Baby Steps

When I took the book, 'Life is a Verb...37 Days to Wake Up, Be Mindful, and Live Intentionally', out of the box I knew it was going to be a sensory experience. The cover itself is enchanting and draws the reader in. The quality and texture of the paper begs you to touch it - it is ultra smooth and cool and the perfect weight. Your fingertips glide across each page, easily turning them when it is time. It was created this way intentionally. You know when you are holding 'Life is a Verb...' in your hands that you are about to embark on a life changing experience. You will not skip pages. You will not speed read. This book is meant to be absorbed into your whole being. You will read, reflect, investigate. The color artwork throughout the book was created by artists who are followers of Patti's blog. The art complements Patti's words perfectly. And throughout the pages perfect quotes from a variety of sources are displayed ~ with intention.

This book comes with instructions on how to read the book. Seriously. Each page has wide margins -intentionally. Patti wants you to have a pencil/pen in hand as you read so that you can write in the margin. Express yourself in the margin. Do whatever you desire in the margin- they are your margins. Be mindful of your margins.

Self-help books come and then they go. I have read many and the reality is I read, I thought, and maybe I even changed certain behaviors temporarily. Then the book sits on a shelf, never to be read again. Forgotten. What makes this book so different? Why do I honestly feel that if all people would seriously read this book - the world would be the world I want my grandchildren to be a part of - a world that respects all people, a world that is not judgmental, a world that slows down and is mindful of moments. Because this book makes sense - plain and simple. Patti never talks down to us but she never talks over us. She tells her stories to us - in plain English. In honest English. It is refreshing. She speaks from her heart and you know that you can trust her. She is a master writer. She is Mrs. Brillant. As I read this book I often found myself chuckling aloud. I often sat with tears running down my cheeks.

The book centers around six practices. For each practice there are stories, Patti Digh stories, written with her wit and her clarity. Each story is followed by an action challenge and a movement challenge. This is where the reader becomes an active participant in the book. You don't just read the book, sit back , put up your feet and wait for the change to take over. Oh, no! You get your feet wet. You get your hands dirty. You might feel uncomfortable. You might wiggle. You will reflect. You get to draw. You get to create. You will write. You will buy candles. You will look at life with a new lens. You will learn how to live with intention. You will be mindful. If you want change in your life...live the book.

I believe that this is a book that I will never finish reading. I will 'use' this book over and over and over. And that is the key to this book. You don't just read it - you interact with it. You perform the actions and movements - maybe at first quietly, and you check to make sure that no one is watching but then after using the book repeatedly, you become empowered. You put the windows down as you are driving, feel the wind messing up your hair and you sing LOUDLY to the music on the radio. You have become one with the book. You live the book. You understand.

I feel strongly that our world needs change. I feel strongly that it is time for change. I feel strongly that this book will be instrumental in bringing the change that we want, that we need. Baby steps...I will start with me.

Revolution

I have been waiting for weeks for tomorrow, September 20th, 2008. The day when I will get to do the big reveal. The day when I will take my laptop, run to the top of the mountain, and shout, type and squirm with excitement as I finally tell all my friends and family about THE book. But I don't know if I can.

I can't run. I can't scream. I can't squirm. I can't focus. I can't sleep. I can't type. I have type fright. I have taken on the responsibility of spreading the word about a book which WILL change your life, if you are looking for change. I strongly believe that this book will be at the core of a revolution which will change the world. We just have to spread the word. That is what I am supposed to be doing here, tomorrow, and I don't know where to begin. My heart is racing.



And then I thought about THE book and an 'action' which the author had given. THE book is full of actions and movements - I promise to tell you more tomorrow. Please bear with me. The 'action' on page 174 tells me to think of a yearning I have (right now my yearning is to write this post in a coherent, passionate manner) and then write a short story about that yearning using the story prompts which Patti, the author, lists. So that is what I am going to do although I am going to change the prompts to fit this post. I know Patti won't mind. By taking the suggested actions to heart and making modifications so that they fit our current life situation we will be able to make change within. We will progress forward - which is where I pray this post moves- forward.




Before we go forward we must speed backwards to this past February when my husband and I went to India so we could attend our oldest daughter's wedding. This was a humongous adventure for the two of us. We had never traveled much except for an occasional trip to Canada and a cruise or two. So there was much to do as we packed, applied for Visas, weighed luggage repeatedly, unpacked, repacked, made arrangements for our dog, met with the travel doctor, and cleaned the house from top to bottom although I am not sure why I felt that was necessary since housecleaning has never been a priority for me. We called friends to let them know our travel plans and paid bills before leaving so there would be electricity when we returned. After hours of fiddling with my computer I figured out how to set my email account to leave an automatic 'Deb has left the country' type of message. In the middle of the disorganized chaos we tried to go out to dinner with as many friends and family as possible before leaving. We tried to connect with my husband's sister, Margo, and her husband, Rick before we left since we were long overdue for a night out together. We checked calendars, we emailed but there was no way we could get together even for a drink. Life was too hectic with the packing, the paying of bills, the last minute trip to the dentist. Good heavens, I couldn't travel to India with 'dirty' teeth, now could I?





Speed forward. I am sitting in the hotel lobby which is located right outside of JFK Airport. We have returned from India. I excitedly log in to check my emails. I have missed my family and friends SO much. I can't wait to reconnect, to catch up on their lives. I open up the email from Margo. My knees go weak. My heart races. I look across the lobby for my husband. I can't see him through my tears. Rick was diagnosed while we were in India with pancreatic cancer. 58 years old. A smile that warmed up every room. Twinkly eyes. Incredible heart. Married to the love of his life, his soulmate. Dad to three, grandfather to one. A born listener. Best friend to hundreds. He was diagnosed on Feb. 14th - Valentine's Day. We attended his funeral on March 14th. We will never have that night out together.





Speed forward. I am in Florida visiting mom and dad. My husband and I are still trying to understand Rick's death. We are trying to make sense of this loss. We are sad. I am angry. Why in the world did I put getting my teeth cleaned and my coffee table dusted over visiting with Margo and Rick? No one in India commented on my clean teeth and the dust moved in again while I was gone. I wander aimlessly around on my laptop checking out blogs. There was no rhyme or reason to my wanderings or was there? I will leave that for you to decide.





One of the blog titles caught my eye and my curiosity ~ 37 days. The blog author, Patti Digh, asks this question of her readers, " What would you do if you only had 37 days left to live? " I was hooked. I stayed at Patti's for a long visit. I sat out on my parent's porch basking in the warmth of the Florida sun while reading deep into the archives of Patti's posts and slowly I felt Patti's words start to work their magic on the hurt and sadness I had been feeling since Rick's death. Patti nourished my soul. Thank you, Patti.





Speed forward - Excellent news for all ~ Patti Digh has written a book. She has written THE book. And Patti invited me to be part of the blogging book tour. By taking the action suggested by Patti in her book on page 174, I am now ready. I am honored. I am thrilled. Tomorrow I will share with you the book review I have written for Patti's newest book ~ 'Life is a Verb - 37 Days to Wake Up. Be Mindful. And Live Intentionally.' There's going to be a revolution ...we all wanna change the world... and Patti Digh has the solution! Read all about it ~ tomorrow! You won't want to miss it.

Life is...

The book arrived late yesterday afternoon when I wasn't home. I was more than a little bit excited to find it when I arrived home yesterday. Don't bother to get a magnifying glass to help you read the return label - the name of the book isn't listed there. So, as promised, here are a few clues about the book. Put on your thinking caps.

Dancing.

Singing.

Relaxing.

Pointing.

Standing.

Cuddling.

Sailing.

Floating.

The fact that this busy author took time to autograph my copy of the book speaks volumes about who she is as a person - and the words she chose to write will guide me as I live each glorious day with intention.

And that's all the clues you are getting for today! And there is a logical reason as to why I am waiting until Saturday to announce the title of THE book. Really.

Spaghetti is NOT a vegetable.

Having just finished reading 'Animal, Vegetable, Miracle ~ A Year of Food Life' by Barbara Kingsolver, I am still processing the wealth of information which I read over the last month. This book was a slow read for me – not because I was bored but I believe that to do justice to this book one has to read slowly and digest each morsel.

There were times when I was truly inspired. I could not wait to go out and plant my own bed of asparagus in my fledgling garden so to the local garden store I went. I wanted to taste fresh asparagus as Kingsolver describes it in her book. I grabbed the first clerk I could and impatiently told her how I wanted to buy asparagus plants for my garden – quickly. I think she smirked at me as she shook her head ‘no’ and started to turn away. Whoa there – I need to start my Barbara Kingsolver asparagus bed NOW – what do you mean ‘no’?

“If you wanted to plant asparagus beds you should have done it a month ago – at least.”

Oops. I then tried to rein in my excitement as I read and I resisted ordering heirloom turkeys immediately. Maybe next year.

This book is considered a memoir but should also be considered as a serious textbook/reference book at the high school/college level. It is interesting how it was written as a family affair with her daughter and husband. To be honest it was Kingsolver’s writing style which allowed this book to flow as well as it did. Her husband writes with a technical style which did not always hold my focus. I enjoyed the recipes which her daughter offered but would caution the whole family against being a tad judgmental at times.

I did wonder more than once about whether or not their ‘experiment’ would have worked if they had stayed in Arizona. I wondered about the message their book might send to those not fortunate enough to be able to up and move to the fertile Appalachians.

The ‘vegetannual’ is a powerful teaching tool and would make a beautiful poster/print. I would have used it for the cover of the book. Now, whenever I shop, I stop and think about the vegetannual and I converse with myself about the distance that kiwi had to travel to sit on my local grocery store shelf.

This book would be the perfect book club read. I frequently wished I had someone to discuss various issues with, ask the many questions that came to mind and share my reflections with others.

Whether or not you agree with every word in this 352 page memoir, I think you have to respect Kingsolver for using the power of her words to force people to stop and think about our food and its origins. While one might not be inspired to run out and plant an asparagus bed, let me leave you with some food for thought: 'If every American family chose to eat just one (1) meal a week consisting of locally grown food, we'd save 1.1 million barrels of oil -- a week. '

Go Green !

It is a triple entendre morning for me and I have only been awake for thirty minutes! It is going to be a GREAT day! FYI ~ according to Wikipedia, triple entendres are a rare occurrence and here I sit ~ experiencing one as I drink my first cup of coffee. GO GREEN! A simple phrase, probably an overused phrase, but it is a VERY green day for me.

First, looking out my kitchen windows, enjoying my morning cup of coffee I can't begin to count all of the different shades of green that cover the landscape. Dark greens, light greens, bright greens, lime greens...the trees, the grass, the plants - all looking lush and alive. It's a great day. It's an extremely green day. To help you understand my excitement, I live in Northern New England and it has been a while since we've seen anything but shades of white and gray. GO GREEN!

Secondly, the Boston Celtics are going to the NBA Playoffs! The last time this occurred was 21 years ago when the Celtics lost the series to the LA Lakers. But now our time has come. We will once again play the LA Lakers but they have lost their 'Magic' so... GO GREEN !

And now, the third, and last play on words...my relationship with our environment. I have always tried to be a good citizen, a thoughtful neighbor and a solid member of our community. We recycle paper, plastic and glass. We try to conserve our energy usage whenever possible. We try not to waste water. I no longer buy water in plastic bottles. I don't even know how I fell into the trap of buying a case of water each week. Our tap water is safe to drink and is very refreshing. But I feel that I am not doing enough and have been working to educate myself as to how I can live a greener life.

I probably would have continued down the path I was on if not for my eldest daughter. She recently started a 'green' blog - one which focuses on living a better, simpler, more frugal life. If you would also like to be inspired to lead a greener life just click here. I have found a multitude of 'green' blogs to support me as I work on lessening my carbon footprint. I am always searching for blogs which are educational and compassionate to those of us who are just beginning to educate themselves. I stay away from the severe, militant types. I don't even understand half of what they are writing about and they make me feel guilty - and I don't need to shoulder any more guilt! I have found a very supportive blog over here at Green Bean Dreams. She is hosting the current 'Green Bookworm Challenge' in which I am participating. I recently read 'Fast Food Nation', gagging all the way through as I read about the meat packing industry. I am now reading 'Animal, Vegetable, Mineral' by Barbara Kingsolver. I will be writing a book review at a later date but I would like to say that my brain is sparking new synapses as I begin to look at food and life differently. I have so much to learn as I GO GREEN.

I have so much more to say but...it is a beautiful green day and I don't want to waste it by sitting here typing. I am going to go plant my veggie garden. Yep. I am working on developing a green thumb. It has been a long time since I had a veggie garden so this will be a learning adventure. I also joined a CSA in case the woodchucks eat my garden. I didn't even know what a CSA was until about six months ago and I am participating in the 'Eat Local Summer' Challenge - which starts today. I will be blogging more about CSA's, local eating and my adventures as a farmer. And I am working with some other community members to get the SwapShop at our town 'transfer' station reopened. GO GREEN!