Visitations

Frances and I drove to an out of town wedding and returned again with little warning to my readers and no direct warning of my scarce presence in the blogosphere. Well, here I am.... And here are my catch-up blogs from Friday, June 17 through Monday, June 20 in chronological order:

Friday, June 17, 2011, 11:00 am

I'm sitting in a parking lot in Duluth, MN while Frances picks up a new pair of glasses she ordered. It's heavily fogged over and 50 degrees. I won't get any sunburn in this town!

I finished today's TCC practice by 7:20 am before the house was aflurry with activity. It felt wonderful to begin this quiet day with a peaceful practice (especially after yesterday's hustle and bustle of party prep and dinner with 10 guests).

I'm beginning to realize that the older I grow the more difficult it is for me to live with activity, noise, and hubbub in my home/private retreat center. So it was a welcome relief when Frances and I took off for the wedding in the small space of our car, just the two of us engaged in quiet one-on-one conversation.

Perhaps when house guests are present it's best to do several TCC practices each day. That way I can enter silence, return to silence, and be rejuvenated by silence in the midst of noise, activity, people, and personalities. That's my plan for this weekend and I'm sticking to it.

Saturday, June 18, 2011

I practiced T'ai Chi Chih this morning on the shores of Woman Lake in northcentral Minnesota. The weather was heavily overcast and a few boats quietly floated far from shore.

Three sets of goose mamas with babies, aged newly birthed to pre-teen swam past me and watched me move. A solitary loon floated and dived closer and closer, then further and further away.

I felt woven into the web of peace and silence that floated on the lake's surface along with the ducks, seagulls, and loons. And I was swept into the constant soft rhythm of water meeting shore. A light mist blessed the lake, her feathered friends, and me, the lone human rocking and floating with the waves as they swept to shore.

Ahh. What peace ...

Sunday, June 19, 2011, 6:00 pm

We missed the pouring rain that fell overnight but we returned to a pool of water collected at the end of our driveway and green wetness surrounding the house. Because of swirls of activity in the house and yard after we unloaded our gear and greeted and chatted with our house guests/animal sitters and our critters, I chose to practice T'ai Chi Chih outside on the damp, cool deck. It was 40 degrees.

It felt great to be back in our beautiful home and woodland yard. And, even though it felt cold, I breathed in the energy of woods and wet grass, and treasured the silence.

Monday, June 20, 2011

I rose from bed and practiced T'ai Chi Chih before leaving the bedroom. Today is departure day for our friends and I wished to feel rested and centered before I descended into the packing and loading activity that swirled beneath me. Plus I needed time to wake up and start my engines.

Sunshine skimmed the woods as I practiced, a clue that this day would be different from the past week, notable for its cool wetness. I focused my attention on tall, strong trunks and large green leaves as they rode the waves of breeze that circulated through the forest. And I relaxed into my practice before I entered the fray that surged below. Ready ... set ... go....