We managed to slow summer’s pace down a bit by not doing a whole lot of stuff. Not going out to see the bands we follow, not going to parties, not going to the last Rhino’s game and not making entries here for a few days. We’ve also been working most evenings because we have a backlog of work for a change. And after work, it’s out to the porch to read. The world slows to a crawl out there.
Peggi took her mom to the doctor this morning They are trying to determine why she has such a hard time swallowing. A battery of tests are in order. She’ll swallow some barium on Monday and they will track the decent with x-rays. I took our 92 year old neighbor’s mail in this morning and I plan to mow his lawn tomorrow while he figures out how to swallow again. They removed most of his pallet when they cut out his mouth cancer last week. He wants to throw in the towel but pep talks may dissuade him. I gave him my best shot while handing him his mail. He was slurping an Ensure.
I do my best thinking while mowing the lawn, taking a shower or walking in the woods. If I’m working on a logo, and I do sketches all day, I’ll jump in the shower and the best idea pops into my head. Today I was thinking about god and I sorted it all out in the shower. We have two neighbors on our small street that boast of being atheists. One is a chemist and the other teaches poetry in the City school district and their conversations got me going on this matter. As a Catholic, I was raised to believe that there was some sort of Trinity construct with the all knowing God the Father, His son, made visible in Jesus, and this spooky Holy Ghost that hovers about. I never could figure it out. I know that when I buried our cat he was stiff as a board I will be too when I die. I don’t believe I’ll be meeting any maker in the great beyond.
I was looking at my niece’s Facebook photos from the recent Jason Mraz concert. He does a song called “Good Orderly Direction“. The first time I came across this concept was in Julia Cameron’s book on creativity. But I gather it is also sort of an out for addicts who use AA but don’t believe in God. The natural order of things is enough of a god construct for me.
Which brings to mind the old MX-80 slogan. “Often in error. Never in doubt.”
5 Comments
hey paul,
i really love your line, “Today, i was thinking about god, and i sorted it all out in the shower”. so funny..cracks me up.
Funny. Shower, lawn mowing and walking in woods are my top 3, too. If I could only get the lawn mower in the shower with me, I’d probably be the next Da Vinci (or J. Rotten).
One of my father’s symptons was inability to swallow….
(1) Keep in mind the words on the tombstone, “Remember pilgrim as you pass by, as you are now, so once was I. As I am now, so you will be … ”
(2) If there is a God, why did he create Microsoft Vista? (Join my friends at http://www.americanhumanist.org).
(3) It’s the A&R Report slogan. MX-80 was always in doubt.
also .. re: the shower
scientists believe the ideation/shower connection has to do with the effect of pulsing water on skin
psychologists maintain it’s the incubation aspect
others suggest all-weather notepads
http://www.organizingcreativity.com/capturing/capturing-ideas-scenarios/in-the-shower/
Swallowing is a big deal- after my father’s stroke he could not swallow and elected to go into hospice rather than have a tube in his stomach. Understanding that someone has chosen to die is an awe-inspiring thing -despite what Sarah Palin thinks. End of life counseling was incredibly important for us…