Zan's Zany Antics and Adventures
The noise grows more and more every day. It’s so much now that I can’t think, which I know is its plan. Bring on the noise, distraction occurs. Clarity is muddled.
I paused this week. I drove all the way to rehearsal and sat in the parking lot…unable to get out of my car. Why?
Because it was QUIET. I sat there for a minute, mustering the energy needed to get out of the car, walk those 50 or so steps to the church entrance, march up those stairs and into a room full of men all preparing to sing the spring show with me.
Then it was another minute. And another. Before I knew it, a half hour had passed by. And I listened. Nothing. Like I was locked in a room with no TV, people, devices, nothing.
And it was awesome. heavenly. serene.
I realize now that for a long time now, i have been remiss in staying rooted in part of what makes me …well, me. I haven’t (in a long time) had me time. My life is filled with the noises of everyday life. People, animals, technology, traffic… and I haven’t stopped in a long time.
I was talking with a colleague today. She had me talk for a bit, then asked me to draw something. Not the app mind you, an actual drawing.
I drew a stop button. Similar to the “easy” button from the commercials, only with the word STOP on it. under it, in tiny letters, i wrote “the world”. Stop the World.
The quiet is magnificent, and when you have it, it’s amazing. The clarity of thought, the ability to work through the noise in your head and make sense of it all, is quite amazing.
So a goal going forward. Find the time to find the quiet. And immerse yourself in it.
(via Beelog)this day gets more and more out of control. where is my stop the world button at… I need to push it and PAUSE everything to regroup.
(via Beelog)
Why Are So Many Americans Single?
Few things are less welcome today than protracted solitude—a life style that, for many people, has the taint of loserdom and brings to mind such characters as Ted Kaczynski and Shrek. Does aloneness deserve a less untoward image? Aside from monastic seclusion, which is just another way of being together, it is hard to come up with a solitary life that doesn’t invite pity, or an enviable loner who’s not cheating the rules. (Even Henry David Thoreau, for all his bluster about solitude, ambled regularly into Concord for his mother’s cooking and the local bars.) Meanwhile, the culture’s data pool is filled with evidence of virtuous togetherness. “The Brady Bunch.” The March on Washington. The Yankees, in 2009. Alone, we’re told, is where you end up when these enterprises go south.
And yet the reputation of modern solitude is puzzling, because the traits enabling a solitary life—financial stability, spiritual autonomy, the wherewithal to buy more dishwashing detergent when the box runs out—are those our culture prizes. Plus, recent demographic shifts suggest that aloneness, far from fading out in our connected age, is on its way in. In 1950, four million people in this country lived alone. These days, there are almost eight times as many, thirty-one million. Americans are getting married later than ever (the average age of first marriage for men is twenty-eight), and bailing on domestic life with alacrity (half of modern unions are expected to end in divorce). Today, more than fifty per cent of U.S. residents are single, nearly a third of all households have just one resident, and five million adults younger than thirty-five live alone. This may or may not prove a useful thing to know on certain Saturday nights.
- In this week’s issue, Nathan Heller writes about Eric Klinenberg’s new book, “Going Solo: The Extraordinary Rise and Surprising Appeal of Living Alone”: http://nyr.kr/HvawXS
(via emergentfutures)
I don’t get the option very often to lounge about, I’m on the go doing errands or what not. Not today, for once. Starting the day in the afternoon today, missing half the day, but worth it. Peaceful slumber with my cat taking advantage if it, and I feel at peace today. or calm. or rested.
dcu:
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS Mark:
Working on some stuff tonight for a buddy. Here’s a picture of Raven from the series Unemployed Sidekick. Go watch it!
New Ability to Regrow Blood Vessels Holds Promise for Treatment of Heart Disease
The treatment method developed by Cockrell School of Engineering Assistant Professor Aaron Baker could allow doctors to bypass surgery and instead repair damaged blood vessels simply by injecting a lipid-incased substance into a patient. Once inside the body, the substance stimulates cell growth and spurs the growth of new blood vessels from pre-existing ones.
Full Story: University of Texas
dcu:
Am I the only one who prefers Cap’s World War II costume (left) over his Avengers costume (right)?
