Here are my blog posts. I previously posted them on Obsidian but I’m moving them (slowly) to this website. It will take time. I’m also going to be publishing new pages as often as they come to mind.
I hear the rustle of movement at the foot of the bed. I swing my legs over the side of the bed. As I do, the white ball of fur waits patiently. She can’t risk my big legs hitting her head As I swing sideways. There. Now I’m sitting up. She siddles close to me, head between my legs. Flopped ears awaiting their morning grace A kiss just above her eyes, between her ears. Then, as if for the most perfect moment in life, Hers or mine, she enjoys the scruffle of her ears. The day begins. The day begins.
It’s not all perfection. Wait. Don’t bark. Sit. Don’t pull. Pretty soon. Misunderstanding. The head of either her or myself, Cocked to the side, As if to say, What are you thinking? What am I thinking? Walks, like flights to space, held because of rain. Sickness of man or dog. More tired now. More stops along the way.
Scratch my ears. Why must it be so hard all the time, I wonder? There. Now, swing your legs over the side of the bed. Lean down to all those who matter. Plants, The air. Rocks. People. Kiss them on the forehead, Or whatever. As soon as you start to think, What about this, what about that, Just stop. Then, Scratch their ears. The day is waiting. All are waiting.
In recent news, Meta and YouTube were found guilty of designing addictive products that harmed young people. There’s no doubt of the validity of that claim. However, they aren’t the only organizations responsible for co-opting attention.
My own attention deficit journey began this morning. I had nearly 3,000 unread emails in my inbox. What to do?
I looked at them the way you might look at a crime scene: who were the potential suspects? Sure, there were lots of suspects from a slew of different emails. SO, how to get filter through all these emails? Hmmm? What do many of them have in common?
You’re in a meeting and everyone’s piling in on a new proposal — all at once.
You’re only there by chance. Your boss offhandedly told you to come. You don’t have an earned seat at the table.
Then the president stops, waves her hands, and calls for quiet. She turns your way. What do you think, she asks?
It’s a powerful recognition of your authority, your understanding, your agency.
I still feel the sting of hearing my Mom say that.
I don’t need to sit in any corner.
Time out was a punishment. It’s no wonder we try to push through everything: we don’t have time for time out. Time out suggests we’re not in control.
Sitting in the corner is good medicine for the insanity of our lives and world. Our negative reaction to it is a hand-me-down from our past. We never want to be told time out.
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