Friday, September 18, 2020

WEDNESDAY-THURSDAY-FRIDAY

There's sun at 9 a.m. WEDNESDAY, but its not made it up over the buildings yet. Sad times in the news as usual lately and hard times too.
7 p.m. I spent a half hour trying to get in to my Zendo Zoom Wesdnesday session with the cell phone gift set to do just that-failed and frustrated I've been using the phone just for Zen meetings for months and most of the time it works. Because it loses it's charge, Ive been turning off entirely at the end of each session and last time I signed off was Monday. Who knows. It is beyond me tonight. Now watching the storm damage in Florida and Alabama. Winds up to 105 mph, bridges collapsing and high water beyond bearing and the fires are still burning in the West. Meanwhile, I am safe and still careful regarding protections from the Virus-masks, gloves, hand washing and staying close to home-I have no problems to speak of even though I am speaking. BLAH-BL-BLAH-SIGH. Meanwhile THURSDAY arrived chilly and grey.
Neighborhood Walk Tiny dog, desperate for attention is ignored by her caretaker in favor of his cell phone.
Another house with wisteria vine and Ivy.
Bravo Bob Woodward.
1:30 a.m. FRIDAY entered after an hour long talk, well, more like a listen to my dear friend Michaels entertaining and amazing memories and despite my suggestion he get a tape recorder so that later when he has peace and time he might write them up. I reatlly think he might have a book worth reading. Last bit, we spoke of the resurrection and his sisters beautiful photographs of her emerging butterfly, which he said he would post. It's a potent metaphor-So then I told him about process-How does a caterpillar rearrange itself into a butterfly? What happens inside a chrysalis or cocoon? First, the caterpillar digests itself, releasing enzymes to dissolve all of its tissues. If you were to cut open a cocoon or chrysalis at just the right time, caterpillar soup would ooze out. But the contents of the pupa are not entirely an amorphous mess. Certain highly organized groups of cells known as imaginal discs survive the digestive process. Before hatching, when a caterpillar is still developing inside its egg, it grows an imaginal disc for each of the adult body parts it will need as a mature butterfly or moth—discs for its eyes, for its wings, its legs and so on. In some species, these imaginal discs remain dormant throughout the caterpillar's life; in other species, the discs begin to take the shape of adult body parts even before the caterpillar forms a chrysalis or cocoon. Some caterpillars walk around with tiny rudimentary wings tucked inside their bodies, though you would never know it by looking at them. WATCH (10 minute Video)
2 p.m. What was one has become 5. They fight. Sadly, I have stopped leaving sunflower seeds. The screen is closed. Four of them now occupy the window sills of an empty apartment for rent across the alley
"Connie" stands guard on my sill.
This is hard for me, but I know what happens. If I feed her, they fly over and a fight ensues with flapping wings and threat chortles and all the seed falls into the alley. Eventually neighbors will complain and the super will have to get rid of them. Pigeons are hated in this city by landlords and many other people. Not by me (((sigh))) After several days they will fly away and begin to look elsewhere. I'll carry seed in my poscket when I go out and descretely drop some when I see them in the neighborhood. "Pigeons are as ubiquitous in the world’s cities as bad traffic, buskers, and late-night takeaways. London alone is estimated to contain more than a million pigeons, inhabiting the many parks and gardens that crisscross its 1,000 square miles. Given these vast numbers – and the fact that an urban pigeon seldom lives for more than three or four years – it’s a wonder why they are not strewn across city streets. There are several possible reasons for this.'-READ https://theconversation.com/where-are-all-the-dead-pigeons-98874 "There is no spiritual practice more profound than being kind to one's family, neighbors, the cashier at the grocery store, an unexpected visitor, the con in the next cell, a stray cat or dog, or any other of the usually 'irrelevant' or 'invisible' beings who may cross our paths in the course of a normal day. Certainly there are spiritual mysteries beyond description to explore, but as we mature, it becomes clear that those special experiences are only meaningful when they arise from and return to a life of ordinary kindness." -Bo Lozoff-
Watching the BBC News and none of it is good. Meanwhile the setting sun is reflected on buildings in the East of my Manhattan Window View.

1 comment:

Nancy said...

Wise words from a kind heart. (((Michelle)))
These are indeed hard times, and now tonight with the passing of Ruth Bader Ginsburg...
almost too much.