on the one hand, it's been a very rainy and strangely snow-filled winter.
on the other hand, it's been exceptionally mild, so we've been doing a lot of walking and wandering and exploring of various portland neighborhoods over the past few months. it is one of my favorite things to do.
these days, there are signs of spring everywhere.
{a photo project honoring radiance, one of my words for 2012 :: 52 photos that represent radiance, 52 photos that represent luminosity.}
today, i offer up a musing on radiance from my journal.
do i have a sense of myself as sweet and steady? not really.
i notice [redacted], wherever he is. do i have that same sense of myself? definitely not. i feel like i go unnoticed, am passed over, which would explain why i like to be funny. humor draws attention and i am afraid that people won't notice me otherwise.
i think about friends of mine - i think they would be noticed no matter what because there is something about them that stands out. you just feel better because they are there. i don't have that same sense of myself and i think i try to compensate.
that's related to radiance. what if i could trust that i was enough, and i was visible, and the right people are attracted to me. i wouldn't feel that same need to be funny. not that i might not be funny anyway, just that it wouldn't feel forced.
let's just say that it is a very rainy week.
on the bright side, i have discovered the tv show "lie to me" and am somewhat addicted, so do not mind an excuse to stay indoors. the show is a little intense for me, but it is so fascinating that i am watching it anyway and calming myself down with lots of salty tortilla chips. the main characters use micro-expressions to tell whether people are lying. if you see me in real life and i appear to be staring, please let me know. i won't mean to be staring but my brain is really trying to work out how they do it.
you can't fool me!
and i most certainly will not pose for a picture with you.
sheesh.
{a photo project honoring radiance, one of my words for 2012 :: 52 photos that represent radiance, 52 photos that represent luminosity.}
today, i offer up a thought on radiance from my journal.
i wonder what it would feel like to radiate the essence of me and of love for me/others. mmmmmm. there is a sense of a sweet steady grounded happiness.
today, i am thinking about noticing.
i am thinking about how, when your eyes are more softly focused, you do notice things that are important. in addition, you see those things in relation to the whole, instead of in isolation.
this feels important somehow.
at the moment, i have two favorite coffee places: the dragonfly coffee house (in the alphabet district, on thurman and 24th) and barista (on alberta, between 17th and 18th).
i was driving to the dragonfly on saturday to meet a friend. traffic was slow around and through the tunnel so, to amuse myself, i decided to look at the license plates to see if they held a sign for me.
the car next to me had the letters DAT. the car in front of that car had the letters BUY. when i read them back to myself, i realized they said BUY DAT.
we were planning to visit anthropologie after coffee, so you can imagine my delight at my sign!
happy monday! i do love mondays. they're such a nice fresh clean slate sort of day. even though i have let go of most of my "i'll start on monday" patterns, i still love the newness of monday. i suspect that will never change.
do you remember when i introduced the secret garden? something (or somethings) you love plus a year of happy surprise, delight, and gleeful anticipation? there are still a few spots left and, in case you are thinking about it, i want to remind you that registration will close on march 15th. that's this thursday. (it's also atlas' birthday!) i just got the photos that i am using to make the card set for {the circle of aqua} and i cannot stop looking at them and smiling. they are magical.
this past week was very full of sunshine. on a walk on thursday and a hike on friday, i did not even need to wear a jacket! i am the sort of person who is still wearing a jacket when the rest of portland is wandering about in shorts and a t-shirt, so clearly it was warm. i celebrated with gelato.
i hope your monday includes birdsong and unexpected magic.
(title courtesy of adele)
look what atlas found on our hike in forest park yesterday! a stone house!
this year, i am really noticing the first signs of spring. they appear so much earlier than i ever expect them. i was noticing them already in early february, and now they are starting to appear everywhere.
what are the first signs of spring in your neighborhood?
