Doctober

Mike and I have been enjoying a number of films this month at the Doctober documentary film festival at the Pickford in Bellingham.  It has enriched my life to see the stories of past and present people and places struggling, celebrating, seeking grace, justice and trying to do it right.  We have seen horrible injustice and exploitation.   What I think it great about the documentary form is that you see things so clearly (if the filmmaker is skilled) and in a theater the big screen draws you into the world of the subject.  For me, it is so much more powerful than viewing the films at home.

The Pickford Film Center does a great job of curating films for Doctober.  We committed ourselves to choosing films to see and to making time in our lives to do that.  I think the purposeful act of making space to see nine films together in one month takes patience, practice, and commitment to the process.  We sit down as soon as the schedule comes out, study the offerings and our calendars and choose ones we can both agree on seeing.  It works out well.  Both of us see films the other might not have chosen alone.  It is a balance.  There is a balance between our choices and preferences and in the things we choose not to do in our activity-rich community.  The rewards are worth it.

What we have seen so far:

We Come as Friends - A film that portrays the startling truth about the exploitation of South Sudan.
The Birth of Sake - A lovely film about a craft brewery in Japan and the lives of the men who leave their homes for six months each year to live together to create handmade sake.
For Grace - The story of resilience and drive and the opening of a very high end restaurant in Chicago named Grace and how the concept of grace is infused into food, service and life.
Sembene - A portrait of the Senegalese filmmaker Sembene, who was the first authentic filmmaker from Africa, and how he helped reshape the narrative about life in Africa - what it means to be African and the injustices faced from within the culture and from colonization.
The Great Bear Stakeout - Wow!   The link will take you to Western Wildlife Outreach. Grizzly bears in Katmai National Park in Southwestern Alaska.  I was stunned by the fantastic footage filmed by the BBC crew.  Bellingham resident Chris Morgan who is both a scientist and a film star of sorts (if you watch Nature on PBS) was both in the film and at the Pickford to talk about the film, the bears and the experience of being with these large predators. The crew films the bears through a whole season and we see stories of survival and death that are amazing on the big screen.   A sell out for a theater filled with all ages of folks.
This Changes Everything - Avi Lewis and Naomi Klein combine to produce a must see film about climate change and the existential crisis and how we can use it to change our lives.  It was sold out and the Pickford brought it in for the week because of the demand in our coal-port battle ground.
Bikes vs. Cars - The title explains it all.  The locations where we look at Bike activism include Sao Paolo, Brazil and Los Angeles.  The film was followed by a local panel and every attendee was given a free glass of Cono Sur wine when we arrived, produced by a carbon-neutral footprint winery in Chile who have a bicycle on the label.  It was good wine and a pleasant surprise!  Mike has logged over 4000 miles on his bikes this year so he was delighted to attend.  Right in front of us was a biking friend of his.
Black Panthers - Vanguards of the Revolution.  A timely film that relates to why Black Lives Matter is an important movement.  Some of the things the Panther party stood for are the injustices and oppression we still see in our country and why people are rising up again.  I was surprised and pleased that the 2 pm Saturday showing was sold out.

We are seeing one last film this week bring our count to nine for this year!  The film is Haida Gwai and promises beautiful photography.  I am pleased that our son Ben will be joining us for our last film of the festival.   Our time and energy has been well spent this month.  No regrets.

Thanks for reading.

The Sock Drawer

I have been frustrated for sometime by my large and chaotic assortment of socks.  I am a collector of sorts and love colorful socks.  I have had all sorts of socks spilling out of two drawers in my small house and it has been a little crazy.  Yesterday I took on my sock drawers.  I emptied out both drawers, matched every sock that I could, found some strays and some that were too old to mend one more time and quite a few that could be donated to the Lydia Place thrift store, Wise Buys.  I decided that old and orphans could be donated to our Ragfinery store that accepts all sorts of fabrics and used clothing for recycling.  Some clever up-cycler with more patience and time than I have may find something fun to do with those socks.

I sorted into two drawers - one for warmer and hand-knot socks.  See the teal blue and the gray blue socks in the photo below.  Yes, I knit them and love them.  One drawer is for my lighter weight socks.  It will be so easy for me to maintain this system when I wash and put socks away.  I also made space for the socks I love and let go of those that I had outgrown.  I gave away every pair of knee socks except for two pairs of support hose I use when I travel.

The warmer and hand knit drawer

The lighter weight drawer

This simple little exercise was not as easy at it may seem.  I was inspired by my friend Carrie Koehnline who teaches about clutter and I had to be in the right space.  One of the pairs of socks I came across was a pair of Kate's that I have hung onto for 13 years.  It is a coordinating pair (one red and one blue) of bowling cows.  I looked them over and wondered if I could give them away.  I showed them to Mike who came in and out of our room during the sock drawer project.  We agreed they should stay in my collection.  It was a good decision.  I decided to wash them and get them really clean and smelling fresh before putting them in their new space in the lighter weight sock drawer.  It is amazing how something as simple as socks can stimulate so much thought and review of one's life.

I now wonder what else I can sort?  Today I got up and put some energy into putting away my summer clothes and preparing for fall and winter wear.  Actually this was after I got home from visiting my dermatologist and having some pre-cancerous lesions frozen.  I needed something concrete to focus my mind on.  I have been quite worried, not knowing what was up with a recently appeared spot on my sternum.  Mortality is something we are reminded of with regularity as we age and as we pay attention to the affairs of the world.  It is something I have to sort through more often than not these days.  I do not take my life for granted but I can lose my sense of balance when I worry to much about the what ifs.  Sorting socks and clothes for the seasons has helped restore my balance as has the beautiful fall weather. 

I end this post with a gratitude for this blog and for friends who are wiser than I am when I need some help out of a fog of worry and concern about my mortality and those I love both by knowing them or because we are all part of the family of life.

I visited the cemetery over the weekend and cleaned Kate's memorial and added some leaves to remember her by.  Balancing my living and the memory of my daughter.

Autumn blessings and thanks for reading.

Autumn has arrived

I love the feeling of the autumn sun and look forward to some warm autumn days followed by cool nights.  The warm and cool alternating temperatures are one of my favorite parts of early fall.  I also love seeing the colors change.  My son, Ben, is colorblind as is my father, Jim.  Ben always loved autumn because he said it was the season when he could appreciate the leaves.  The yellow leaves of the big leaf maples are magnificent and are starting to turn!

I spend time on the equinox walking the labyrinth in Fairhaven Park in Bellingham.  The labyrinth is a community jewel and is a pleasure to visit on special occasions.

The jewel at the center of the Fairhaven park labyrinth.

Walking the paths back and forth is an ancient form of meditation that has survived and is thriving today.  A woman was in the center when I entered from the north and she was writing in her journal.  We did not speak except when we passed, she going outward and me going outward.  She lifted her face to mine and said Happy Equinox is a reverent voice.  It was a wonderful moment.  My time in the labyrinth by a group of musicians who were softly playing and signing a chant nearby.  I love the magic that happens when we let it.

I realized as walked the path that in order to keep balance as I turned on the loopy paths that I needed to really slow down and appreciate the new direction and pay attention to each step.  I think that is a strong metaphor for where I am at in my life.  Slow down, think as the daily activities of my life take the twists and turns that come in the course of a day.

Labyrinth in the classical style and this is the model that was used to build the Fairhaven labyrinth.

The internet is full of helpful information about Labyrinths.  Some invite finger explorations.  Nothing replaces the real thing for me.  My first labyrinth was a backyard Cretan model in Olympia.  A member of the Olympia Unitarian Universalist Church built it.  She was a professor of Anthropology and very knowledgable and I am grateful that she was to person who brought them into my life.   I have created temporary labyrinths  and have had fun with them but I love the built ones best.  Orcas Island has a beautiful labyrinth in Eastsound, built by two cooperating churches in a shared space right on the edge of the sound.  Heavenly.  Where have you enjoyed a labyrinth?  

Equinox walk through the Padden Creek watershed.

Colors of autumn.  I love orange.

I hope you are enjoying the warm days, colder nights, the colors and the changing light as fall.

Thanks for reading.

A New Start

I have been feeling quite lost since my sabbatical blog ended.  It was a rich experience and I thoroughly enjoyed writing for more than myself.  I have been inspired to journal again using paper and pen.  I also decided to continue the process in the blogosphere.

So here I begin.  A Delicate Balance will focus on my journey through what I know is the last third (or less) of my life.  I am getting many signs these days that I need to practice the delicate balance between living and letting go.  Yesterday my minister spoke to Life and Death and All the in Between.  Paul said that two things are for sure. We all live and we all die.  Each day can be a full day but needs to be lived in the knowing that our time is limited.  A question I would like to open the day with is "what does day offer me and what can I do to be fully present in the day?"

I wanted to begin with a picture I took last week while visiting Western Washington University, my alma mater.

Stone Enclosure, Rock Rings. Nancy Holt artist, 1977-78.

I have never taken the time before to explore this structure.  Ironically it was built the year I gave birth to Kate and became a mother.  I was in graduate school at Western at the time.  As I wandered through the stones and took the pictures showing the different viewpoints, I marveled at all the intricate stones how they are connected and support each other.  The variety of sizes and shapes that make the beautiful piece are like the experiences in our own lives.  We have many small and large experiences, feelings, dreams, disappointments, thoughts, connections that make our lives what they are.  I think one of the greatest gifts we can give ourselves is the courage to look at our whole lives in context and to acknowledge all that keeps us in balance.  What I love about the picture and the reality of my life is that I have dark and light places and the interaction between them and the interdependence is what gives me strength and balance.

Happy International Day of Peace!  Next year I think part of my balance will be making intentions to honor this amazing day.

Thanks for reading.