Daring @ MindSay

Well, now it's official, I am totally invested in wildly enjoying my last year in the 40's and the next decade. I have joined a "Vaudeville/Burlesque Troop" that is made up of a wild and crazy group of people ranging from drag queens to leather freaks. I am doing a "Mae West" act and it is going to be sooooo ... much fun. My daughter does some of the 50's singing queens like Patsy Cline, Connie Francis and now also Tracy from "Hairspray".

 

Now, of course it is a unique contrast to my other lives, the Health Professional, the Buddhist, and the Activist/Hippy. But then I LOVE my life of contrasts, there is never a dull moment, always something to learn, tons of challenges, and most of all it's exciting.

 

I was talking about this to my fellow colleague and shrink yesterday. In the Emergency Dept., particularly the Psych Assessment Unit, we never, at least in recent recall, see people whose lives are filled with energy, activity, and excitement. We don't see people that Canoe, run, climb, sing, act, meditate, take journeys to volunteer in impoverished places, seek adventures, write books .... the list goes on. It's an interesting observation that those individuals seem to find healthy ways to deal with life and it's suffering. Somehow they accept life's pain into their path and make it a challenge and another hurdle to overcome, and they succeed. Those folks don't seem to come here wanting to take Overdoses of Tylenol, wanting tranquilizers to numb out, or seeking someone and someplace to just take care of them.

 

I realize we all, despite our outlook on life, have times we need a little help, (myself included), and do need to ask for it. I'm not referring such folks, I am thinking about the ones I see, sometimes more than once a week, who are so easily overwhelmed that the smallest event has them calling 911 and looking to Psychiatry for a quick fix.

 

So many others who work at making their lives fulfilling and dedicated have figured out that pondering the problem while taking out the Kyack, running, having tea with a friend, praying, or volunteering will be much more successful and satisfying. They have figured out that to solve and conquer a problem, to view it as a challenge to be answered, fills them with wisdom that they can carry forth to the next situation. Each time gets easier in some ways, because with each success one knows it can be overcome. This is the way I think healing occurs.

 

Therefore as a way to add another dimension to my already interesting life, I've decided I need more FUN. What could be more fun that taking a spunky, daring, woman I have always admired and add her into my own spirit ? So I've had my hair changed to a funky platinum color and am putting together some costumes and a great act. I hope to have it ready for a late October performance. Pulling it all together is a process, and a new challenge in creativity. Performing in such a way will be a whole new experience, though I have done lots of public speaking, and LOVE an audience, this will definately challenge my extraverted self.

 

I'll keep you posted  as I move along the highway to laughter.... and post pictures as I pull "Mae" together.

 

Be sure to "come up & see me sometime"

 

Namaste

Heather

You Are Bold And Brave

But daring? Not usually? You tend to like to make calculated risks. So while you may not be base jumping any time soon... You are up for whatever's new and (a little) exciting!

 

Speaking of which, I've done it!  I have done something I haven't done in over 20 years!  Yup, it's true!  I secured reservations for my daughter and I roundtrip to Charleston SC mid June.  We live half a mile from Oakmont Country Club where the US Open will be  ... mid June!  It will be intolerable around here ... NUTTS, even, so we're escaping!  :)  I just HATE spending money this way ... but ... it HAS been a long time, a lifetime almost, and I have worked berry berry hard ... so it's OK.  :D

I’m not in Japan any longer. In fact, I’ve been home for nearly two weeks. My environment, my atmosphere, my world is completely different again. It feels good to be back. But I left no regrets across the sea, only my childhood.

Everything I did in Japan and in India, they were worth every penny, every tear. There’s nothing in the world that I could have done that was more worthwhile last spring than leaving all I know behind and going to live in a country of strangers who speak a strange and difficult language. I am better able to handle myself and the people around me, to communicate with the world, to see through the perspectives of others, to understand the lives of people outside of America, and to live as a citizen not of a city or a country, but of the world. And we all are, it’s just that some of us have yet to recognize it.

We live in an age in which things are coming together, becoming more interconnected. Some of us hate globalization and would fight it, but it should be recognized that some forces are simply larger than ourselves. A person cannot stand up against the face of a tsunami and expect it to turn back. Globalization is here and it’s real, and while some are being harmed by it, many more are gaining. I’m not saying that I approve of every little detail, that I’m some austere capitalist. I’m just saying, if you can’t fight the rising tide, help others to safety. Go out and see what there is to the world, understand it as well as you can, and say, well I like this, but I intend to make it my job to fix this. And then, do it.

And that’s the life I’ve chosen, because now I’ve seen what it’s like on the other side. It’s not for everyone. It’s not glamorous or profitable, but then, it’s not about the recognition either.

This isn’t an advertisement to all of you to go do exactly what I did, and come back thinking you want to do exactly what I want to do. This is my statement of what study abroad did for me. It changed me. It made me into a better person. It gave me a cause in life. If one person can find so much in only five months, imagine what it could do for any one of you.

During my last week in Japan, I drove to Osaka with a friend for what I imagine is the last time for a very long time. We spent the drive practicing the music we had made. We spent the next day in and out of studios and rehearsals. We spent even the following morning in agonizing prep work for the show, and I was terrified. I was shaking, I couldn’t eat, my notes kept going flat, I was losing my grip on the dance moves … I was so scared that I threw up before the show. But I told myself that if I couldn’t do this one small thing on this one insignificant day in history, even though I knew everything by heart, then I was never going to be able to do anything in the world.

So that night, I did it. We were the opening act to the boxing tournament, myself and two friends standing behind me. Just one song, just one dance, and maybe eight hundred people watching whom I couldn’t even make out because of the brilliant spotlight trained on me. They had hired a professional film crew and were filming us for a music video. That was my debut. And I did it.

Six months ago, I would have failed.

So take that home and chew it, kids. If you were considering something like this in your future and you ever had a moment of doubt, I hope that my humble opinion on the matter may be of some help as you make your decision. Don’t consider the consequences of going. Consider the consequences of not going.

Daring to be in the world. My weekend of Shambala Warrior training was exceptionally wonderful. At level 3 I believe my training caught up to my experiences and other Buddhist studies and finally all fit together. So many of my questions just answered as I meditated and came back to the essential breath.

 

We spoke of how in level 2 we had explored our "cocoons", our habits, our way of being asleep in the world, zoning out to the tv, the use of substances, our anger, our self-pity ... the list goes on. This level we worked on being daring enough to step out of our familiar protection and start to live a life of being fully awake, of being mindful, of seeing, of listening, of compassion and basic goodness. We talked of how to catch those self-critical voices that tell us we are "not as good as", and we talked of discernment (the tiger) and of karma.

 

I had flashbacks of child trauma's that I was able to resolve quickly with the breath and the letting go. I finally was able to connect something that had been troubling me for 30 years. I am very pleased to put it away where it needs to be and to be able to have back my month of February. I am thankful for this path and excited for all that is available to learn.

 

On Monday I started a Tai Chi for Arthritis 6 week program. A great class that I can really get into. It will move on to different levels, but for now I like the beginners journey.

 

I started to get ready for my snow shoe adventure, buying warm socks and waterproof boots. It is going to be a hilarious weekend, 9 of us, all eccentric,  fun filled personalities more than happy to play some good practical jokes. I have to get some toy snakes and spiders, seems like a good thing to have for a few peoples sleeping bags :-) I'll pack my Eyore slippers and purple housecoat to wear while we enjoy some "hot toddies" as we say here in Nova Scotia. There will be lots of laughter and I look forward to coming home with stories from  "Wreck Cove".

 

Have a great day. I'll be back :-)

And so, the alarmingly fast onset of October heralds the beginning of the end for Jonathan Jackson. It marks a time of unparalleled business, travel, and hopefully adventure (although my adventures may not quite be on par with seanessie ; gee golly willikers, that woman is up there with Indiana Jones). The calendar of events started last Saturday when Christa’s longtime boyfriend (whom we’ve nicknamed The Boyfriend, since nobody else in the flat has a boyfriend) arrived from Germany, and thus will be our Sixth Flatmate (in both name and reality) until the end of the month. He’s so tall; I have previously enjoyed towering over Hayley and Christa, and being only an inch or two shorter than Marco. Now, my neck cricks loudly when I have to gaze up nearly a foot to talk to Carsten. Like Christa, he’s very nice and helpful and is currently working hard to become the Sixth Flatmate in our hearts. Though his English is a little clumsy as Christa’s once was, he’s doing well so far. The odd thing is that the flat is now filled with sounds of rapid German between Christa and Carsten, with Marco joining in on the action in all his bilingual glory, while Hayley and Dan comment on how wonderful English is, and I interject random Japanese phrases into the conversation. Anyways, the couple plan on touring the North and South Island, taking in the sights of the country, which means they’ll be gone as often as they’re here.

Furthermore, Dan’s parents are in town from America this week, and hopefully they’ll be able to get to the bottom of Dan’s lack-of-mail situation (which has earned him the title of Least Loved Flatmate. Hayley sends him postcards whenever she goes out of the city). For some reason, anything sent to Dan from home mysteriously ends up lost in the mail, the latest being “a box of ladies’ underwear, which is not mine,” says Dan, though he refuses to disclose any details. More on this puzzle as facts come to light.

This week also serves as the last week of classes. Yeah, come Friday, that’s it. Of course, it makes sense when you note that I started classes a month and a half before most of you. I suppose that a part of me is still adjusted to the American school schedule, and coupled with the feeling that time has doubled its velocity, I catch myself thinking that the semester has just started. I was absolutely dumbfounded when I caught myself telling a friend that I spent last weekend studying for my finals. Finals season is less than a week away, and though I’m not terribly worried about the exams, they did startle me a little, sneaking up on me like that.

And with the end of the semester comes a most ironic beginning: my volunteer work in the visual cognition lab. For some unfathomable reason, it has taken the professor and me three solid months to get work going on her latest experiment, but I look forward to joining the lab for all three weeks that I’ll be here.

Next weekend, I’ll be taking a jet boating and bush walk day trip, walking through “native bush that is over 8 centuries old,” says my pamphlet. The weekend after that, I hope to take a train ride around the north part of the South Island, though that’s still in the planning stages. Then it’s time for three more exams, and then Australia for a week visiting a friend (tons of pictures for that, I promise), and back home by Thanksgiving. It feels a bit like the climax of a movie, with our hero [insert close-up of hero here, and read in a gritty Texan accent], who has defeated bitter enemies and laughed in the face of danger, prepares for his greatest challenge yet [strike a pose]. Will he be able to defy the astronomical odds of not one, but four finals? What hilarious hijinks will ensue as he travels to that faraway metropolis, Sydney? Will he overcome his fears, and learn to swim? Can he possibly survive?

‘Course I can. You’ve just got to stay tuned and find out how it all unfolds.

And now for something completely different:


That’s right, even way back on my first day in New Zealand, I was still cool. That’s Auckland in the background, and me thuggin’ in the forground, yo.


This is a story that I have been saving, so do not let me forget to tell the tale. All I’ll say for now is that in this picture (that’s me in the center), I was invited to do the haka. Very cool, says you? Well, that’s how they treat VIP, says I.


Dunedin is home to the world’s steepest street, Baldwin Street, though it seems nearly every international student disputes the claim, asserting that such-and-such street in their country is much steeper. Don’t let the picture fool you, though; Baldwin Street is in reality a very, very tough climb.