Laurie Klein, Scribe

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“Squirrel!” Or Harnessing Distraction

by Laurie Klein 14 Chiming In

“Squirrel!” Like the talking dog in the movie “Up,” I’m distracted.

While reading, peripheral movements at the bird feeder have snagged my gaze. A small rodent poses atop the Squirrel Begone Baffle.

Book forgotten, I fetch my camera.

ambition

I am easily baffled. Prone to distraction:

  • hunger clears its throat when I mean to pray, then my feet escort me kitchen-ward
  • a traffic accident occurs and I rubberneck
  • during party conversations my ears mimic satellite dishes; I eavesdrop on other conversations

Some days my head locks onto the wrong setting: S.W.I.V.E.L.

Squirrel!

A tree squirrel can rotate both hind ankles 180 degrees, allowing breezy, head-first walks down a tree trunk. Or the quick-shinny up a metal pole.

To learn from this one—albeit after the fact—I launch an imaginary conversation: “Do you have a message for me?”

Then I give him a voice and let him answer. You seem less agile, he seems to say.

Didn’t see that coming. Cheeky rodent. “Um, are you perchance … packing a metaphor?”

The squirrel does a double-take. Who me?

“Yes, you.”

Claws re-grip the pole. Coast is clear.

“Meaning …”

Dare …

squirrel makes his move

 

Standing fully extended,

the squirrel looks relaxed, yet

primed for action.

“Show-off,” I say.

I’m enacting my hunger.

I suspect he says this because in his furry mind, he suspects I am not.

So I change the subject

Whiskers, or vibrissae, surround the squirrel’s nose, mouth, and limbs. Vibrissae ferry nerve impulses brimming with tactile information straight to the brain.

Which restarts the dialogue. “Okay, Scamp, those whiskers suggest I pursue my current project with all my resources?”

The small head cocks, vibrissae quiver.

“Or … you’re implying a leap of faith will override my latest baffling obstacle: fear of finishing.”

Silence.

“I’ll discover balance in time for the next upward push?”

Nothing.

“Following my hungers, the God-given kind, might aid my mental agility?”

Tsk. Follow the ache; embrace the fun.

“I get it. Tend the small hungers within my reach. Then extend the reach.”

squirrel with seed
Timing. Intention. Readiness. Grace.

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Distraction: harnessed via imaginary dialogue. If you try this, let me know what happens?

Dug, the talking dog, in “Up”—(watch here).

Double take post 1: 

Double take post 2:

 

Filed Under: Small Wonders Tagged With: baffle, contemplative, distraction, double-take, squirrel! April 11, 2018

Playdate: Deep Breaths, Double Takes, Daydreams

by Laurie Klein 20 Chiming In

Playdate? O boy. What planet is Klein on now?

“Playdate” by definition may be a toddler gig, but experiencing one both enlivens and reorients us—at any age.

For instance:

  • Daydreaming: Has it been awhile?
  • Double takes: Remember, they’re quasi-athletic.
  • Jaunts: Why not enjoy beauty, risk, exhilaration?

You might feel overwhelmed, over-digitized, or overcome by a restless heart, or restless kids,

troubled by global violence and civil unrest,

weary of weeds and dust, arthritis, estrangement, or too many summer guests.

Could it be you’re running low on respite and short on play?

How about an Armchair Staydate, right here, right now? Preferably one that involves leaves (since I have pictures of them).

Let this fleeting cyber-jaunt elicit deep breaths. Double takes. Daydreams.

Taking if leaf by leaf

Is this one a mirror? Sometimes we mortals lurch around flattened by life, emotionally spent and spiritually threadbare.

leaf

Lord knows, we’re trying to launch the project, get back in shape, meet the monster deadline.

We may be pushing through envy. Anger. Inhospitable circumstances.

leaf unfurling through stone

One green sprig muscling through roadway re-frames hardship as possibility.

An ancient arrangement ensures leaves absorb our toxic carbon dioxide; we absorb their oxygen. I forget this. Remembering alters my view—altars my view.

Deep breath.

Who or what will I breathe a little life into today?

. . .

Notice these flowers growing between a hard place and its shadow.

Playdate: Horticulturally Thumbing a Nose at Rough Terrain

They don’t settle for blah. Or worse, bleak. They don’t forgo blooming until better conditions appear.

Deep breath.

Where will I inject a dash of color today? A softening touch?

. . .

Leaf through the Book

We’re each like a tree planted by water, the psalmist tells us, “whose leaves do not wither.”

Sure as Hosta leaves steadily breathe out water vapor (thereby drawing up more moisture through roots and stems), we can exha-a-a-le, pause, see what transpires.

Hosta, la vista

Deep breath.

In what way will I offer someone (including myself) a cup of cool water today?

. . .

No matter how we feel, we are not stranded, beached and alone beneath starless skies.

Sure as the moon with her silver pulleys hauls out the sea, the tide will change. Might as well watch for surprise bouquets at our feet.

seaweed on shore

Deep breath.

Where will God surprise me today?

. . .

Sure as our brain’s firing neurons numerically compare to gazillions of stars in the Milky Way, light eventually reaches us—wherever we are.

Polka Dot Playdate: Begonias Have All the Best Dirt

Deep breath.

When did I last stargaze?

What new constellation of Grace is emerging in those I love, and how do I encourage them to shine?

. . .

“Never say there is nothing beautiful in the world anymore.
There is always something to make you wonder
in the shape of a tree,
the trembling of a leaf.”

—Albert Schweitzer

Life is precarious. Let’s take a page from The Leaf Playbook:

  • Book a playdate (or staydate)
  • Cultivate double takes
  • Exha-a-a-a–le . . . and see what transpires
  • Court surprise
  • Wait for the Light

What’s your favorite playdate/staydate? I’d love some fresh ideas . . .

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More daydreaming here: http://bigthink.com/21st-century-spirituality/creativity-and-distraction
More about double-takes here
More about jaunts here
For more ideas, dip into this wonder-full book: Playdates with God, by Laura Boggess

Filed Under: Immersions Tagged With: daydreaming, deep breath, double-take, jaunt, leaf, playdate, re-center August 6, 2017

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Where the Sky Opens, a Partial Cosmography

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