Round Twenty-Three

Well, I'm done with one event at work, and now I have a week to prepare for the next event. No rest for the wicked or the county employees, I suppose. However, the County Fair is over! Celebrate the small things, I always say!
Unfortunately, there is no coffee in the office this morning. I had to pry open my wallet and get a cup from Dunkin' Donuts. If fancy coffee is the worst thing to happen to me today, though, I will not complain.
Yesterday was my Birthday (woo!), so I have a whole slew of new clothes to make me feel pretty this week. I know it's a feminine stereotype, but wearing new clothes really does make me feel good. I don't put very much stock into my appearance, but I do believe in dressing appropriately. Having said that, I must now say that catching a glimpse of myself in the mirror and seeing that I look nice puts a smile on my face. I don't think it's vain, and I don't care even if it is vain. I am a Leo, after all.

Leo Moon Haiku 

 

Yawning lazily,

single cloud stretching across.

Rise as the Sun sets. 

I Feel Your Pain . . .

Physical Empathy is the term for an ability that I possess. I absorb the pain of those emotionally close to me, and sometimes the pain of those who are particularly open spiritually. If you fall into one of these categories, I will know if you have a headache because my head will start to throb.
I also possess Emotional Empathy abilities, but the emotions need to be strong. Like when everyone in my office is stressed out, I will absorb it all and become even more stressed.
This is why I don't like violent movies - I have actually vomited while watching a gory film.
I also prefer to not be in crowds.
I am currently living with my parents. My mother has a bad vertebrate and my father has a slipped rotator cuff.  Guess who gets frequent back and shoulder pain? Admittedly, I do have some of my own back problems - more accurately, hip problems related to my knees. A big problem that I have is separating what pain is mine and what pain belongs to other people. Then, once I sort it out, I don't know how to let go of what isn't mine.
It is helpful to feel another persons aches if I am doing hands-on healing, but I otherwise don't want to feel their stomach cramps. Getting rid of emotional pain that doesn't belong to me is even worse.
It's not something I want to block out. I just want to know what is mine and how to let go of what isn't. I want to be an active Empath, not a passive Empath.

Empathetic Haiku  

Eyes tell a story,

though your heart speaks louder still.

I will always hear.

Going Batty

I know the title might seem like I'm going to moan about my stress levels, but no; I mean literal bats. I love 'em!
That's right, I love bats. I think they're cute, they're helpful, and we need to appreciate them more. And I'd like to point out right up front that only about 10% of reported rabies cases in the United States are caused by bats. Raccoons are the more likely culprit, if you were wondering.
Also, bats are not rodents. Just so you know, bats are not rodents. Did you know that bats are not rodents? Hope you get my point - my point is that bats are not rodents.
If you've got a bat house around your home, chances are you don't have a lot of mosquitoes around your home. Ah-ha! A direct, relevant example of why bats are awesome! Bats eat all those little bugs that bite, swarm, and get in ones face. Thank you, bats, for making my backyard significantly less annoying.
Another fact - though not so relevant in the United States - is that their scat is really useful for pottery and building. In the U.S., however, it is home to a fungus that is killing them.
If you remove one element from an ecosystem, the entire system fails. You may not like bats as much as I do, but at least respect them as an important part of nature.

Haiku for Bats  

 Flutter in the dusk;

tell me, friend, what I don't know.

Your sight is stronger.

Shooting Stars

Just a short post before the meteor shower tonight!
Whenever I watch a meteor shower, I have a strange experience. I can hear the meteors.
This probably sounds like something I'm making up, and maybe it is just an overactive imagination, but I really do hear the meteors. They sound like if wind chimes and a slide whistle had a baby. That's honestly the best I can describe it. Maybe I'm just subconsciously romanticizing the situation?
I also hear snow falling, but other people have confirmed that they hear it, too. Only when I talk about the sound of shooting stars do people look at me like I'm crazy.
I always look forward to the Perseid Meteor Shower. I think that it might be because it always occurs the week before my birthday, though.

Music of the Stars Haiku  

 Symphonic Cosmos;

unheard sounds burst into light.

Can the Heavens weep?

Red Birds

My Grandma Gardner and I had an inside joke about cardinals. She remembered this, even after several strokes. She could no longer recognize who I was, but the link between me and cardinals remained. The last time that I saw her before her departure of this world, she looked at me and said "you like red birds, don't you?"
I often visit my Grandma Gardner in dreams. It wasn't until recently that I realized she has been visiting me here for some time. I was thinking about totem animals (as I often do) while driving in my van, going about 10 mph over the speed limit. Suddenly, a cardinal flew into the road in front of me, and I slowed down for fear of hitting it. It was nothing unusual - cardinals always fly out in front of my van. Then, it dawned on me. Cardinals always fly out in front of my van specifically when I'm driving way to fast.
Sorry, Grandma G; I didn't mean to make you worry. I'll stop speeding.

Red Bird Haiku  

 Wings like candied fruit

guide me safely down the road.

Singing songs of home.

Dark Moon

A lot of people refer to the Dark Moon as the New Moon. This is a common misconception - how can something be new if it has not yet begun? I don't go around correcting people, but I do my best to refer to it correctly and to be ready with an explanation for those who ask. When the Moon is cloaked, this is the Dark Moon. The first Waxing Crescent after the Dark Moon is the New Moon. I suppose it doesn't really make a difference - these are only Human titles - but for my purposes, I wanted to explain what I meant when referring to the Dark moon.
I love the energy of the Dark Moon. I was told years ago that the Dark Moon is not time for Magik. I now do not necessarily believe this to be true. I use it as a time of preparation and recovery of energy. I also use it as a time of study and appreciation. The Dark Moon is my time to refresh and rejuvenate all aspects of my being and spirit.
It is associated with the Crone who, in turn, is associated with wisdom. It is not a time to be afraid, but a time to put faith in the Moon's power and trust that it still shines on us though we can't see it. It is when what is done can be ended, and what has yet to be can begin.

Dark Moon Haiku  

    Pearl-studded blue gown,

made even more radient

by the Moon's non-light.

My Hands

Being that I'm a barefoot-er, I give my feet a lot of attention, and a lot of credit. I would like to take this evening, however, to talk about my hands.
As I've been rock climbing, I've become more and more aware of my hands. My hands are strong, my hands are unafraid, my hands don't judge. Conversely, my hands don't always do, and sometimes they do without being told. I treat them rough, but they are always gentle to me. Sometimes they act on their own, but they always work with me.
My joints often hurt, and my hands are the biggest culprits. They become sore, swollen, and tired fairly often. I recently (within the past few days) started meditating with my hands by immersing them in rice for various Tia Chi exercises. While I do this, I repeat affirmations with each position. Originally I was just doing it to improve my climbing, but after only a few day, I found it healed me in other ways. My beliefs in reflexology reflect that - being the main importers/exporters of Qi - our hands and feet can be viewed as miniature models of our whole body. When I plunge my hand into that rice, by channeling my vibrations to my hand I am really plunging my whole body into the rice to be stretched, contracted, massaged, and energized.
I know my feet, but now I am meeting my hands. Maybe the best way to come to love my body is exactly like this; one piece at a time.

  Haiku Meditation for my Hands  

 My hands are my own.

They will no longer pain me.

They grip and open.