Challenge of the Day

Sit on the floor
cross your legs
interlace your right toes to your left toes,
or your right hand to your right foot,
or right hand to right foot and left hand to left foot;
thumb between big and second toe and on from there...

now try to move from sitting
to laying on your side
to laying on your back
to sitting again,
(without using your arms?)
and do not unlace what you have woven
during the transitions.




Another day of Feldenkrais training

Fingers and Hands

Imagine moving your hand/hands in the pattern of a jellyfish
or imagine grasping the shape of a hand-sized bell;
over and over,
focusing only on that move
while on your back
or your side
or lying on your front
sitting
or standing
or walking
for 5-6 hours
contemplating
sensing
feeling the movements around that movement
the lengthening of the fingers
reaching
but not touching each other
curving around an imagined shape
sensing the bend of the wrist
the movement around the elbow
soft
fluid
pulsing
like a breath,
all day
rolling from one position to another
with focus on your hand/hands
completing
and repeating
only that movement.




Welcome to Feldenkrais.

Another two week Feldenkrais Training Session has begun.



(And thanks J, for the use of your art)

On My Desk

Cat on table at computer
white and black curly whiskers
wild colors painted through fur; browns, golds and reds
light-sage-green, unblinking eyes thinking deep thoughts
wet, white chin
twitchy tail and tufted ears

can she type?
for I have no thoughts tonight.

Remember

Ryder Studio School Show on Canyon Road

Ryder Studio School exhibition
at Canyon Road Contemporary Arts,
Santa Fe, May 22nd through June 1st.




Open house last night,
and perhaps another next Friday.




During Memorial Day weekend;
painting demonstrations at the front porch.






Need more photos of the Opening?
check the Ryder Studio blog at:
RSB

Memorial Day

Monday:

Consider visiting and honoring a friend who is a veteran.
Or visit a cemetery - those you knew and those you did not know.

Memorial Day
is for thanks
and prayers
for those who have served
and those yet to serve.

If you serve your country;
thank you.
M

The American Dream - Winner(s)

I think the American Dream would just have to be the idea that we are all given as children: that you can be anything you want to be, and there are opportunities for all. I think Americans generally have a boundless sense of optimism and enthusiasm that attracts people to our country from all over the globe. The American Dream is that anything is possible!

-Lisanne

*******************************

First Runner-up:

Perhaps it's easiest to say that I don't know what my American Dream is, because it changes with me. I have been called closed-minded in the past, but I dream of an America where people judge each other on their own merits and abilities and not upon arbitrary societal labels that have nothing to do with the heart of a person. I dream of a comfortable life but know that money causes more problems than it solves. I wish Americans were more literate than they are, to realize that Thoreau was not a crank living at the edge of the village but a man searching for his soul and the soul of his country. I wish that rampant consumerism wasn't the outer symbol of an inner soul, even if I do plug in my iPod and thereby at times make the world go away, a musical cone of silence.

-Bob

*******************************

Congratulations Lisanne and Bob!

Your prizes will be in the mail.

To all entrants: Drop me a comment
with your address
so that I may send everyone
a small greeting from Santa Fe.

Keep dreaming!
M

Hiking Bandelier National Park

Hiking today with J & Corrie,
a contract physical therapist I had worked with
in Peru, Illinois last winter.




Drank much water
during the 5 hours of hiking,
but still had a red face
at the end of the day.
(Work - not sun!)




Cowboy hat
and forest-green pants;
I thought perhaps
I could pass as a park ranger,
but the red face ruined my disguise.

Finding Voice

She finally found her voice in Santa Fe.
Before; she had been quiet and shy,
unwilling to meet strangers.
Nervous about being touched or held.
She was hungry for contact
and yet afraid.
An individual of the night
slinking in and out of shadows
running from the light.
She had always been proud and powerful,
and was not one to shrink from fighting
for what she knew was hers.
She was not large, but she radiated energy
and grace, and silliness, and a childlike wonder of her world.

But in Santa Fe she mellowed
and began reaching out to those around her.
First, only the closest were allowed to touch and hold,
until she herself decided to initiate contact.
Then she began to willingly meet others
nearby at first
and then reaching to those from farther away.
She could sense good
and was pulled to learn more about it.

Now in Santa Fe, she sings freely;
unabashed
full volume
and full of energy.
She runs to greet friends
and strangers;
quickly making new friends
with every new someone she meets.

She is no longer afraid of touch
and will now even enjoy frequent
lap-sits
shoulder-shakes
ear-tickles
and especially
belly-rubs.

Luna has found her voice
and her place
in Santa Fe.




M

"Other Life" American Dream

There is your dream life
and your dream mate
your dream house
dream vacation
maybe even a dream meal/dessert in your mind.

What about
other dreams?



Back of your mind - dreams?

Yes, I have spoke about
childhood dreams
and imagination.

What about dreams
if you were to lead another life?


Sometimes (usually while driving), I speak of
"in my other life..."
I have always assumed I would
drive a cab



in my other life.

I love to drive.
If money and time were no object
I have always wanted to try


race car driving
or
extreme defensive driving (FBI, CIA?)



or
off-roading
or
getting a job with "Motor Week"
test driving cars before they
hit the showrooms.

I love driving on really wide open roads
I love crazy city driving
I prefer stick shifts
I love the smell of "new car"
I even enjoyed spending time recently,
at the Department of Motor Vehicles;
they indicated how they appreciated
"how mellow I was" and said I should
"apply for a job here".
I love the smell of tires in a tire shop.
I like truck stops.
I love driving 80 MPH with all the windows down
listening to Credence Clearwater Revival.



I love junk yards.
I enjoy car shows.



I like seeing older taillights ahead of me,
guessing the make, model and year of the car
and being right.

Is this a real American Dream
or a pun, chuckle, laugh?

Not sure,
but I just emailed a query
about a job opening:
"Shuttle Driver
Santa Fe to Albuquerque Airport".

Yep, I'm driven.
M

Contest: Ideas About Dreams

American Dream
of the day...
preparing for spring.



Happy Birthday Charlene!
Thinking of you whenever I plant new seeds.
M

Contest Questions

Personal dreams; are they the same as your own American Dream?
And is a childhood dream
only one of of the ingredients for your completed dream?

I ask myself this as I read through
the many entries.

Do "good fences make good neighbors"?

When I was young; whether playing in the countryside
or "in town" (with sidewalks and paved roads),
to have the ability to run with abandon
through the yards (and the lives?) of others
allowed my imagination to flow just as free.
Was this my American Dream of childhood?
Dreaming of being a horse, or a dragon,
or a magic sprite,



or cops & robbers, or simply playing hide-and seek...
my imagination knew no bounds.

But to play in a neighborhood with fences;
removes the wildness.
And thus removes the "wild horses" or
"fierce dragons" or "quick-flying magic sprites"
or "far-ranging cops & robbers" or
"highly camouflaged hide-and-seek",
leaving frustration or confusion
about limits.
Keeping "them" out
or keeping "us" in?

Is my American Dream
that of no limits?

Perhaps.

Do kids still feel this way
about fences...
All over the world?

Keep those entries coming!

M


-And I apologize for
the fuzziness of my
photo...
It was taken in 1968.

Contest Continues: How Big is an Amercian Dream?

How big is your American Dream?
Just for you?
You, your family, and a few choice friends?
You and everyone you know?
You and everyone in your neighborhood?
Your city?
Your state?
This world?

And as you accomplish
these dreams along the way...
Do they get bigger,
or nearer to home?

How close are you
to finalizing the dream...
Dreams?



And what to do with dreams
that do not make the cut?
Push them into the back of your sock drawer?
Give them to friends - like a strange jello salad?
Hide them in a corner of your cobweb-filled garage?
Or hang them at eye level
(refrigerator or maybe the bathroom mirror)
to look them in the eye
daily
until done?

What dreams have you let go of...
Why?
Will you pick them up again...
"someday"
?

I'm enjoying reading entries from those
"I have yet to meet".
How about a few more
familiar names
and
a few more
unfamiliar names?

I double-dog-dare you!

That is today's American Dream.
M