Wednesday, February 6, 2008

daily practice - frisee and enchantment

"Get a daily practice" nags my co-dad, Sky.

"It can be meditation, running with Keenan each morning, or even something you have home grown like co-empowerment. but you need something to get more organized so you will be less frustrating and more respectful of people who you deeply care about."



More recently Angie has struggled heroically to help me to get organized - building tools and attempting to craft better work culture - shared document spreadsheet flow charts of things to do and checking in with me on progress daily.

Angie wants to have a philosophy discussion on why i remain "the most disorganized organizer" she has even know. Hoping to avoid this conversation, i developed a daily practice. It goes something like this:

Everyday, at last briefly - ideally first thing, i will go to the hammock shop and start weaving a hammock. I'll put my labor sheet at the end of the gig with a pencil. On the back of the sheet will be my to do list addendum (to be added to the Angie's automated system when convenient).

I'll think about what is the most important thing to do today, the one thing. And ruminate on the rest of my various projects and relationships and assess if i am doing the right thing.

As i stood in front of the hx, counting the 14 stitches i felt an amusing comfort that i might have stumbled onto something that i can do that might work. I was about 5 minute in but fairly deep in meditation when Apple bounced into the hx shop asking who was going to come play frisbee. .

I was thinking at first - i am just figuring this out, this is important, i should work on this daily practice thing more. But then i went back to first principals "What is most important here?"

Today is a beautiful day. The kind of mid-february 70 degree sunny day, which convinces you both climate change is happening and that some of it is beautiful. So in walking out to the frisbee field i recommitted myself to treasuring these fringe benefits of the collapse of the eco-system.

Eleven others - mostly strapping youth come to the windy frisbee field. I am there early, joking with Ezra. We created Boris Goodenov, for the question in a stylized Russia accent "Are you good enough?" "Yes i am Goodenov, Boris Goodenov from the Soviet Frisbee team." And for a brief period we were all calling each other Boris "Throw to me Boris" or "Boris pay attention" which was a call to everyone in its comic way.

i was the only one on the field over 30 - i guess Elsa is 30. i am happy to be there, i play a respectable game - even have one very nice catch in the end zone and some good passes.

i am deeply appreciative of this very low maintenance body of mine, which allows me to play this wonderful game with these amazing people. i think that every gift is an obligation. And the look on Apples face when i actually showed up on the frisbee field was enuf to melt my heart.

On todays list of things to do:

count blessings - and
1) brilliant intimate advisers
2) treasuring the collapse
3) appreciate rugged bod
4) Bucket and engaging ed

It is too windy to keep playing, we decide on soccer, but the ball is at Kaweah, a good 10 minute bike ride each way. I decide to go get the ball, but confusedly walk off in the wrong direction. Then i hop on a bike, but Noah has gone off ahead of me. I ride to catch up and then i realize it is foolish because he is way ahead of me and much faster than me, even when i am trying to cathc up with him - he is booking.

So i swing thru Harmony, shower, change to another pair of boxers - find a trade local t-shirt. And stumble into the tremendousness which is Bucket - who is using D & D monster handbooks and many multicolored and various sided die to teach fast arithmetic.

"You look thru the closing cosmic portal. What do you do?"
"Nothing" sez Willow
"you see something red, inside." entices Bucket
"we jump thru" sez an enthused Gwen
"Gwen is thru" corrects Bucket.
"I jump thru" hastens Willow
"Jonah?" Bucket looks to Jonah, who quickly complies

"You are on the top of a large grassy hill" Bucket begins in a calm voice
"And when you look over the side of the hill you see 100,000 of these.

"what do you do?" but before Bucket finishes Willow is already screaming and running in place.
"You see a door."
"We go thru it." Shouts Jonah.
"There are 100,000 of these guys outside, what do you do?" Bucket entices
"You could close the door."
"We close the door" advises Jonah
"There is a lock"
"We lock the lock" says Gwen
"To lock the lock you need to solve this math problem.
And you have to do it before the monsters break down the door." Bucket grabs a piece of paper and starts scribbling and the kids gather around excitedly.

3 comments:

Angie said...

nice try my dear, we're still having the philosophy discussion.

Rosie said...

This post is my fav. so far. It hops around the same way your mind does and it's chock full of content. The writing has a flow that your others are too overworked to convey and it's endearingly personal. Your flaws, your strengths, your excitement, it's all there. Delicious.

Rosie said...

moar! we is hungry for MOOOOAAAR