mulberryshoots

"Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?" ~ Mary Oliver

Category: Life & Spirit

March 14, 2012

backyard . . .


Someone once said on a greeting card or somewhere that “utopia is in your own backyard.”

I never gave it much thought until recently when I found myself searching for something only to discover that I already had it, or at least a passable version of the sought-after item. This could be a silver fork in a certain pattern (“past and present”) or when declaiming about my efforts to write a book when writing posts on this blog has become what one reader calls my “metier,” one that feels like a good fit for me.

I guess the antipode to utopia being in my own backyard is “the grass is always greener.” That is, whatever you have is (always) not quite enough. And somewhere, perhaps over the internet, or at the local drugstore will you run into Read the rest of this entry »

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March 13, 2012

retreat . . .


I have learned an important observation about progressing through life from studying the I-Ching. And that is to be still when it’s time to be still. I think that we all recognize times when movement forward is not happening. Or that a next move is up to someone else or forces that are externally beyond our control. In America, the cultural norm is to think of progress as a straight line trajectory up and away, all the time. But in real life, it doesn’t always work that way. Sometimes, the most appropriate stance we can take is to be still.

Retreat into oneself can be an act of strength, not weakness as often interpreted in the West. Preserving one’s integrity while holding still is one of the most powerful concepts that I have learned from reading about Zen, the Tao-te-Ching and other lessons from the I-Ching. Keeping one’s flame alight, although hidden, is a way to get through situations when everyone around you is not of your kind or who are Read the rest of this entry »

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March 11, 2012

a home . . .


Truth be told, one of my vices is magazines. Not such an expensive addiction, but one that I have confessed to for a long time. It’s probably not as costly as shopping for shoes or something like that. Here is what magazines do for me: they take me to a very different place. Australia, for example, where the culture of the place and people are captured within a magazine, a journal of a place and time, so to speak. I have been clipping pictures and articles, recipes and wish-list items for years and pasted them into my commonplace journals. When I look at these large spiral-bound treasure troves of what I was thinking about in those days, it is astonishing to observe how much has realized itself, or become part of my life, almost without my knowing when it might have occurred.

Today, I was looking at a couple of Australian magazines saved from 2009. There were so many bits of inspiration. Can’t wait to start filling my new blank book that has been sitting around for just the right Read the rest of this entry »

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March 8, 2012

eggs . . .

eggs benedict for christmas brunch


As you can see from previous posts like “oeufs en gelee” and “boiling an egg,” I’m fond of eggs. Really fresh, organic eggs.

There’s a barnyard farm kind of place in one of the towns nearby that I go to buy a couple of dozen extra large eggs every two weeks or so. When little Josie was visiting, her breakfast was some freshly sauteed baby spinach added to some scrambled eggs and grated cheese for breakfast. Sometimes the eggs are so big there are double yolks. So you can see how much I love fresh eggs.

josie, waiting for breakfast


scrambled eggs, spinach and cheese for josie's breakfast

A week or so ago, I received an email from the owners of the little egg buying place. There’s a small room with fridges where you go in and buy eggs on the honor system, leaving either money or a check sealed in Read the rest of this entry »

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March 6, 2012

magical thinking . . .


Even though I grew up in America, I am Chinese-born and am infused with Taoist beliefs and a healthy regard for a Cosmos that I am guided by when I pay attention to what is going on around me. Years ago, I had a bout of viral meningitis which only went away when I took concoctions of Chinese medicinal herbs. I had read a book called “The Web That Has No Weaver” about Traditional Chinese Medicine and met its author, Ted Kaptchuk when he was setting up a department to study alternative medicines at Harvard Medical School.

Recently, my shiatsu practitioner suggested a Chinese herb called “Restore Integrity,” to bring me back to a former self, prior to undertaking a life of over-responsibility, both personally and professionally. The Read the rest of this entry »

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March 1, 2012

seeing green . . .


Even though this winter has been unseasonably mild (hallelujah!) a friend and I went to the Lyman Greenhouse at Smith College, Northampton, MA a couple of weeks ago, a place usually reserved for snowbound winters. I had thought there were more exotic plants–or at least slightly unusual ones but most of what we saw was commonplace. That is, I had seen most of the plants somewhere before. The place was also looking a little rundown but maybe that was my imagination.

In any case, I took a few photos and downloaded them onto my IPhoto file. Then forgot about them. Yesterday, some of these images came onto my screensaver, slowly zooming in and out. And I swear, I could almost smell the fragrant, damp air of the greenhouse. It seemed like an oasis of plants. So, I thought Read the rest of this entry »

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February 29, 2012

the Dao . . .


I’ve been feeling a little virtuous lately because all week, I’ve been doing scheduled tasks on the actual day that I intended to do them. Most mornings, I eye the “to-do” boxes and move them to the next day or later in the week.

Yesterday, I cleaned up the word document for the first year’s text of the blog. I put together and sent my 2011 tax info to my accountant and mailed it. I didn’t spend any money all day except at the post office. I resisted getting a Dairy Queen cone dipped in chocolate to reward myself for getting my tax stuff done.

Today, I took boxes of books that were congregated downstairs in the entry halls to donate to the Worcester Public Library. I was greeted at the loading dock by friendly and helpful people who thanked me Read the rest of this entry »

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February 28, 2012

making a difference. . .


I went to the grocery store for a small amount of sliced ham and swiss cheese to have for our lunches last week. As I stood waiting my turn, the man who was waiting on the elderly woman made eye contact and was not only very courteous, but also took his time being helpful. He held up a slice to ask if it was the thickness that the woman wanted. Then, he moved over to the other person who had been waiting patiently Read the rest of this entry »

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February 23, 2012

anniversary . . .


Well, here it is: the anniversary of the first post on my blog, last February 23, 2011. It has come a long way since then and like much of life, has taken its own path.

When I first started out,I began the blog with an intent to model thoughts that might inspire others to share their ideas about reaching a point in life when one thinks about what’s left to do, especially if you’re like me and feel as though you have spent most of your life doing for others (uncommon hours ~ a new beginning.)

To start off, I loaded up the blog with ideas by Transcendental thinkers who were loners and encouraged people to follow their own path rather than to succumb to convention: Henry David Thoreau, Emily Dickinson (“I’m Nobody, Who are you? Are you Nobody too?) and Ralph Waldo Emerson (“Trust Thyself: every heart vibrates to that iron string!”).

I also wanted to include descriptions of the kind of help I have received from the Cosmos throughout my life without which I wouldn’t be where I am today (“serendipity and synchronicity”; “life is long.”) It was comforting to learn that Emerson himself had a strong mystic sensibility throughout his life.

Without really knowing it, my intention throughout has been to write intuitively: that is, write only when I felt the urge and to write solely about what came forth naturally. To my great surprise, I began to write some early posts about my father who had died in 2008 (“my father, myself”, “doubled and redoubled”, “kindred spirits”) I had not thought we had been very close, he, mostly preoccupied with himself and his career in astrogeology and then the study of the Tao-Te-Ching. I also reminesced about music and learning the piano at an early age (“Basil Toutorsky”, “playing it Bach’s Way.”) By now, the blog had begun to take shape as a kind of memoir/remembrance in essay format, some more nostalgic than others (“ashes to ashes.”)

One of the prominent underpinnings of the blog have been photos taken and generously offered up by my daughter, Caitlin. From the outset, they added grace and humor, pathos and interest to the postings. One Read the rest of this entry »

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February 14, 2012

past and present. . .


I don’t know what got me thinking recently about an old set of sterling silver that I had a long time ago. It was a very simple trifid pattern and there were, I think, at least a set of six or eight place settings in a worn, black leather case that zipped up. I remember that I impulsively (and generously!) gave it away in one of my cleaning out “less is more” phases. Since then, I found some inexpensive forks at an antique shop in Essex, MA. that also have a delicate curved trifid pattern–very simple and elegant to behold and to use. Over time, I’ve looked and tried to find out what the markings on the backs of both patterns were but didn’t get very far.

Yesterday, I had some time on my hands while waiting for someone. So I found myself on eBay scrolling through about forty pages of listings for “vintage silver forks.” Past page twenty-five appeared a two-place setting of forks, spoons, tablespoons and knives marked with a hotel mark from Europe. They were a Read the rest of this entry »

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