Blog Archives - A Cottage by the Sea

We believe in Boston

4/30/2013

If you can make it to Boston, by all means go to Copley Square and enter into the living memorial for the hope of the world.

I asked a policeman who was in charge of this, and he said, “No one specifically; just all the people who come to look and contribute.” Then we agreed that love was binding this together, that love from all over the world was in charge of this open-air church on the square, with its chapels of shoes, caps, flowers, teddy bears, and notes, messages, prayers.

Further down Boylston, right on the street, was a small memorial of the place. The only sign of devastation was the boarded up window of the Forum restaurant. It was business as usual for everyone else. Well, not exactly usual, but, ‘We believe it Boston’.

Confronting poignancy~

4/28/2013

It’s taking me a few days to settle down after my wonderful, yet active, visit to DC with my sisters. Now to ease into the silence, solitude and simplicity that helps me get in touch with my deeper, more honest self—well as honest I can be.

       When I am involved in too much extrovert activity I’m more apt to wake up with a sadness, a poignancy. It happens to all humans, for it’s part of the human condition, but it’s worth examining. For me this poignancy happens when I put out too much ego energy, when I count on my accomplishments to define who I am, when I start acting and believing that my self-importance trumps everything. This sadness reminds me that I need silence, solitude and simplicity in order to go to that soul place It’s a call for humility.

      Sometimes humility is easy to come by. Last night there was the Johannes Brahms Festival Spring Concert at church, with an array of performer from ages 5 to 95. And today there is a pristine spring day. Early April showers are giving way to May flowers.

Sisters' trip~

4/26/2013

At the National Gallery.

Back to airport simplicity this morning. I have had no silent time to write, but what fun my sisters and I had visiting the National Gallery, Hillwood Estate, the National Cathedral, the play 'Mary T and Lizzy K', Gunston Hall and of course all the eating and conversation. Thanks, Sisters.

Airport simplicity~

4/23/2013

I’m at Logan Airport, delayed for an hour on my way to our “Sisters’ Trip” to DC. It’s rather silent around here except for the TV that is giving us the latest on some ledged terrorist being apprehended. I moved my seat.

     It was rather simple getting through security, although I forgot that I couldn’t bring in my coffee. What isn’t simple is getting on the internet. Seems I have to pay. No, some young man worked me through it. I’m on. Speaking of paying, Massport was having a promotional on Logan Express fares—about half price. I’m in the money.

     I love the solitude I feel at an airport. In fact, I love airports and no question, if I were homeless this is where I’d live. The energy is intense but I feel a calmness within it. My travel plans may be out of my hands, but not how I respond to delays and all the rest that might occur. I just witnessed one of the attendants behind the desk listen to someone vent about the inaccuracy of the updated time posted for our flight. She smiled and when he finished he seemed to relax as he said, “Thank you for listening.”

    The only negative about this delay is that I have less time with my sister. We’re still planning to have lunch at the Smithsonian before our older sisters arrives via Amtrak.

Enjoying the forsythia~

4/22/2013

Today is a quiet day for me. I’m trying to settle down after last week’s intensity, which is no easy task because slowing down and sitting still has never been my strong suit. In fact, that has been true of me since I was born, so I am rather surprised that I continue to seek silence, solitude and simplicity and that I sometimes like to be alone.

At the moment I have nothing more profound to report, nor do I have some story worth telling. As far blogging goes, I admit that this is all rather boring. But that is my point: that committing to the way I want to lead my life is essential if I want to follow my bliss, if I want to feed that deep place, if I want to believe that at this very moment I am living the best life I know.

So off I go, walking alone in silence, simply to enjoy the forsythia.

The new normal--it's all to give away

4/20/2013

It’s over. Well, not exactly over because we know that nothing is ever over; it just changes and we get used to the new disguise. In the past week there has been talk about the new normal, the implication being that this new normal will last forever. I don’t really understand these terms, but I think they are useful; they are the best we have to make sense of what’s gone on.

So today I step out into my new normal world, which looks very similar to my old normal. My routine hasn’t changed but my heart and spirit have new information, feelings, attitudes, heartaches, and gratitudes to absorb. Undoubtedly that’s true for everyone, and I mean everyone in the whole world. For some, unfortunately their routines have changed, too.

A few hours ago at Fenway Park Boston renewed its dedication to the new normal-- strong, loving, inclusive, positive. We’re willing share it. As the expression goes, “It’s all to give away.”

Turning off the TV and taking a walk~

4/19/2013

Starting my Patriots' Day walk.

Today is the official Patriots’ Day here in Massachusetts. It is a little after 8 and although I live forty minutes from Boston, I feel simultaneously invaded and personally safe. To see Kenmore Square vacant, to picture parts of Watertown that I know, to observe the police standing with hands behind their backs waiting for instructions…. Well, I could go on and on but no need because very likely you, whoever and wherever you are, are probably watching the same scenes.

     At the moment I have left the TV room and come to the AR (Angel Room) to write and pray. It doesn’t feel healthy to stay glued to the TV, although a part of me wants to do just that. Last night, I tore my mind away from the news and attended an ecumenical service sponsored by the Sudbury Clergy Association at St. John’s Luther Church in town. It was a quiet, simple service, offering a comforting combination of solitude and community.

     Stepping away from ‘breaking news’ makes it easier for me to concentrate on the messages that President Obama, Governor Patrick, Mayor Menino and leaders of faith offered yesterday at the Service of Healing—to be present to the moment and to move forward.

     Right now I need to get away from police sirens and TV chatter so I’m going to take a walk, grateful that I can step outside of my house.

Floating across the finish line~

4/16/2013

There really isn’t anything new to say about yesterday’s bombing in Boston but it seems that everyone needs to say something. So here’s mine.

For all the years that I’ve been watching the Boston Marathon festivities from my living room armchair, I’ve felt something uniquely simple about each runner crossing the finish line. Oh, I know that the training and the running is incredibly complex, but as the runners turn the corner from Hereford Street to Boylston, there is a simplicity, a floating through the final hundred feet. They are ‘in the zone’, with something beyond themselves carrying them forward. I wonder if I will ever sense that again.

Hanging laundry--a simple task~

4/15/2013

Once in a while as I sit here in the AR, fingers perched ready to write this blog, I have no idea what I am going to say. But, letters, words, ideas appear on the screen and I’m on my way. At the moment I have wet laundry waiting to be hung in the cellar, so I know I will write about that. Laundry? You say. Not again!
Yes, laundry because it has become an important part of my silence, solitude and simplicity. It is very silent and solitary down there in the basement, just me, my laundry and clothespins. I love hanging each piece, choosing whether it goes on the line or rack. Although it takes more time than throwing everything in the dryer, this homely activity feels simple. Perhaps I’m dreaming of simpler times, back ‘in the olden days’. I admit that there’s a little of that idyllic dreaming, reminiscent of Laura Ingalls Wilder and The Little House on the Prairie (um, must start hanging outside soon).
But when I think of what it took (I know no specifics) to get my gas dryer manufactured, hooked up and functioning, I know I’m onto something simple.

Experiencing silence: find your spot

4/13/2013

Trust me, the goldfinch is in the tree.

Two of my best places to experience silence are out in nature and in my own home. I’m talking about the silence that makes me feel calm and centered, the kind that goes along with solitude and simplicity. A walk in the woods or on the beach in the winter are pretty safe bets for this kind of silence.

     My home is another good spot because I have some control. Right now I am sitting in the AR (Angel Room) watching a goldfinch perched on the tree, waiting his turn at my birdfeeder. Because it is quiet, I’m more apt to notice what’s going on outside my window.

    I’m thinking about this because earlier today I had to go to the mall to buy new walking shoes. I went to DSW, which is a rather attractive warehouse/store as far as displaying thousands of shoes goes. It was easy to walk past the high 4” heels and the equally high platform shoes. As I was trying on some possibilities, I realized that I was being invaded by loud, upbeat music. Once I became aware of it, it got louder and louder. What is the point of this music? Obviously to get me to buy shoes, several pairs, to move me from shoe to shoe, aisle to aisle.

     Well, I did find just the right pair, but one was enough. I couldn’t walk out of their fast enough to get home to the AR and see my quiet goldfinch friend.