(no subject)

In LJ news: LiveJournal has decided to switch from Hitbox to Omniture "for aggregating site usage statistics". That post tells you about what kind of data they're collecting, privacy policies, and how you can opt out anyway if for some reason you really, really want to.


Yesterday (Tuesday, that is) I spent the day being restless and trying to rest in that restlessness: a sort of meditation, I suppose. Didn't turn on the computer, the television, the radio, or the CD player, no matter how tempted I was to distract myself. Did read rather a lot, but that wasn't escapist (even though some of it might have looked that way to someone who wasn't me). Walked a bit around sunset. Didn't talk to people other than the basic pleasantries. Did rather a lot of thinking and rather a lot of observing my thinking.

Later in the day, it seems like a craving for vitamin C hit, because I ended up in the kitchen making as much cranberry-blackberry-orange sauce as I could. Today that seemed like an amazingly good idea, because I felt like I was coming down with a cold. And, while this morning began much as a continuation of yesterday, beginning a few hours after waking I made up for yesterday's lack of distraction by distracting myself almost endlessly, flitting from one thing to another to another to another. Never left the house, though. Now that it's after midnight, I certainly should be getting to bed (and, one hopes, sleep). Here's hoping my immune system kicks out all unnecessary invaders quickly, because I am not in the mood for any upper-respiratory infections right now, thanks.

Hmm... I think I had something more to say when I opened this window, but I no longer remember what it was. Maybe it'll come back to me after a few hours' sleep.

Morning

All human beings are alone. No other person will completely feel like we do, think like we do, act like we do. Each of us is unique, and our aloneness is the other side of our uniqueness. The question is whether we let our aloneness become loneliness or whether we allow it to lead us into solitude. Loneliness is painful; solitude is peaceful. Loneliness makes us cling to others in desperation; solitude allows us to respect others in their uniqueness and create community.

Letting our aloneness grow into solitude and not into loneliness is a lifelong struggle. It requires conscious choices about whom to be with, what to study, how to pray, and when to ask for counsel. But wise choices will help us to find the solitude where our hearts can grow in love.

~ Henri J.M. Nouwen

(via _metanoia_ in catholic_quotes)

4

The Tao is an empty vessel; it is used, but never filled.
Oh, unfathomable source of ten thousand things!
Blunt the sharpness,
Untangle the knot,
Soften the glare,
Merge with dust.
Oh, hidden deep but ever present!
I do not know from whence it comes.
It is the forefather of the gods.

(via daily_tao)

(no subject)

So today I managed to find enough energy to drag myself to the library, where I did my usual rounds in the various sections, and I realized as I was checking out that the people who work there all seem to think I'm at least partially responsible for the upbringing of more than one child. It's understandable, considering I frequently check out books from the easy reader, juvenile, and young adults sections. The guy at the checkout desk today seemed so nostalgic for kids when they're "that age" (whatever age he was thinking of at the time) that I didn't have the heart to tell him that all the storybooks I check out are for my 37-year-old self and all poetry books are for my favorite AI. I do hope they think I'm a parent or guardian of these imaginary children, though with my grey hair (and let's not discuss the increasingly dry skin) some of them may think I'm a grandma. ::sigh::

With combined trips to various places, I got about 2.5 miles of walking in, of which about 2 miles was probably a bad idea. I don't feel as sick as I was afraid I might feel, but I do feel the kind of weariness which suggests that my immune system is not entirely happy with its place in the world and may seek to take revenge upon me in the very near future. All I can say is that I hope it has the decency to wait till I've got some kind of medical benefits again before it lets the microbes run rampant.

Well, at least on one of my ill-advised trips outside I picked up some cheese and frozen corn so I could have cheesy corn fritters for lunch. Mmm... corn fritters. I wish I'd been up for Stitch & Bitch tonight, though. As nice as it was to have corn fritters, I bet the company & the spaghetti would've been better. But since traveling that far this worn out would have been a bad idea, I ended up watching tonight's Smallville and Supernatural instead. I've really gotten to like both shows this season--not enough to prefer watching them to going to see people if I have the choice, but they do keep me sufficiently interested and entertained to tune in when I happen to be home. And I even care about SPN enough to want synopses of episodes I happen to miss, so that's one I'd probably tape if I had a VCR.

Right then. It's nearly midnight and my body is telling me that it was a very bad idea to exert myself so much today, so I should go to bed now and hope I make it till morning without anything going haywire. May all my imaginary children sleep peacefully through the night.