Eccentric Tea Woman

 While enjoying a quiet period of reading the other day, I learned that a man I knew really well had died. I blinked several times in shock because I had spoken to him quite recently. He was a talented artist and overall good soul. I searched social media to learn that yes, he had died. I was stunned. Recently, I met two women from Israel and soon, we were caught up in a delightful conversation. I showed them the library book that I was reading ( My Wild Garden by Meir Shalev ) and their eyes grew wide. Oh yes, he's really famous in Israel, they told me, and he died recently. My heart went straight to my feet and tears formed in my eyes. Although I had never met the man, the one book I was reading by him had formed a connection that I could not deny. So, in learning that he was dead, I felt as though a dearest friend had left this world. Thankfully, the author had written many books, so our connection was restored. So much Death surrounding us. Whenever we hear of a famous person o...

  I'm listening to the crickets chirp as I meditate and focus on my breathing. To hear their sounds bring me great (and quiet) joy that can not be replaced with anything else. So much noise lately, so much anger, so much "I'm right and you're wrong". I open my eyes once the meditation is over and reach for my cup of jasmine green tea. I take a sip and immediately remember the time when a woman told me that people don't drink hot tea during the summer. I remember how I smiled at her and said - I drink hot tea all year . She looked at me funny and then walked away from my vendor booth. The cricket chirps again and I wish I could make a tiny cup of tea to share with the insect. I'm feeling better today: more connected, quieter, more aware of myself. I realize that I no longer need someone to tell me my worth. I don't need someone screaming that I am worthless and I never listen to them. Right now, I have my tea and crickets outside of the window. The leav...

 I was sitting outside under the Colorado sun while waiting for the all-clear. You see, I decided to take the day off to enjoy the Denver Art Museum . It was one of their Free Days and I figured, why not! It had been way too long since I last visited. However, while enjoying some photography, the buzzers went off and a mechanical voice came on, announcing that there was a fire emergency and for everyone to evacuate. I sighed a little and made my way down the stairs just like everyone else. While most people tried to find a shady spot to wait, I sat down on one of the benches under the glare of the sun and decided to sweat it out. Several minutes later, a French family walked up to the bench and sat down as they happily chatted amongst themselves. I spoke to them en francais and they were pleasant in replying. They soon left and bid me an au revoir, to which I replied in kind. Several minutes later, we received the all-clear and I returned inside to the cool museum and viewed art ...

  This morning, I went to my OBGYN, where I learned a horrible truth that I honestly did not know - my stress level is not good. When I returned home, I was frustrated at myself for being overweight, a little fatigued due to waking up early for my appointment, and just numb. So now, as I sit here at my computer writing out this blog post, it finally dawned on me that stress has been fucking around with me for years and I didn't realize it and take better care of it. I didn't know that my stress levels were higher than I had imagined. I sat in my chair in my office and tried to return to the point when my stress levels started to climb. I think it was the time when my wonderful job in the AML department of a financial firm was taken away from me due to a company merger/buyout. When we received the news of that shattering change, many of us didn't know what was going to happen. Some immediately jumped ship and went to other companies, while others hung on until the bitter end...