I woke up before 6am but stayed in bed until the alarm went off. I walked Elsa, put a bill in the mailbox, and discovered mail leftover from Saturday that I hadn't picked up. When I got home, I did my oil rinse, washed the dishes, made two-days of Juice Plus smoothies, and drank my two cups of water.
Today during Bikram. I did something different. I stayed on my back while doing the spine strengthening series, including cobra, half-lotus, full lotus, and bow. I pressed the back of my heels/ankles into the ground and discovered that it activated my glutes. It wasn't the asana's objective, but it helped me to experience how my left and right legs are different strengths. It gave me a good idea for an exercise to strengthen my left leg.
I did a rinse shower at the studio because I had 6 stops to make before I went home. I started with Target. I picked up poop bags, Hersey's Milk Chocolate bars with whole almonds for 89cents, and checked the types and prices of toaster ovens. Then I went to Memory Lane to drop off magazines and some clothes and pick up a tax receipt. My next stop was Long's Drugs to make use of the store coupons to buy more lens cleaners wipes and look for a night cream to use. I haven't been using any moisturizer on my face. It seems like something I should consider I stopped off at the bank to cash a check, and Safeway to pick up a multigrain baguette, a package of prepared salad, soup, and a California roll. Their Hersey's were too expensive. My last stop was at the vet to pick up food for the Elsa dog.
At home, I unload the car. I put the perishables in frig along with melted Hersey bars. I washed the Bikram stuff for Yvette, Scott, and me. Yvette came up to wash the guest room sheets. I had just started a wash; I told her I would do them.
I washed the hallway floor, checked my email to see if Mike B. had gotten back to me yet about Paulist Press's response to publishing Mike's book. I called the chiropractor's office to find out when my appointment was. I was confused about the date. I changed it to the late afternoon, thinking it was the day that Shivani, my niece was leaving, and then had to call back again and changed it back to the original time when I realized it was the day she was arriving.
My student came for her appointment. We sat side by side on the sofa, and she read a fantastic amount of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid, evaluated as 5th grade. I had picked up a few books from the used bookstore to give her. She said the first day she read it, she read only a few pages. By the third day, she was reading 10 pages at a time. She was very excited. She finally realizes her progress. She is happy about it, excited about her progress.
I did some work on the blog after she left, and took Elsa for her before dinner walk.
When we got home, I worked on Mike's book. I compare the hard copy with the electronic one Mike B sent me. I reread the introduction and most of chapter 1. The introduction made sense to me. I had more trouble with chapter 1. I found it had too much information and was repetitive. I hope all these details will have meaning for someone more familiar with the subject. The basic idea is that being a deacon is more than a function or ritual; a deacon has to be representative of Christ. I think the purpose of Mike's book is to explain what that means.
Dinner was a large salad, as usual, 3 small pieces of the multigrain baguette buttered, and half a container of beans soup with my limeade. I watched TV watching the end of No Offense.
I walked Elsa before going to bed, washed my face, brushed my teeth, and went to bed. Good night, Elsa, Goodnight, Mike.
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Musings:
The concept of self and the concept of self- sacrifice for others is indeed tricky. Some invest in caring 'more about others than self.' I think what makes it tricky is acknowledging our own capacity for doing harm to others. We like to believe that if we mean well, we do well. Hmmm! Maybe not so much. We have to deal with the reality that we do harm even if we don't mean harm. Not to mention the nonconscious intents that sneak in and affect our behavior.
Some prefer to think that man's natural state, or at least their natural state, is compassion and love. While I believe that any human being is happier, in the sense of more peaceful, if they love and are loved, I think our nature is neutral and can go either way and does on a fairly regular basis. I have heard that Oxytocin is emitted when we feel a strong connection or a strong opposition. Fighting with our tribe against the other tribe is just as much as high as feeling deeply and lovingly connected to our tribe. Which is easier to achieve? Sadly I think it is probably easier to join with others to fight an outside force than to get our joy in bonding with our own. No adrenalin is involved in the latter. It's peaceful, if not downright boring. It just is. No brilliant colors, no loud sounds, no sacrifice of life for our own. One of the things I like about Catholicism, it reminds us that we are capable of evil, and if not evil at least sin. I think many people think that means we should examine our intent. But I think we should examine our effect regardless of our conscious intent.
But that opens another box. Sometimes, the best thing we can do for someone is hurt them. If we confront people about their self-destructive behavior, causing them to feel controlled and/or ashamed, is that good or bad? In the meditation discipline, I am familiar with, the guru tells a story. He observed his teacher yell at a student. When the teacher walked away, he laughed because he wasn't really angry; he was just using a display of anger to motivate the student. Making someone's discomfort may be the best thing for them. I have been badly hurt and found it ultimately beneficial. Am I going to pursue a relationship with that person? Maybe not so much.
There are no easy answers. I heard one rule of thumb, I believe through NLP, which said you should always come up with three possibilities. I am not going to resolve this in three paragraphs, three chapters, or even three books. We all have to live with uncertainty and have to pray that our actions will have the best outcome possible in each situation. But, we always have to be aware they may not.
