in real life is different from the way you are online. Different in a good way. These posts of yours give that away, so thank you for that.