Category: ruminations

Mount Vernon, Washington

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View of Big Lake from the overlook behind my friend's house.
View of Big Lake from the overlook behind my friend’s house.

I arrived in Mount Vernon, Washington two weeks ago. It’s difficult to accept it has been that long. It was last June that I last visited here, partly to see this part of the country and partly to visit my dog-trainer friend. This time I really wanted to see my friend and experience the northwest during winter. But my friend was the real key to this trip.

For the first few days I stayed out at her place. What a wonderful house where she rooms. It’s a design I might have created, an open floorplan with post and beam construction, mostly hidden. The subdivision is a bit remote and very quiet. There’s a really nice path to hike up to the top of one of the local hills. The overlook is of Big Lake, which is beautiful from the summit. The hike up and back is really great and one I loved.

But, there was no Internet connection and no mobile telephone service (just out of range). So, after a few days, it had to drive into town to get coffee and Internet service. Most of that time was spent dealing with necessary tasks, especially catching up on email. So, I decided to move to town, get a hotel room, and get some work done.

The day before my arrival was the third anniversary of Wife’s death. That weighed on me a bit, but not as much as in previous years and not in the same way. I still miss Wife. I expect I always will. She was a significant part of my life and had much to do with my development as a person and as a man. Her impact on my life and those lives she touched will always be there and always be remembered. That her touch is gone is sad, especially for those of us so close to her.

But it is what it is. She’s gone now. I don’t like it much, but then nobody asked me. Not only was it impossible to keep her, but had I been offered the chance to keep her but without her being healed, I would have declined. It would not have been fair to her to require her to continue suffering the way she did at the end.

Enough of all that! I miss Wife. That’s all there is to it. But I have no choice but to live and move forward as that is the only way I know to honor her life, her living of it, and she’d kick my ass if I stayed static.

Here I am in Mount Vernon, Washington. I’m getting to know this place and I like it. I like that it is not so cold as it was in Texas or Carson City. Yes, it’s plenty wet, but not the heavy rainfalls that I’m accustomed to when it rains in other places. It can rain like that here, but it doesn’t most of the time.

Maybe I’ll go back and backfill some days with images made. If I don’t, I’ll never catch up. I have so many new images since my travels began.

Maybe I’ll elect to stay in Mount Vernon for a while. I like it here. I like the mountains to the east. I like the ocean to the west. There is much history here as well. It could be fun to stay and explore. I might even find some work.

Third Anniversary — 2016

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An interesting sculpture at the Denver Art Center.
An interesting sculpture at the Denver Art Center.
The complement to the Man sculpture at the Denver Art Center.
The complement to the Man sculpture at the Denver Art Center.

For some reason, the pair of sculptures I saw at the Denver Art Center seem appropriate for this rumination. They remind me of Wife and me.

Three years ago, Wife died. What more can be said about such a watershed event? What can I do to honor her memory than to remember her most days and then set aside a few minutes on her big days to reflect on her life and our shared lives?

I’ll tell you what I can do — I can live. I’m not going to be that other man in the grief group (I went a couple of times and then quit) who was stuck in his loss. He could not get traction to process his grief, to live it, to let it permeate his soul with the shearing pain of that loss, and then to release that energy as his wife would want.

I watched him. I felt his pain, not just my own. I shielded myself from his pain as it was too much to take on the pain of another man’s loss when so close to my own. I thought “He needs help he cannot get here,” as I walked away from that first group session. I thought “He has to get his feet under him, do the work, process his grief, and honor his wife’s memory if he’s going to move forward.”

Then I reflected on my own internal journey, my own internal work. I was much farther down the path of my grief than the other man. No, it was not a race and there is no winner; there is no better man when dealing with this life-changing event. There is just the grief and the work. There is a necessity to do this work or that pain will kill the spirit.

I returned once more to see if the grief group held anything for me. I learned that I was already far down the process of my grief and decided that spending time with my few friends (those that hung with me) would be far better for me than spending witm with the other grievers. So, that’s what I did.

My gut told me to run away… to just get on the bike or in the 4Runner and go walkabout for a while. My aching spirit wanted the outdoors, the open road, and time away from shared places to process what happened. I wanted to be the Ghost Rider (see Neil Peart’s book) and let the clean air and open road purge some of the pain from me.

But, I didn’t. I did the responsible thing and kept after my obligations. I continued my inner work and did what I could for my employer.

That all changed last March. I was released from my engagement. So, I sold the house, rid myself of a bunch of things (still have too much), put the remaining things in storage, and left. One thing I learned is that my gut was right — I should spend time outdoors and on the road. These are healing places for me and I made up for my original decision these last few months by spending time with loved ones here and there across the country.

And, this is how I honor Wife. I spend time with loved ones and on the road.

I sense, though, that this time is ending. My walkabout is coming to a close, or at the very least is going to change. What that will be is not yet clear. It will be, though, when the time is right. My direction is to remain in the moment, for that is all we ever have. I will remember Wife on all our special days, and most others. I’ll review the images of us together, doing things that we enjoyed, our family pictures, and just remembering. I will continue to honor Wife this way. It feels right. It also feels right to leave the pain behind (mostly) and celebrate the happy times we loved.

I dream of her often. I remember her often. I miss her all the time.

Lack of Bandwidth

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A County Road bridge across the Colorado River near Silt, Colorado.
A County Road bridge across the Colorado River near Silt, Colorado.

I landed in Layton, Utah this afternoon. After fighting rain, snow, and highway spray for an hour and change, I gave up. I suspected a band of snow northwest from Salt Lake City and didn’t think it wise to drive into that. It is likely I would have decided to bag it and then have to hunt for a place to bunker in for the night. It just didn’t feel right.

So, Layton, Utah won the toss. I found a La Quinta, which doesn’t hassle me about my dog (wouldn’t anyway because she’s my service dog, but it’s just easier). I checked in early, took care of staging our things, and then the Girl and I crashed for an hour. I guess I was quite tired after fighting the highway.

I didn’t post while staying in Denver because bandwidth sucked dirt. I had “high speed internet” through an xfinity WiFi subscription. But it was definitely not “high speed.” I could do email alright and some light web surfing. But any work that required some bandwidth (like posting pictures on my weblog) just was not going to happen.

It’s too bad, because I have some decent images made there in Denver while I visited the kids. I’ll probably post a few of them over the next few days as I rejoin the world of the wired.

I departed Denver yesterday morning after being there about a week. It felt like it was time to move on a bit. I need some highway under me and some solitude.

The trip out of Denver got nasty as we approached the Eisenhower Tunnel. There was more snow than I expected and more traffic as well. The combination made for some slow going as we crawled over the hill. The mess didn’t dissipate until someplace west of Vail/Aspen. But the roads dried and some sun shone and that made the afternoon much better.

We paused at Silt, Colorado, next to the Colorado River for a pee stop and time to get out of the 4Runner. It was nice to get out for a bit and the windows needed cleaning badly.

But, I was tired and called it early at Grand Junction. But first, we walked a couple of miles. It was good to be away from the city and the requirement of an on-lead walk. The Girl reveled in her freedom, running from bush to bush, sniffing, peeing, pooping… doing doggie things. Between her enthusiasm and the sun, joy came to my heart. It was quiet, I was outdoors, and we were back in our beloved environment, walking.

I got a room, got us settled in, found a bottle of red wine, and a bite of supper. It was good to be settled in for the night. I spent some time reading, writing, and listening to music. We fell asleep snuggling on the bed. I love her warm and she loves to snuggle. It was a good thing.

I woke fairly early this morning, but not buttcrack-of-dawn early. I made some coffee, sat down with my journal and Bible, then read and wrote a bit while I woke. We headed out at a decent hour, got a bite of breakfast, refueled the 4Runner, and really cleaned the windows.

We passed a lot of familiar territory west from Grand Junction to Green River, Utah. it’s a route I’ve driven dozens of times, but it still never fails to impress me with the vistas.

We headed northerly on U.S. 6/191 to catch I-15 and head into Salt Lake City. This was mostly a new route for me. I drove part of it last summer on my way back from Denver, but not the southern portion of this leg.

We hit rain and then snow when we got to Salt Lake City. The spray was so bad that visibility was severely impacted. After fighting with it for an hour or more, I gave up. It just wasn’t worth the risk and I was tiring rapidly from the strain. So, we stopped. We’ll pick up the trip in the morning.

It’s good to have bandwidth again. I missed writing and posting images.

Howling at the Moon

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Howling at the Moon
Howling at the Moon

Many years ago, I had Kansas Leftoverture on vinyl. It was a favorite recording for a long time. The composition and arrangements were rich and almost classical, which was typical of Kansas at the time. They were also concept albums, meaning there was a theme or storyline that ran through the entire recording — by intent. That is, the writers composed the music with a theme or themes in mind and the writing reflected that.

One of the songs on Leftoverture seemed to stand out from the others. It was a kind of music break or interlude, much simpler in composition, quieter, and more reflective — Magnum Opus:

This foolish game, oh it’s still the same
The notes go dancin’ off in the air
And don’t you believe it’s true, the music is all for you
It’s really all we’ve got to share
Cause rockin’ and rollin’, it’s only howlin’ at the moon
It’s only howlin’ at the moon.

I was looking for a subject for my Project 365 capture a couple of days ago. I let the day get away from me. I sat at my temporary desk and thought for a few minutes, when I noticed my toy wolf.

If you’d like a bit of Kansas, enjoy Magnum Opus.

New Year 2016

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A old friend working on the final mix.
A old friend working on the final mix.

How better to spend the beginning of the New Year than with a long walk with my Girl and then a visit with an old friend? After my morning regimen, I decided I really wanted a long walk. The last few days have been frustrating with the residual snow and the resulting ice. It’s cold enough at night to refreeze the previous day’s snowmelt, so the streets are treacherous and there is no place to walk. Most of the walks are still snow and ice covered. Higinbotham was great, but there is still a lot of snow and so my pace is too slow for me to get credit for my exercise. (I permit this one bit of obsessive-compulsive behavior.)

So, this morning I decided to drive to the Tech campus and see if I could get enough clear paths to get in a good walk. The Girl and I drove over there and campus was essentially deserted. We parked in the Engineering Key, which brought back many memories. I put the Girl’s training collar on her, got her out of my rig, and gave her a chance to sniff around while I collected my few things.

After policing her poo, we took off. We walked the Engineering Key, then turned west and walked along the back part of campus over to one of the new buildings. Tech has a lot of new buildings. Then we turned south along Indiana and walked to the housing area. We headed east along 18th Street and then closed the loop to the Engineering Key. All told, we got about 2-3/4 miles in and made a good pace. The Girl had plenty of chances to run out after a bird and then be called back into heel again.

I have to tighten up her training a bit. It seems she’s forgotten some of her service work. With all of my friends around, she’s confused about who she can greet and when. She’s so social that she wants to interact. She’s also a bit impulsive. So, we have some work to do and I’m up for it. I love working with her.

On the way back to the motel, a friend sent a text message that he’d be at the studio if I was up for a visit. So, we drove home, got a bite, I showered (needed it), and we drove over the Amusement Park Studio and visited with my friend while he worked on a mix. It’s fun watching him work. I love watching someone work when they know what they’re doing. There is beauty in skill. The more skill, the more beauty I see. While he worked, I snagged a few captures with my iPhone.

Now it’s my turn to do some work. I have things on my list yet that I want to get done. I have only a few days before I head west again. I’m ready to be on the road, but I need to complete some tasks too. So, I’d better get focused.

I believe this year will be better than last. I’m looking for my Best Year Ever and am willing to work for it. There’s lots of uncertainty in front of me. But, my concept for last year was Embrace Uncertainty. It appears that concept is still active this year. It’s good.

Happy New Year and Welcome 2016!

Closing the Books 2015

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One of my ways of educating myself is to listen to a few podcasts. Since returning to the Apple ecosystem, I’m back to using iTunes as my principal platform for podcasts. I’ll have to write more about that later… and will.

A favorite author/podcaster is Jonathan Fields. He’s a life coach among so many other things. His work is worth the investment of time and energy, at least for me. I recommend him.

This morning, he shared a Good Life Project Riff entitled Closing the Books. Get it and listen to it.

Closing the books… that’s a business metaphor for a review of accounts, income and expenses, and evaluating those accounts and making sure the accounts balance. I’m in the process of closing my books for the year. I’m executing a review of my life over 2015. There are some big events in my life and some smaller events. My questions involve what happened, how/why events occurred, and what can I learn from my life over 2015? Which things drained my energy and which increased my energy?

I’ll use this study to consider what I’ll do, what I’ll work on, in 2016. That’s a process that I do every year at the end of one year and the beginning of the next. This year is a little different — a little more intense. I’m more serious about taking charge of my life, of my expenditure of my personal resources. I’ll do my best to learn from 2015 and use that to plan for 2016.

Once I learn what I can from my 2015 experience, I will then release my 2015 experience, put it behind me, and look forward to what comes next. I will use some techniques learned over the last few years to expunge negative thoughts, negative energy, from my inner world, forgive those who I need to forgive, including myself, and then turn toward 2016 and take the next steps.

I hope that listening to Fields’ riff was useful to you. It was for me.

The new year, 2016, is coming in a couple of days. I’m ready to move forward. I’m ready to see what is next for me. Do you want to share that experience with me? Let’s go…

Honesty

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The clip above is from Zack Arias, a photographer I follow now and again. He posts information/lessons from his experience and there is an honesty about him that is interesting. When I read Arias’ words, I get a sense that we are on this journey together. He has experience I don’t have. That’s why I’m along for the ride. But, there is a respect that comes from being on the same journey, even if at different points. There isn’t an attitude about him.

Watch his video. This bit of work was a turning point for his career. Until this video was produced for his guest post on Scott Kelby‘s site, he was still trying the make it. There is another video here in which he describes his journey.

Honesty really is the best way.

Christmas 2015

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Merry Christmas, early this morning on 25 December 2016. It’s about 0300 hours as I write this. Sleep seems to come hard to me these days. I’m not sure why and I suppose it doesn’t matter. I’ll be up a few minutes, then back in the rack until it’s time to rise and start my day.

This is the first year I have not spent Christmas at home, well, at my house. When I sold my house in June, I had no idea where I would be when the holidays arrived. So, here I am sitting in a hotel room, early on Christmas morning. It’s not sad, really, but it is certainly odd.

This is the day Christians set aside to remember the birth of Jesus, the Christ child. It was an event the Jews waited to see for generations. The prophets promised God would send a deliverer, which he did. He just wasn’t the deliverer the Jews expected. The deliverance wasn’t from their physical troubles; it was from their broken relationship with God. That relationship was long broken by sin.

Jesus came to fix that problem. He came to provide access to God be restoring our relationship to him by forgiveness of the thing that separates men and women from God — sin. This he did, much later after the birth we celebrate today.

So, today is the day I remember, celebrate, the birth of Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ-child. He is God-incarnate, fully God and fully human. He came to restore my access to God, which he did and I will celebrate that gift when Easter arrives. The dates are irrelevant; the remembrance and celebration are important, as is the act of faith that reconciles God’s children to God.

Merry Christmas, friends, and Christ is born. May there be peace on earth and goodwill to all, even in these times when it seems peace eludes us.

The Hero’s Journey

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A long time ago I first came across the Hero’s Journey when Steven Pressfield mentioned it in one of his essays. The HJ is an old device that is present in many of the heroic myths of our forebears and is still used by many writers.

The basic theme is the path a hero, who begins as an unassuming individual, is called through a process that tests/challenges his/her character, usually to the point of not knowing whether the individual can deal with the test. If the tests are passed, then the hero returns to save family, tribe, country, or world.

The theme works because it resonates so well. I sometimes think each of us is on a Hero’s Journey as we pass through this life. We move forward, facing the challenges placed before us, not knowing whether we will emerge on the other side damaged, intact, or grown.

I recently came upon another description of the Hero’s Journey through a podcast on Stitcher. The interweaving of the story line with bits and pieces of stories from real heroes fascinated me to the point that I shared the episode with a friend and now here.

Enjoy the podcast and consider your own Hero’s Journey. It takes courage to do the right thing. It takes courage to face one’s wrongs and mistakes and then to pick up and move forward to the next challenge with the will to pass the next challenge. It takes courage to live a life worth living. And, sometimes, it takes courage to to make another step forward.

I really believe we each are on our own Hero’s Journey.