Jewish Musings, Wednesday August 31

[louise]

What’s on your mind — how to make kugel? this week’s Torah reading? life goals? prayer? We are all engaged in weight loss/weight maintenance journeys and we are all Jewish or at least interested in Judaism. We like to eat, we like to discuss. It is our goal here to provide each other support on our journeys, to share experiences, to call on our rich cultural heritage and texts, and to help each other grow spiritually.

Some of us take weekly turns starting the thread:
Angelika
Holly
Lee
Louise
Lynne
Peachy

[louise]

I’m back to the yoga poet today, Danna Faulds

Waiting for Safety

Fern,
furled,
a question mark
waving in the wind,
holding to the fetal curl
and safety
of the winter womb.

Nothing,
not the gentle
kiss of the sun,
nor stream voice,
calling,
can coax
that frond
to unfurl
one single moment
before it does.

What I really like about this, besides the sound and the visual of the first line (Fern, furled, a question mark waving in the wind) is that things happen in their own time, not necessarily the schedule you want to impose on them. Not necessarily right now. I guess the one change I would make is the title – how about waiting for ripeness, waiting until you have the tools, waiting until you’re really ready. On the other side of the coin we have “Act as if”, “Just do it”. You can find support for either of these approaches out there. In the link Holly sent us yesterday we’re probably somewhere in between – approaching the change in stages. I very much enjoyed the part about keeping your eye on what you have already done, not just what you have left to do.

For me right now I know I am getting a handle on the grief, but it takes what it will take.

[lee058]

Good morning everybody. Hope you are all well today. I'm busy doing several loads of laundry and thinking about making whole wheat bread pudding, if I have enough milk. My supermarket had 2 for 1 loaves of bread, so now I have extra to use up. I might wait until this weekend because I would like to buy raisins to put in the pudding.

Speaking about food, H and I have been making plans on how to use some of the peppers we'll be getting on Friday. So far, we've decided on green chili and chicken mole. I don't know how many peppers those recipes will use up, but I'm sure we'll have plenty left over for another time.

Re today's poem: Maybe things happen only in their own time, but I think that preparation is also necessary first. Sorry I never got back yesterday to comment on yesterday's poem, but I couldn't put my thoughts into words.

I'll be back later. Have a peaceful day, Lee

[savtele]

Boker Tov All! I had written a nice response - hit "Post" and it told me there was an "error, you are not allowed to reply." Try, try again!

Holly, yes, this grandson has been battling addiction all his adult life. He's 29, and marrying his HS sweetheart - they have a 10 y old son together. She's a social worker (just got her degree in social work), working with teenaged moms, helping them finish their educations, get housing, etc.

Waiting for "safety" - perhaps. Or waiting for an inner voice that says "go now!" I love how the article and the idea of gradual change dovetails nicely with this. All my life, when I have been ready for change, Jimmy Cliff's song "Sitting in Limbo" has played in my head. "I don't know where life will lead me, but I know where I have been, I can't say what life with show me, but I know what I have seen,........this little girl is moving on!"

I have an appointment in town today, it will take several hours. Tomorrow mom has an appointment. So I've loaded up my crockpot - when I get home today all I need to do is make a salad & dinner is ready for 2 days. (I love my crockpot!) Meatballs made with quinoa (instead of breadcrumbs) Lots of onions & garlic.

I'll bbl to read. Have a good day ladies. Going to try this again.....

[gazelle18]

when I was a divorce lawyer, I dealt with grieving people all the time. A divorce in some ways is the worse death of all, as it is the death of a relationship, of hope, of dreams, etc. I would often try to cajole my clients into feeling better. I eventually realized that everyone grieves in his own way, in his own time. I could compliment a client's progress and encourage her to keep healing (like the "gentle kiss of the sun") or I could wisely counsel a client to do this thing or that (the coaxing of the "stream voice"), but in the end, a client would heal on his or her own.

I gave up on self help books a long time ago. For some reason they never "worked." Well, what wasn't working was that apparently I wasn't ready to change.

I like this poem, Louise!!

[peachymom1]

This poem reminds me of my DS25 (the computer geek). He's smart, he's funny, he's interesting, and he's a man of integrity. But not a single stage of development happens for him until he's ready. And I don't think he's the one deciding when he's ready, either. It's not a question of his will, or being stubborn, or being clueless, or anything else. When he's ready, he does it. If he's not ready, no amount of explaining, teaching, cajoling, sharing from your own experience, or anything else makes a darn bit of difference. Those of us who get him understand this, even though it's still frustrating to a degree, because the world goes on whether he's ready for it or not.

I'm doing much better with my eating this week. It feels so good.