Ephemeral

Ephemeral...you either know the meaning of it-or not. I confess until I looked it up the other day, I had a different notion of its meaning. It's one of those words people are afraid to use in a sentence, because it is harder to say than most everyday words. Also, it's meaning is so simple that the complexity of the word lends itself to a "hoity-toity-ness" people might raise an eyebrow at.

It simply means: lasting a short time; usually only a day. I always seem to think of food in some way when I write about ideas or memories. Like the time in Chicago I had a bowl of split pea soup from Smith and Wolinsky in 1998. I have not had a bowl of soup that delicious since then. That split pea soup to me was...ephemeral: lasting only 8 minutes.

In nature: ice sculptures, falling leaves or snow, icicles and puffy white clouds are ephemeral.

In media: brands, reputation, ideas

In art: still life portraits. These are one of my favorite forms of art. Famous artist from the past spent painstaking hours capturing a moment in time for us to enjoy. The still life to your left is obviously a contemporary work of art, but it immediately transports my emotions to comfort, laughter, even work.

Happiness is ephemeral too. It isn't a constant so it needs to be replenished. It is a "sensation which is felt by a person for a certain period of time before needing replenishment."

This is the perfect time of year to be mindful of ephemeral things. To capture them in our hearts and try to replenish them as soon as possible. I'd like to think we can be in a perpetual state of ephemeral-ness...replenishing that which only lasts for a short time, each day.

That might be hard to grasp, but if I can devour that cinnamon roll and steaming cup of coffee today and replenish it tomorrow...I just may achieve ephemeral-ness! So go out and capture the ephemeral things in your life today...a newborn's smile, a falling snowflake, a romantic moment, a memorable cup of soup...you never know when it will come around again.

Wabi

WABI means “an understated form of beauty, a quality of refinement masked by rustic simplicity" as defined in a book I just finished entitled, The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery.

This definition immediately provoked thoughts of food cooked simply. Food left exposed in its essential nature, only dressed to enhance inherent qualities-not to overwhelm or cheapen them.

Coarse-chopped carrots, halved small red potatoes, a triangle of uneven parmesan cheese and salmon barbequed with the skin on until crispy...this is rustic simplicity for the stomach!

My thoughts also lead me to interior design accents, understated and rustic. My new favorite candle is McCall's Country Canning - Hot Buttered Rum emanating warmth from a mason jar replete with metal handle. Wood furniture with divets and a banged-up charm allow me to feel as if I don't have to be too careful. I can just enjoy watching the elements of our busy life make it glow with rustic simplicity.

I'm sure that I've taken liberties with the original intent of Wabi's meaning...food and interior design are just material focal points that inspire me, but may not be what Japanese history scholars would assign to the definition. But my next point of reference may be something more internationally cultural, something a little bit more difficult to actually embody is...Character. If I may take further liberties:

What if we took the essence of Wabi and tried to make it a character quality?

"An understated form of beauty." Now for those of you that know me, I have a penchant for lipgloss, highlights, acrylic nails, handbags, jackets, shoes (and we'll stop there). Sometimes my mask is on so thick, I forget who I am until I wash it all off with Arbonne Creme Gelee. But even so we're still talking about things outside of character. Loud, brash, sarcastic...these things would not be wabi.

"A quality of refinement masked by rustic simplicity." When I relate this to quality of character, I think of an autodidact (self-taught person) who doesn't try to hammer people down with knowlege - they just love the art of learning...refined with rustic (natural) simplicity. Or a person with financial means that may rival any in zip code 98210, but who quietly observes the opportunity to offer philanthropic support and even down-home local service.

Well, I'm excited that the concept of Wabi has reintroduced me to character qualities I would like to work on. I'll make it a point to TRY and be understated and more simple, but for now I'd like to get in the kitchen for some rustic simplicity...prosciutto and coarse-chopped roasted carrots...yummy...

Reflections

I'm currently reading a book that reveals the internal thoughts of a young twelve year old girl and a snobby female concierge as they live life in a prestigious condo building in Paris, France. This book is beautifully written and contains ideas that provoke thought.

Just the other day a paragraph jumped out at me that I want to share it with you:

We never look beyond our assumptions and, what's worse, we have given up trying to meet others; we just meet ourselves. We don't recognize each other because other people have become our permanent mirrors. If we actually realized this, if we were to become aware of the fact that we are only ever looking at ourselves in the other person, that we are alone in the wilderness, we would go crazy.

I thought this was a profound statement. Could it be true? Am I looking at you to see myself? Am I missing the Peace in your gaze; the Hope in your story; the Joy in your laugh? Am I only taking a piece of you, the one piece that matches closest to what I perceive about myself and stacking it on top of all the other collected pieces from my interactions? Am I trying to reinvent myself each day from these reflections?

What if I don't like what's reflected? If I'm only looking at you to see myself, how will I feel when I see something I don't like. What if you don't laugh at my joke and fail to reflect my humor; and what if you forget to say "thank you" and miss my kindness...will I say it's your problem or will I think that maybe I wasn't as funny or as kind as I perceived myself to be?

What if I love what is reflected? I may think I'm the funniest person in the world or the kindest or the most beautiful. This can't be good either..."pride comes before the fall."

So what to do?

One remedy is to go back to where we started and remember to meet people for who they are, and take ourselves out of the reflection. Who are you? What are your hopes and dreams under the surface of our encounter? What are you about?

Well, I think that's enough for today...my brain hurts from all this thinking. Tonight I will work on seeing my family and friends for who they are and grow to love them all the more...what about you?

Lifestyles of The Chick and Same-Us: The Beginning

This year we were inspired by friends to raise our own chicken. This sounds funny to those of us who are used to buying chicken at the local grocer, without a care to where it was raised. But after reading books like Michael Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma, and Barbara Kingsolver's book Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, my interests in this "grow your own" movement were piqued.

So, this summer the kids and I piled into the car and headed to our local farm and feed store where we selected the cutest yellow chicks. All 18 chicks fit inside a large cardboard box and I tried to act brave as we added them to the backseat along with my human chicky-doos. I wasn't sure I could actually do this thing called raising chickens, and had thoughts of just letting them grow old with us and becoming a vegetarian family. My husband solidified my fears when he said, "I sure hope they get ugly," Oh, dear. What have we gotten ourselves in to?

The first two weeks were spent caring for the little chicks. They lived in a special metal container with wood chips to sleep on; a heat lamp so they wouldn't get cold; a self-drip water container; organic chicken feed and lotsa love from the little veterinarians who live with me. The toughest part was protecting them from the hunting dog and the retriever who shared living space with them in the garage these first two weeks. I've never seen our Vizsla on point so much in her whole life, and the Lab would try to snap at them whenever they flapped their wings...she's used to sleeping all day so this was exciting for her.

After two weeks it was time to put them out to pasture in their chicken tractor...

Beauty

It's always startling to realize that you are in a funk. Inward searching, outward procrastination, longing, helplessness and a hardy lack of motivation.

I just visited that place for the last couple of months. Times of transition usually impart such dubious adjectives that we live out in verb. But, this week I felt like I walked through another door, turned a new chapter and turned toward a new perspective.

It happened when I found myself smiling at a sparkly, colorful, unique and glamorous work of art by Dale Chihuly. He is a world famous creator of glass-blown art featuring creatures from the sea. When I look at Chihuly's work, I'm blown away (no pun intended) at how inspired he is. And when I look at a real sea creature, like the jellyfish in this picture, I still think of Chihuly. He has been able to fuse his work so tightly together with reality, that his fans can't help but think of his work when we see the real thing.

This kind of beauty is a surprising remedy to what ails many of us going through transitions, getting ready for Thanksgiving and Christmas and just generally hunckered down in the funk. Noticing the unexpected in life means getting out there, like I did when I found myself in front of that piece of art. Life is beauty...in a falling leaf, a glimmering bauble, the smell of apple cider, a transformed life...

So if the rigors of life have been pushing you down, rise up and turn your head, notice something else, something beautiful.

Lifestyles of the Chick and Same-us:Introduction

I haven't written about my life raising chickens (Cornish Cross variety) over these past eight weeks. Thoughts and ideas are more manageable when an experience comes to an end...and today my life with live chickens has reached fruition, come full circle, ended.

All 17 (we lost one in the field a few days ago) are now tightly sealed in clear bags and organized like a grocery store display in my garage refrigerator. My family and I raised these chickens in our backyard, feeding them daily and watching, curiously, at their lives.

So this is an introduction to the totality of our experience which will be written in parts for you. You shouldn't anticipate anything untoward or icky, some thoughts will be nuanced...you'll still be able to drink coffee and eat your favorite snack while reading. This is just one of the things we learned Inside the Chrysalis this summer, and we want to share it with you.

Look for "Lifestyles of the Chick and Same-us" Part 1: Beginning with the End in a few days!

Peeling Back Stereotypes

I just read an interesting article about a homeless woman, Brianna Karp. She found herself jobless and homeless, living in a Walmart parking lot and blogging about her experience. Her story landed her as a guest writer on Elle.com.

Her story got me thinking about Stereotypes. Brianna's story is about the new face of homelessness. It really shifted my thinking about what a homeless person is supposed to look like. Why can't they have cell phones, laptops and Starbucks lattes? The economy changed, but my stereotype for homeless people didn't. It's funny how I know nothing about homelessness, but I have a complete picture of it in my mind, replete with black-marked cardboard signs.

I'm sure I do this with many other things in life. I'm hoping to grow a little bit today, and not only peel back the layers of the stereotypes I hold, but completely smash them like a clove of garlic with the back of my knife, only adding bits and pieces to flavor my relationships, one conversation at a time.

BTW, if you would like to read her first blog as a guest writer on Elle.com, click on the title of this blog to be redirected...just come back and visit!