one step at a time

The challenges in life sometimes seem repetitive. New opportunities for learning ─ and lessons not learned, or partly learned ─ are there to be “climbed” again and again. Watching this wonderful little bumble bee make his way up the steps made me so aware of my joy when something new presents itself. It is really only one step at a time, regardless of the time in life.

a turn in time

Autumn: watching the trees turn and the falling leaves accumulate in windfall; winter plants beginning to bloom in our Mediterranean climate; thousands of birds migrate overhead in the Pacific Flyway as they go south….the changing seasons, a turn in time. Today, I saw a wonderful sign of spring….seed pods that were brilliant orange flowers just weeks ago. Seeds that will generate in the winter rains and produce another kind of beauty when the days are long again.

A good model and impetus for looking seriously at what works, what is no longer relevant or applicable, and what can be modified in the contemplative shorter days of winter. Some days are less fulfilling now ─ a clear indication that plans and processes need revision.

Change direction: fairly easy to say and so very difficult to do….at least at this stage of my life. 

making a statement

Our neighborhood has been transformed in so many ways….Google Buses delivering techies to and from work in Silicon Valley, new restaurants opening like mushrooms after a rain, clothing shops that are so high-end that looking at prices is heart stopping. But, in the midst of it all, a former appliance repair shop has opened as a flower shop. Really basic and just sort of cleaned out the former junk. But, the new proprietor was busily painting this marvelous depiction of flowers on the street yesterday during our summer street festival, which is called City Streets. For one day, all traffic is removed and the street is open to bikes and kids and dogs and all manner of street performers. This fine new addition to our local business certainly made a statement. Brava!

each moment a new perspective

October brings the hint of winter, the joy of autumn and still gives reminders of summer. Summer so often in San Francisco brings fog and each moment in fog seems to have a new perspective. On relentlessly sunny days I don’t seem to have the varied experiences that a cloudy one can bring. For me, the layers of awareness, of mood, of hopes and dreams are needed, as is a more one-dimensional sunny outlook. The changing seasons, the changes in life and the hope of the future all seem to align in autumn. Preparation for winter? Consolidation of the summer growth? 

This photo is of autumn fog, not summer. Seems to be more dense and a bit darker.

Godzilla and the Golden Gate

Godzilla marches across the Golden Gate….well, at least in this wonderful print from the San Francisco Center for the Book’s annual Roadworks street fair. Each year a select group of artists create huge linoleum blocks of art to be printed by the extraordinary 1925 Buffalo Springfield steam roller. Crowds cheered each print and just to see the proud smiles of the artist made it a joyful day. I have posted about the Center on other occasions and it continues to be an artistic home for me after many years.  https://sfcb.org/

shadows or sun?

San Francisco is at nearly 38° north and the change in angle of the sun through the year is pretty dramatic. I have lived for 30 years in the shadow of a small hill to the south. Mid-summer, the sun shines straight down on the street. But, I love the period in the Spring and Fall when the sun moves far enough south for one side of the street to be in sunlight and the other in light shade. It just seems so wonderful to be able to choose between the two. Probably silly, but one of the things I love about the changing seasons.

a matter of perspective

Life seems overwhelming sometimes. And, I have learned through the years that it is usually a matter of perspective. I was deep into my own thoughts and concerns today, not focusing well on what needs to be done, only ruminating on what likely cannot be done and what should never even be considered. I needed to find some healthful vegetable for dinner and walked to a nearby Latin grocer. As I came around the corner, I saw for the second time in two days an elderly man going to do his shopping. He is in a wheelchair and is blind. He uses his red-tipped cane to gauge how close his wheelchair is to buildings, cars and the curbs. He was smiling. I was not. My dreary outlook had no element of the courage this man exhibits in just doing his daily outing. It is a matter of perspective, as I am sure that he did not see tapping his way along the street as a matter of heroic effort. I did.

This photo is just of beauty. I need that today and the rain drops on this rose are simple beauty.