Just Being

I recently posted a request to concentrate on some topics in my post Focus Me… Please. I have gotten two requests to cover the topic "Just Being":

Frogs in my formula said…

Just Being always intrigues me, because I have trouble getting out of my head. Major trouble.

Little Ms Blogger said…

I'm with Frogs in my Formula, I'm intrigued with "Just Being" and would love to see what you can do with it.

So… without further adieu, I will bring you the concept "Just Being".

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I am the kind of person who tends to invent tiny catch phrases to explain more profound concepts. The phrase itself "Just Being" may seem confusing to some— so I have decided to break it up into separate parts then piece the two together into a more cohesive whole.

Just

When I use the word "Just" I tend to think of other derivatives of the word such as "Justify". A paragraph can be aligned to the left or the right, but I tend to think a justified paragraph is one that is evenly spread throughout the entire line.

When one is Just they tend to be evenly spread. They are not leaning in any particular direction, and are not swayed by any influences that would align them otherwise.

Being

To quote Shakespeare: "To be, or not to be— that is the question:"

I tend to use the word "Being" interchangeably with the word "Be". The word "Be" can be considered the state— whereas "Being" is more the action of that state. We are in a state of being in that we exist. The fact we do exist makes us be.

We may ask someone if we can be with them. This means that we are asking permission for them to accept our presence. We are creatures who can exist or "Be" along side others. If this simple act of existing does not have any hidden agenda, and does not imply moving either party in some direction— this act is now just. In this case we are now "Just Being" with them.

Do you ever find yourself "Just Being" with someone?

Love it is a wonderful thing

This is one of my six line poems in honor of Valentine's day. I rather like the imagery that it portrays— especially since I consider Love as something intangible.

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Love it is a wonderful thing
it makes some cry and others sing.

It takes some in and lets some go
and is always there and helps you grow.

So don't let your love play the opossum
and let it blossom like the early spring.

86'

Do you have any poetry on Love you would like to share?

F2: Is Love in the food?

Welcome again to Friday's Feast. Today I'll be talking about Love¹ and cooking.

Participants in this weeks Feast are as follows:

• Beverly @ Beverly's Back Porch
  I like the name of this post— it seems to fit with today's topic as well.
• Beverly @ Beverly's Back Porch
  Here's a sweet recipe to make for your sweetheart.

If you don't know what Friday's Feast is all about, please read the Friday's Feast page for a more detailed explanation. If you want to join in on the feast— be sure to leave a comment and include the URL to your post so I and others can know of your contribution. Also, if you want to see a particular topic— feel free to suggest it as well (I'm always looking for new inspirations).

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We tend to talk about things like "tasting the Love" in cooking. What is meant by that? Is this some magic ingredient that can be measured and put in a recipe (Add 1 T of Love). If you had a taste test, could you be able to determine which dish was cooked with Love and which one wasn't?

When I cook, I try to follow the recipe well enough so that it doesn't end in disaster. I can understand it when people know a recipe inside and out and take that extra care to make sure it is delicious— but it is difficult for me to justify that as "adding Love". I do not think that the skills of a cook come into play when it comes to putting any sort of feeling into their dish.

We can be proud of our creations. It feels good to know that what you cooked is liked by the people you serve your dish to. Even if the people love the dish, does that mean that the dish was cooked with Love?

I tend to not think about the people I am cooking for when I cook (I'm probably more concerned about avoiding disaster). I am sure that some do think about the people they are preparing the dish for when they are cooking. And when they do, they are feeling love towards those people. Is this feeling then translated into the actual "Love" that goes into the dish?

I know I've asked a lot of questions and no real answers. I'll leave it up to you to give me your opinion on the matter.

¹ I am choosing to use different cases to designate the difference between "Love" and "love". One way to consider this is by representing "Love" is tangible and "love" is intangible. You could also consider "Love" as being the noun and "love" as being the verb or adjective use of the word.

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Even though Valentine's Day is on Sunday, the topic for the entire month will still be "Love is in the Food". Here are some possible ways of interpreting this…

• Talk about a Valentine's date you went on that involved food.
• Does love "really" go into cooking?
• Talk about some foods you love.
• Made by Mom with love.

So… if you have anything that relates to this topic, be sure to leave a comment and include the URL so I can include you in the next weeks feast. Don't feel obligated to come up with something if you have already written on this topic in the past— your links are always welcome.

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What to do with your left-over crayons

Focus Me… Please

I have been looking back on my posts since the beginning of the year and realized that I have been complaining a lot of the time about how I haven't been posting enough. I think I may have isolated the reason:

I have been working on transitioning to a new system at work and that seems to occupy my normal brainstorming time that I normally use during my commute to work out posts. Yes… I know that we shouldn't take our work home with us— but in actuality I guess I don't switch gears as quickly as I would like and feel that I am scrambling to get a post out at the last minute.

I would much prefer to have quality over quantity and have posts that are well written. I want my readers to actually like reading my posts and not just gloss over them. So… I need your help faithful readers.

So often I have a lot of concepts that I would like to write into posts. Because I have so many, I tend to not concentrate on any of them. This adds to the anxiety of posting which should not be the case. I have written a lot of them down, but have not prioritized them. I need your help in focusing my attention on those concepts that sound interesting so that I can have quality posts. Here's what I have floating around in my head so far:

• Ancient Spirit
• Climatology and ranges of things
• Comforting vs Arm Chair Advice
• Conceptual Learning
• Follow-up
• Giving credit where credit is due
• Initiative
• Initiator vs wall-flower
• Just Being
• Motion and Position
• Out of sight- out of mind
• Relationships Relate
• Social Evolution
• Spiritual Callousness and Suppleness
• Standards and Morals
• State of Equilibrium
• The ones we love and the ones who love us
• The story's in the telling
• Waves and synchronization
• Who, What, Where, When, Why, and How we ARE

Please let me know what your top three most interesting concepts you want to hear about. If you need any clarification on these, let me know and I will be glad to clarify. If these concepts trigger other topics that are not listed that you want to hear, be sure to mention those as well.

F2: Candy Hearts

Welcome again to Friday's Feast. Today I'll be talking about those little candy hearts that you get for Valentine's day.

Participants in this weeks Feast are as follows:

• Beverly @ Beverly's Back Porch
  We must not forget that February also has Groundhog day. Here's a recipe that has ground hog in it.

If you don't know what Friday's Feast is all about, please read the Friday's Feast page for a more detailed explanation. If you want to join in on the feast— be sure to leave a comment and include the URL to your post so I and others can know of your contribution. Also, if you want to see a particular topic— feel free to suggest it as well (I'm always looking for new inspirations).

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Back when my wife and I were still dating (and before we were even engaged) we both attended our church's charge conference. Unfortunately, this meeting was held on Valentine's day and I had to attend in order to report. My then girlfriend bought some Necco Valentines candies to share in order to make the meeting at least somewhat festive (she has this amazing sense of occasion).

During the meeting we were passing back and forth the candies much like you do when you pass back and forth notes in class. At one point, I pulled out a candy that said "marry me" on it and gave it to her. She may have smiled a bit, but we were so much in the moment that I didn't pay it much mind (I probably thought others were more funny and plain forgot about what I passed to her).

Fast forward to our one year anniversary. On that day, my wife gave me a small box with a lot of little trinkets in it. If you are familiar with the movie Clueless, Tai does the same thing in that she collects those little trinkets that remind her of the relationship she has. One of the trinkets that my now wife gave me was this same candy heart that I completely forgot about.

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Because this month includes Valentine's Day, the topic for the entire month will be "Love is in the Food". Here are some possible ways of interpreting this…

• Talk about a Valentine's date you went on that involved food.
• Does love "really" go into cooking?
• Talk about some foods you love.
• Made by Mom with love.

So… if you have anything that relates to this topic, be sure to leave a comment and include the URL so I can include you in the next weeks feast. Don't feel obligated to come up with something if you have already written on this topic in the past— your links are always welcome.

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Babe… I've got you babe

Random Note: I have realized that I have not been posting too much lately. Yes, I know that I have been busy, but I think the real problem is that I have been up to my eyeballs in ITIL. If you don't know what ITIL is… look it up.

The other day my wife and I caught a little bit of Groundhog Day and it got me thinking. There are a few movies that I have to watch over and over and try to determine the point at which the main character changes. In Casablanca I have to try and figure out when and if Rick falls in love again, and at what point he decides to do the right thing. The same holds true with Groundhog Day.

If you are unfamiliar with the story Phil Connors (not Phil the groundhog) is apparently doomed to repeat Groundhogs day over and over. Throughout the movie you are wondering how he is going to get to the next day and wonder what he needs to do in order to start the clock again. Is it when he helps the homeless man, is it when he decides to take piano lessons, or is it something else?

The movie itself was filmed in Woodstock which was a short 15 minutes from my home at the time. We had a person who was in our theater company who got cast as Chris Elliot's double, and it is always fun to watch the movie and know all of the locations. My wife and I both have our locals that we watch for— me with my "Tish watch" and her with her "Rio watch".

Besides the local flavor that appeals to my wife and I, we both enjoy the story which is not only funny— but has a good moral as well. If you have not watched this movie, may I recommend it to you.