"...[L]ife itself is a meditation." --Raul Julia I have always loved Raul Julia, since I first saw him as the sensitive married man having sexual tension with Susan Sarandon while solving a murder in "Compromising Positions" (the cast of which also included the always entertaining Judith Ivey - I love her voice and demeanor so much I think I could watch her in anything). He went on to play defense attorney Sandy Stern in "Presumed Innocent" and of course the beloved patriarch Gomez Addams in "The Addams Family." His was one the first celebrity deaths - in 1994 - to really effect me. He always seemed to have an undefinably quiet strength and grace. I get it now - he saw his life as a meditation - and that makes all the difference. I hope someday to be remembered for my quiet grace and thanks to Raul I have one more clue about how to do that. Thanks Raul. For everything.
Section two of the Paris Marathon is all about the Bois de Vincennes, Paris’ largest park, located in the 12th arrondissement. Rather than try and follow the route exactly, we just wandered around the park for 7 miles then found the closest Metro station and headed home. Entrance to the Bois de Vincennes closest to the Port Doree Metro station. This park reminded us a lot of Seattle parks in that it connects to the neighborhood around it via many different streets and entrances and also has a lot of different things happening in the park: lakes, baseball and soccer fields, biking paths, horseback-riding trails, even a Buddhist Temple (which, unfortunately, was closed today). Boats available for rent on Lac Daumesnil. Temple of Love (on the left) above the grotto of Lac Daumesnil. Mark in the grotto. Waterfall in the grotto. Another view of the lake. A Buddhist statue in the park. This lovely bright green plant covered lots of the streams running...
"Opening to the world begins to benefit ourselves and others simultaneously. The more we relate with others, the more quickly we discover where we’re blocked. Seeing this is helpful, but it’s also painful. Sometimes we use it as ammunition against ourselves: we aren’t kind, we aren’t honest, we aren’t brave, and we might as well give up right now. But when we apply the instruction to be soft and nonjudgmental to whatever we see at this very moment, the embarrassing reflection in the mirror becomes our friend. We soften further and lighten up more, because we know it’s the only way we can continue to work with others and be of any benefit in the world. This is the beginning of growing up." -- Pema Chodron "Fucked up people will try to tell you otherwise, but boundaries have nothing to do with whether you love someone or not. They are not judgments, punishments, or betrayals. They are a purely peaceable thing: the basic principles you identify for yourself that define t...
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