Return of Mr. Smooth

Rosie to Doctor. New cleaning woman – good feeling from Rosie. Four hours work, difficult article.

Sunday – Trip to Boca Raton. Many good things.

Saturday – Work and very long walk to lake

What happened Friday? Not sure – will check memory later

I got in a full eight hours in my freelance work early today. It gave me time to get a walk in early. I hope to do the same tomorrow, as I don’t often get three days in a row in. I thought I was going to go to a meeting hosted by one of the World Hunger groups I support, but I was wrong about the date. So it left me with about two hours free. With many things on my plate, I am right now probably guilty of not using the extra time as productively as I should. But maybe I can still redeem a little bit of it.

Observations on my walk today:

Bush with red flowers nearby a pond that I’d never noticed before

A big dog unchained that thankfully didn’t jump on me

Beautifully landscaped flowers as ground cover under a tree

An Ibis off by itself with no others nearby

A very serene view of water near a second pond

I went for a walk today. I skipped yesterday, and I don’t remember why. The weather was great. I thought of a sad memory of when I was on vacation with my dad when I was 16. Because I was upset about problems with an ex-girlfriend and confusion about my future, I didn’t take the sights, sounds and experiences to heart as I should have. I thought of how I regretted that, but I realized that I now have an opportunity to soak in the beautiful weather and surroundings as I go for my daily walks and need not dwell on the past as I do so.

A few days ago I thought of what good times I had going on long walks for my hiking merit badge as a boy. One of the things I was supposed to do was report on each hike after the fact. The report was supposed to include observations; a few out of the ordinary that I saw as I walked. So on my near daily walks moving forward I intend to report “observations” as I see them, hoping to make them different each day.

A very bright purple plant in a yard.

Very good landscaping of a tree with interesting plants underneath

Shells near a water area

Unusual palmlike plants that looked like dwarf trees

A lone bird singing joyfully

I have to begin two journaling projects. One is in connection with work I am doing with a freelance client. I have agreed to do some of the steps he suggests for health and wellness material I am rewriting and editing for him. The other is more geared toward things I am doing to enhance my own spiritual development.

I will put them on my website for the time being, and I am backdating both by one day.

Saturday (yesterday) was a good day for the most part. I made some fairly significant progress in my study in jazz piano. Although I made what I considered to be a breakthrough in understanding some concepts, I still have a lot of work to do.

My wife and I went on a good short trip out to lunch. We ate outside, even though it is midwinter and a little chillier than usual, we sat by a bay and watched some boats, birds, and people.

(To be continued)

I need to attend to various pressing issues in my life, so I will not have the time to post to this blog (or my two other blogs) for a week or two. Thanks very much for reading, and I will look forward to posting again soon.

I walked in a wooded area near my home today for the first time in quite a while.

It’s late fall. It’s past the point at which a person can walk in the woods and be amazed by the majestic beauty of the changing leaves. Now, most of the leaves are fallen and dead, the trees are becoming bare, and the air has a slight chill. It’s at the time of the clear indicators that winter is coming.

In past years walking in late fall has left me with a kind of sadness – a regret that I hadn’t gone walking as much as I’d hoped and/or an unsettling nervousness about uncomfortable weather on the way.

I wasn’t overwhelmed by those feelings today – instead I felt unusually calm. That seems to be because of my stage in life right now. I’m not young, but I’m not extremely old either. I have many good things in my life to be grateful for. I probably have many more years ahead, but even if not, I’ve had some very good ones up to this point.

There are some difficult circumstances occurring in my life right now. I intend to face them courageously, peacefully, and with the knowledge that better times are coming sooner or later.

Today wasn’t a good day for me.

I had to go offsite for a work project to a location where relationships between many of the customers and co-workers are strained. I wasn’t sure of where I stood with a number of people, and didn’t feel as if I was at fault for that being the case. After a long day there, nothing occurred to relieve me of any degree of my angst.

During the day, I heard a co-worker that I’d never met ask another individual if he lived near a town not too far from my home. He didn’t, and then I interrupted and said I did. I though it was just going to involve a request for a ride, but it turned out to be a complex effort involving picking up and delivering manuals. I volunteered to do it.

Later, I began to ask myself if I did so motivated by psychologically unhealthy people pleasing, or out of nervousness, or from a desire to initiate a work-related ‘power play.’ But then I decided not to talk myself into believing any of those things. I concluded that I did what I did because I believe in the golden rule. It’s just how I roll.

The gesture will probably involve considerable inconvenience and some expense to me. I’m not sure that it will be taken in the spirit in which I intended it, and that doesn’t matter. It’s not a big deal, but I’m going to take a little personal and professional pride in what I did just the same.