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happenings

Huge happenings throughout the world always take center stage even though most of us can do nothing but talk about them-usually. And the small things in life affect our individual lives, and the lives of others, and we can do more than talk about them. Perhaps in the whole scheme of life there are no small happenings. All those seemingly uneventful things-all those individual choices made on a daily basis are adding up and trickling down and affecting the world in some way. Small things can pack a wallop, too.

Yesterday I had a delightful conversation with a young, old friend, he said, “When I think about what had to happen for all of us to be here, at this particular time, it becomes a staggering thought, because it could be that three centuries ago, someone dodged a bullit, someone else changed her/his mind shortly before a marriage ceremony, and someone else made a quick trip to the general store for a forgotten item and met his future wife.” An interesting point, I said. And listened and thought of all the ways there are of pondering life.

Small happenings and endless possibilites down through the ages can bring about huge happenings.

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one day winter will come, and it’ll be split pea soup time

I can’t eat lentil soup-can’t even think about it anymore. Have you ever overdone a food item and thinking about it brings on that no thank you feeling, followed by a little queasiness? Once upon a time I savored that soup. It remains popular. Every so often I see a picture of a big steaming bowl of it in a magazine-even in a magazine where you’d least expect it to be. But lentil soup and I have had it. We’re finished, for now.

The good part is that I’ve found something to take its place. It’s split pea soup. Is any soup easier to prepare than this one? My French Canadian mother prepared it early in the morning using salt pork or a ham bone. The smell wafted through the house. She was an early bird, and before anyone was up in the morning she was immersed in setting the ingredients out for upside down pineapple cheesecake, apple pie, and a favorite soup. And when those wonderful smells brought the household to attention she began preparing delicious delicate crepes.

Dried peas have a big taste all their own. It seems to me that no matter what ingredients are added, that distinct pea taste is at the forefront. The pea soup I prepare has these ingredients:

dried split peas-2 cups, pickd over for tiny stones, then rinsed6
onions-1 1/2 cups, chopped
garlic-6, chopped, if you like garlic, go for it!
ginger-2 tablespoons, grated
cloves-6 whole or ground to taste
carrots-1 1/2 cups, sliced
potatoes-2 or 3, chopped (optional)
salt-Celtic, to taste (optional)
pepper-to taste (optional)
water-2 quarts, or more

Place all ingredients in a heavy pot, bring to a boil, cover and simmer. Perhaps for 2 hours, longer if you like a thick saucy consistency. Can be cooked in a crock pot, too.

Ingredients can be increased, decreased, eliminated, other ingredients added, different spices. Dried peas, onions, garlic, water are the basics. Have fun, prepare it with love and savor.

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here and there

I put on a comfortable pair of shoes and walk the two miles to the train station and from the platform I stand facing the beautiful Hudson River. It’s the 5th of October and sweat can already be seen on the faces of people. No one is wearing a jacket. How nice it would be, I think, if we could all leap into the glistening water before us. And how funny that would be at the same time. Don’t you wish life could be that way every so often? You say to yourself, and perhaps to a few people standing next to you on the platform, “I’m not going to take the train today. Instead I’m going to strip down to my underwear, leave everything by the riverfront and swim today. What about you?” Hmm!

The train is ten minutes late (something about the tracks). Ahh, we arrive at grand Grand Central Terminal, and I walk-flitting between pedestrians-to my dentist’s office across from St. Patrick’s Cathedral. After that easy appointment I take a 5th Avenue bus to 23rd Street, get off the bus and walk west between 5th and 6th Avenues to Universal News and its big selection of magazines. Wonderful decisions to be made at this shop. With three magazines in hand, I walk over to 18th Street and Fifth Avenue then a little west to City Bakery. It’s packed, and one never knows how much food is left after lunch hour has come and gone. I head for the back area and see an assortment of nicely sauteed foods. Ahh, yes, there’s still enough left to fill a plate with all the delicious vegetables and fruits from the Farmers’ Market. I eat upstairs. Emi arrives. Her big purchase is a bottle of water. We wait at the check-out counter with its usually long line and where all the goodies are on display. Always there’s a dialogue here with oneself that goes like this, “No. you don’t need that. But, I’ve not really had any dessert lately. No? What about that chocolate bar two days ago? You know how you’ll feel after eating that baker’s muffin, or that enormous melted chocolate cookie. We’ve had this discussion before. Now stop it. Look at something else.”
www.grandcentralterminal.com
www.saintpatrickscathedral.org
www.unionsquarejournal.com/greenmarket.htm

We leave the goodies behind and walk to Union Square and hop on a train to Chinatown to see our much appreciated herbalist/acupuncturist. Again we happily leave with a bag of herbs tucked into a tote bag, and meander along the streets. The crowds in Chinatown can sometimes take your breath away. We don’t stay. It’s easy to slip into Little Italy from Chinatown. We marvel at the line already formed waiting to get into Ferrara’s on Grand Street, and we wander into DiPaola admiring its fresh cheeses and sausages, breads, pasta, bottles of olive oil, and much more. The temptation to buy is great, but schlepping it around is another matter. It seems just walking is the order of the day-to Mott Street, sometimes Mulberry Street, finally arriving at Dean and DeLuca at 560 Broadway to purchase a bar of soap for laundry and two bottles of water (we’re the last of the big spenders). That done we walk east then north looking at all the small fashionable shops, going in and out to survey the merchandise. < www.ferraracafe.com www.deandeluca.com

Conversation begins to center on where to have dinner. We walk up and down the most interesting streets and somehow arrive at good ole reliable Veselka on 9th Street and 2nd Avenue. It’s very casual; we were thinking Italian but Ukranian is fine too. The food is good and dependable. As we leave we notice it’s an absolutely beautiful evening in Manhattan; people are out walking in full force. We continue onward toward 42nd Street and Park Avenue. Emi is heading in another direction, but not before we listen to a gathering of musicians perched on the steps. Their music fills Grand Central Terminal and many people have come to a full stop, standing, enjoying the music. A most unusual and delightful sight at GCT. Good night, Emi. It was a beautiful day. www.veselka.com

On the train I take out Ode Magazine and read about what’s happening in other countries. In between pages I have to say a silent thank you for the lovely day I had.

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a baby’s way

For a lot of people being with a baby is sheer delight. When you see the anticipation in a baby’s eyes as someone comes and lifts them out of a crib, the trust a baby senses when s/he is handled with love, care and patience, the easy fun between baby and caretaker when baby makes eye contact and attempts with all its focus and energy to stand, watching a newborn’s speedy growth week after week, the happiness a baby expresses when it’s time for milk, it would seem that if everyone got the simple things needed during those completely helpless years the world would be in much better shape.

I was with Sophie in the Catskills this past weekend. What fun it is to be with a four month old; everything about her is pure, and just like her cousin Sebastian, she’s well-loved in all the ways she needs to be. When I look at Sophie I think she knows much more than she can let on at the moment. If a baby were able to talk, communication might go like this: I can’t do anything for myself, but it won’t be like this forever. So, if you promise to love me, keep me secure, take care of my basic needs, have patience with me, I’ll grow into a person who trusts life and will add to life in untold ways.

Awesome power is in the hands of an adult who’s responsible for a baby, and in the hands of a mature adult, imagine what can happen.

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square dancing

When was the last time you went square dancing? That’s all right; I’ve been only once. That one time though was terrific; fun even though I had no clue as to what any of the steps were. In fact, before being pushed into the circle, I didn’t know there were actual steps to learn in square dancing-just thought it was round and round, smiling a lot in the process-just like in the movies. What was I thinking? Apparently, I wasn’t. Now I know it’s a very happy way to spend an evening. And a marvelous work out is included. I’m beginning to think I might have spent time in the mountains in some of my last lives. Perhaps with the McCoys or Hatfields? I like the harmonica and fiddle, prefer jeans to a formal dress, find country music always enjoyable, and there are other reasons. Even bought a harmonic on several occasions and ended up giving it to a child. One more purchase of a harmonica and it’s mine to keep. Otherwise, I’ll never learn. Right?

Next time you hear there’s square dancing in your area, mosey on over and have yourself a terrific time.

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places of mystery

At the moment the thought is that, “The world’s deepest secrets all lead back to Sumer in Mesopatamia, the first known great civilization, located between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers at the headwaters of the Persian Gulf. In biblical times, it was called Chaldea or Shinar. Today it is known as Iraq.” -RULE BY SECRECY by Jim Marr

Who isn’t enthralled by ancient findings being discovered in almost impossible to reach caves in the world’s highest mountains? – Caves with magnificent art from ancient times on their walls, and beautiful temples carved out of the mountains. How was this done is the big question. Some think they know the answer.

T’ai Shan: A Sacred Chinese Mountain, a 7,000 step climb with magnificence views  along the way and at the top. (My cousin Pauline didn’t say much about Tai Shan when she visited there; it’s an outer and inner journey.)

Stonehenge – “Some believe these stone circles are linked harmonically in a golden chain of light which becomes visible to some minds at special times of the year.” -SACRED PLACES by James A Swan

The Chartres Cathedral, which I’ve yet to see, and why haven’t I? Among other things, no one knows the way in which the stained glass of the Chartres Cathedral was made as “…the secret of its manufacture was never revealed….” Imagine that!

Tarxien and Hal Saflieni in Malta, “possibly the most ancient of them all.” I’m grateful I went and saw. Hopefully, graffiti artists will not continue to do damage to Malta’s ancient sites.

The Pyramids, Indeed, -highway nearby,  vendors, wanna be guides, etc. are all there, too, waiting for the tourists. It’s fine-all part of our time, not the ancient. We can still stand in awe.

Easter Island, I met a gutsy, well-traveled, British woman in Panama who said, “You haven’t seen anything unless you’ve seen Easter Island.” I’m not sure that’s true, but she’s convinced, so it must be true for her. Gazing at 600 plus gigantic statues and the abu funnerary platforms has to be impressive. Jennifer Westwood, in her book, MYSTERIOUS PLACES, writes of the history of Easter Island, and, once again, it’s about: “It may be that…”, “Or it may have been….”, and “Legend tells of….” Easter Island’s secrets seem well-kept.

If you are in quest of places of mystery throughout the world, MYSTERIOUS PLACES with its many beautiful pictures, descriptions, and stories of the ancient world will set your imagination ablaze.

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joseph murphy, power of your subconscious mind

There’s a book that’s been in bookstores for decades and it seems to click with many people. It’s a book that doesn’t stay in my possession very long. It’s replaced when I find one in a used bookshop. I love used bookshops because they’re full of wonderful surprises. My newest purchase of The Power of Your Subconscious Mind indicates that in 1987 it was in its thirty-ninth printing.

Writers of these kind of books tell readers to first read the book without highlighting, underlining or feeling a need to comment in any way. Let the mind relax and absorb the words. Don’t try to understand it if it’s your first reading. Then read it again and again. Many times we read a book similar to The Power of Your Subconscious Mind and a passage that went unnoticed for a long time suddenly pops out at us. Often it’s at a time when we most need to read these words and when we’re ready to absorb their meaning.

There are always those people who will say, nah, I don’t believe in that stuff, and they go along their way continuing to inflict pain and suffering on themselves, and others. The thing about Life is that if you never try, and just stay the same, you’ll never know. . . . That makes perfect sense. Doesn’t it?

In this book is a wonderful chapter called “Your Subconscious MInd and Marital Problems”. If this particular subject is a concern in any way in your life, this chapter can clarify many misconceptions we’ve managed to accumulate through the years regarding marriage. However, you don’t want to go directly into reading this chapter without first reading and understanding what comes before it.

“But as we rise to higher levels of consciousness-as we attain higher viewpoints of life, then the very laws of nature tend to change. Also the electrical phenomena of life change. The energies of life are different. The norm of living changes. The actual realities of life are different. The limitations become fewer. The very “facts of life” change as we rise in consciousness! This is why miracles are possible. They are manifestations of higher laws which become available to higher levels of consciousness.” -THE ADVENT OF THE COSMIC VIEWPOINT -Bryant Reeve

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peter

Some people don’t seem to ask much of Life; and give a lot of themselves-to others, their work and their community. This sums up the way Peter lives his life. On his lunch hour and days off from work, he’s easily seen walking along town with his camera. He covers a lot of territory on foot-hardly ever without his camera. Peter is a librarian, and as a librarian he’s very approachable. It’s not hard to see that he loves children and is very kind and patient with them. And I’ve seen him sitting to the side in an isolated area of the library attempting to explain something to an adult. He does this with much care-giving his undivided attention when possible.

Peter is robust and walks quietly. He usually has the same expression on his face. There are people you see often and so you begin to notice them. If you say “Hi” first to Peter, you get a quick “Hi” back, and then he’s on his way. You piece things together from the times you see him in passing. And then with all the pieces, you realize that, yes, this person is special in that he genuinely serves people and then goes along his way. And you notice how peaceful he looks with his camera. And you see that he’s on his way to photograph Life. He’s an observer. I heard recently that his pictures are sometimes on display at galleries. I’d like to see them-just to glimpse what Peter sees through the eye of his camera.

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beacon, ny

There was a festival today in this part of the world, on the waterfront in Beacon, NY, alongside the Farmers’ Market (or surrounding it). Beacon’s a Hudson River town and, without a doubt, everyone there today was happy-perhaps energized by the sun and fun. Did someone place an order for perfect weather? The sights were splendid. Boats on the glistening water, mountains in the background, the train station with its every-hour train from Poughkeepsie stopping and then whizzing away, singers and musicians (a solar trailer powered the sound system), food (the popular apple fritters long gone before the people were), a truck which runs on canola oil was parked nearby. And there was the busy ferry waiting to transport folks from Newburgh to Beacon and back again. A lot was happening in that small area – a lot of good things.

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sundays

I’ve heard a few people say they don’t like Sundays. Is it because the next day they’ll be working at a job, and with a co-worker, or two that are not their cup of tea?

It’s been said that more heart attacks occur on Monday than any other day of the week. That tells a story; that’s something to think about. And do something about.