Practicing Patience

Some wise soul said “Patience is a virtue” and after years of deliberate practice it is now abundantly clear to me why. In our super-fast, win-or-die goal-oriented Western culture we so easily forget that life is a journey, rather than a competition or race toward some end prize. The true prizes are to be found along the way, but if we’re caught up in a cyclone of “busyness” it’s hard to really see and receive the wisdom and joy to be gleaned along the way.

Autumn roses, the Pittock legacy and the spirit of Portland

Last week in a warm gusty day the sun and earth aligned just so; the autumnal equinox

Among my favorite places to visit in Portland is the Pittock Mansion. Another of my favorites, this time photographic subjects, are flowers. These roses are from the garden at the Pittock Mansion. I'd like to imagine they may be some of the very plants that sparked the Rose Festival, a Portland tradition Georgiana Pittock is credited with originating.

A dynamic and community minded couple, the Pittocks played major roles in the development of Portland's spirit. Henry Pittock took ownership of the Weekly Oregonian in 1860, changing its format to the daily paper we read today. He was also one of the first to ascend Mount Hood and he ultimately built a large commercial empire that included everything from real estate to mining. Georgiana helped carve a way for women's independence in the early days of the Rose City. She helped found the Ladies Relief Society in 1867, whose Children’s Home provided care, food, and shelter for needy children. Georgiana also worked with the Woman’s Union, and played a key role in building the Martha Washington Home for single, working women.

And I think of my dynamic couple-ship - the mufftastic Siosal union. What we intend to create -

Legacy - a noun; as in a legacy from a great aunt

A legacy or bequest, inheritance, heritage, endowment, gift, patrimony, settlement, birthright;

formally, benefaction.

Questions for the Universe

Often in meditation I go inward seeking an answer or clue to a question that thinking will not deliver. As I close my eyes on this earth,  my inner eyes open into the universe. All around me stretching forever, trillions of stars sparkle like diamonds against velvet and fiery, milky galaxies bob in the myriad dimensions. I let words go and slip into mystery, I am a soul poised to take flight, heading out into the real information superhighway in search of pure knowing.

To blog, or not to blog

As the number of weeks and then months increased since I last made an entry on this blog, I began to question why I started this blog to begin with, and what I wanted out of the experience.

Growth

As I approach my birthday and the end of 2009 I am in awe at the profound transformation that has quietly (and sometimes not so quietly) breathed through my life this year. Last December I never would have guessed that in 12 months I'd be back in Portland and an entrepreneur bringing to life several creative projects. As I survey my somewhat unexpected harvest from the year, I come to this blog, which I'd begun as a kind of annex to my freelance writing business as well as an avenue to discuss the things that are important to me, and share some creative work.

I knew I wanted to be here but wasn't exactly sure all that it was going to entail. The most surprising thing required was to simply endure great stretches of what felt like nothingness, doldrums, being stuck.  Frustrating patches of time where nothing seemed to be moving forward. Mostly what I needed to do was relax and allow many ideas and perspectives of the past fall away, making room for new energies and opportunities to enter my life and take root.

Plot of Origin

If you were to ask me where I come from
I would say without hesitation it’s not a story of birds and bees,
mothers and fathers, even seeds and soil.
I come from the time before time, when the nascent elements
were chemical fire dust of minerals molecules
and love. This is the primal answer, the truth.

But today, for a more immediate frame of reference
I come from the garden,
where my tomatoes have been rendered inert;
dozens of ghostly green fruit frozen in time.
As gardener, midwife to the plants, I withdraw my shears
and begin cutting away the abundance of lush green foliage;
sacrificing the fragrant leaves and doomed yellow blossoms.
As I sever the tough, gristly stalks the iron sky drops rain
dappling my bare feet, my blades, my plants cut down in their prime.
And I see then it’s of no use, an insulating membrane of plastic;
my tomatoes are destined for an unconventional recipe.

Veg Fest 2009

Yesterday Justin and I went to Veg Fest at the Oregon Convention Center. I'd been anticipating this event since August and found the cool, drizzly fall morning to be a perfect backdrop for a Saturday of free vegan food, cooking demos, classes and info booths from some of the coolest companies on the market right now. We got the entrance of exhibit hall A and waited in a line for about 5 minutes. It was exciting to see so many people eager to be exposed to veggie culture. In fact on our way out 2 hours later there was still a steady line at the door! Once we got inside and it became clear that everyone's main priority was downing the free food. Having attended Expo West, the massive annual natural products trade show in Anaheim, for the last two years I was prepared for crowds of sample hungry people but this scene was truly comical in its unapologetic crush for free yummy treats. So we dove right in.