Monday, July 06, 2009

A bowl of cherries and me...

Monday morning...and, I am sitting here trying to make a dent in the huge bowl of fresh cherries beside me.

I love summer fruits...most especially, sweet, red cherries. So, you can imagine my delight when I found them on sale last week for a ridiculously low price! I picked out one of the larger bags, not realizing the enormity of what I had purchased until I got home and placed them in a bowl.

I may emerge from this with telltale red-stained teeth and fingers...but, at least I will have a smile on my face!

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Dave and I took it pretty easy this holiday weekend in that I was still trying to get over my little viral thing that I brought home from MN and wasn't really feeling 100%. He did play golf two of the days...and he ran by his friend's lake house for a couple of hours coming home with some delicious bar b que...But, other than that...we pretty much just laid around the house like a couple of slugs.

We did watch the movie, Gran Torino yesterday. It starts Clint Eastwood and a group of other very talented actors...and, we both enjoyed it tremendously. I loved the journey that the lead character (Eastwood) took from being an angry, prejudiced man....to one of greater understanding. Nice.

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You know, I comment quite often on how blogging, Facebook, and Twitter, have all changed the way we communicate with one another. Even though I am a participant in all of the above, my comments are not always completely positive as I try to make my way through this new world of ours. I worry that we will possibly lose some of the personal human contact that is so essential to our being... and to staying closely connected with one another.

Well, some of that feeling has changed a bit for me today. After reading through one of my very favorite blogs the other day, I sensed that this lovely woman was going through a really rough patch. Because of the availability of further communication via email, I took the risk to reach out to her in that way. I just wanted to let her know that I was here, and that I cared.

She wrote me back with appreciation and let me in on some of what was going on in her world...and then I did the same in an email back to her this morning.

Is this long-distance friendship going to replace the personal, close relationships that we already have? I wouldn't think so, however, how nice to be able to make these online connections to broaden our worlds a bit!

I know that I will look forward to this, and many other, blogging friendships to come.

It's a new link to the world around me...and, a great chance to learn, not only about others, but a little more about myself.

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One of my very favorite magazines is Oprah magazine. I find it so full of wonderfully written bits of knowledge...along with other fun things.

It is one of the few magazines that I truthfully read from head to toe. OK. In all honesty, I do read pretty much all of my People magazine! (I can't believe that I am even admitting to reading that one...but, it makes for great cocktail party conversation!)

Anyway, I digress.

So, I was reading through my May issue yesterday and came upon this series of articles about things that one can do t0 lift their spirits. The one quote that caught my eye was by Karen Bradley, a visiting associate professor of dance at the University of Maryland. She says: "Even if you are just sitting in a chair, there are things you can do to change the pace of the day in a a way that's recuperative and uplifting. Take a minute to write your name in cursive with your eyeballs, or count your teeth with your tongue,or just hum along with some music. The muscles around your eyes will relax; your jaw will relax; you will start to breather more deeply."

She goes on to warn us that all of this may not have the same calming effect on observers. (I guess so!) I can only imagine how a person would react to someone sitting alone doing the above exercises without thinking that they weren't a bit "off".

But, I decided to try the eyeball exercise in the privacy of my home.

It didn't really lift my spirits....it actually only made me a bit dizzy...

Maybe I will try to count my teeth with my tongue....or just sit and continue to eat these wonderfully sweet cherries instead. : )

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Whatever you choose to do...have a lovely and uplifting day!

XOXO

3 comments:

Winifred said...

Glad you're getting over that bug you brought back.

Just keep munching those delicious looking cherries.

It was kind of you to take the time to write that email. I'm sure it was very much appreciated.

listen for azure said...

I'm sure it was very much appreciate to reach out, too. When I know a friend is in need, it makes me feel better to make her feel better.

I love cherries! I also love summer, when we can get so much fresh, wonderful fruit.

I hope the bug you're fighting loses the battle and you have a joy filled week!

Tabor said...

There are stories of lives being saved by online friends who have never met each other...but there are also stories about people who have roped other's into their false life stories and then took advantage of that. Like any other type of communication there are the good sides and the bad sides. I find that those online friendships which I have made that are long lasting and have stood the test of time are the best!