Category: Wholeness - trish hermanson

Am I an Axolotl?

6/27/2019

At an aquarium, I met an axolotl, a salamander that is doomed to remain in the water because it doesn’t matur fully, and I wondered whether I’m sometimes an axolotl.
During metamorphosis, this strange creature loses its tail fin and develops legs, but continues breathing through gills. It’s stuck in the water while other salamanders climb onto land and breath fresh air.
     I get stuck in the waters of immaturity sometimes, too. Like when I don’t accept responsibility for my words - whether they build up or tear down. Or my actions - whether they hurt or heal. Or my time - whether I give it freely or hoard it. Or my finances - whether I invest wisely or consume it all. Or my relationships - whether I encourage or discourage.
     None of us remains fully adult. We dip in and out of immaturity, perhaps because our self awareness is as blurry as murky water. As Fifteenth Century writer Thomas à Kempis says, “We rebuke small faults in others but overlook greater faults in ourselves.”
     What a breath of fresh air when I choose to be grown up.
     But it is a choice that requires amazing grace.
     *** Photo: Stan Shebs, Steinhart Aquarium, San Francisco.

Congratulations to Doug Reents, who bid the highest for lunch with me, and whose bid goes to JeffCo Eats, which provides food for kids who sometimes find their pantry bare. Between Doug's bid and others who donated outright to jeffcoeats.org, we raised more than $200. I just popped into the mail a Panera gift card for Doug because we don't live in the same community. Enjoy!

Learning to Walk (Again)

4/4/2019

My grandson recently learned to walk for the first time, and I learned to walk for the second time.
     For him, he’d grown so adept at crawling that the awkwardness of walking didn’t seem worth it. For me, I’d grown adept at dragging a heavy boot around after I broke my foot. But as my foot healed, the thought of trying to walk again was scary. Would I have the strength? The balance? The answer was “no.”
     For both of us, walking meant giving up what we’d grown accustomed to. It meant being uncoordinated, unbalanced, forcing muscles to do things they didn’t like. But it was worth it.
     Which makes me wonder whether I might be holding onto other things in life because they’re familiar. Habits I developed as accommodations for getting by. Activities that are adaptive devices that I don’t need anymore. Relationships that are crutches instead of true friendships.
  Do I need to let go of such supports and “step out” in new ways?    It will be scary, but it will be worth it.

What's the Worst Pain You Can Endure?

3/14/2019

A friend asked me what I’m learning these weeks as I hobble around with a broken foot because of a silly fall. Here’s one thing - the answer to a question that may surprise you: What is the worst pain you can endure?
Your own pain.
Some well meaning folks have reminded me that my malady “could be worse,” and I know they’re correct. But this is MY trial that I have to deal with RIGHT NOW.
Many of you have it much harder than I do. Some have chronic pain. Some have debilitating trauma. But no one’s affliction should be compared to another’s, nor should it be dismissed.
So to all of you out there who have physical or emotional suffering, I acknowledge that your stress is big and real and not fun at all. It’s what’s hobbling your life - even if it “could be worse.”
For those of us who are cut down physically or emotionally, we don’t want this to be the sum of our identity. We may be like a broken down pickup now, but we’re working hard to get our parts fixed so we can hit the road again.
We want to keep on truckin’ down life’s highway.

Dumb Luck or Incredible Skill?

2/14/2019

Was it incredible skill or simply dumb luck that someone tossed these sneakers onto a power line in my neighborhood? Dumb luck, I think. Contrary to that, my accomplishments come the hard way - repetitive practice.
     That’s what a young musician, violin case in hand, learned when he got lost while visiting New York City. He asked an old man, “How do I get to Carnegie Hall?” The man waggled his index finger at him. “Practice. Practice.”
     How much practice? Author Malcolm Gladwell says it takes ten thousand hours to become accomplished in something. Take, for example, the artist Pablo Picasso. Legend has it that he was sketching in a park when a woman recognized him and insisted he draw her portrait. After studying her a moment, he drew her likeness with a single pencil stroke. She was thrilled with it and asked his price. “Five thousand dollars,” Picasso said.
     “But it took you only a second to draw this.”
     “Madame,” the artist replied, “it took my entire life.”
     All this could be discouraging, because few of us can carve out ten thousand hours to develop an expertise. Yet I’m amazed by my friends who develop impressive abilities simply by pursuing their interests.They’ve become experts in grilling, gardening, quilting, crafting, woodworking, hosting, leading meetings, socializing, and extending kindness to others. Their examples encourage me that it’s never too late to develop a skill - if I’m willing to practice, practice.
  Because mastery doesn’t happen with dumb luck.

Am I a Glorious Beggar?

10/12/2018

Why did this blue heron trade his royal standing in the bird kingdom for panhandling? Locals on the Gulf Coast island where he lives warned me about Harry, as they call him. And the moment I drew open the curtains in the second-floor room I rented, I was a sucker to his charms. From the branches of a tree, he swooped over onto my balcony and cocked his head as if to ask, “Breakfast?”
     I dutifully headed to the dock while Harry strolled alongside me at a comfortable distance. I grabbed a net, scooped a bait fish out of a submerged cage, and flopped it onto the deck. Harry speared it with his beak, tossed it in the air, and swallowed it whole. Then he stepped into a nearby birdbath and cleaned his beak in three-inch-deep water.
     Cute, yes, but what happened to the creature Harry’s designed to be? With his six-foot wing span, he could soar above rippling waters, spot a fish below, and dive headfirst to spear it. But even though the ocean is just wing-flaps away, Harry gave up his majesty for the convenience of begging from a dock and cleaning up in a birdbath.
  Which makes me wonder whether I sometimes trade an ocean of adventure for the comfort of a couch. Have I become a glorious beggar? Am I willing to let my destiny take wing?

Croutons...
Chew on these seasoned bits of life for a little hope and humor along your highway.

JOIN ME ~ I’ll send brief, occasional posts to lighten your backpack. We're on this journey together.

Categories

Archives

July 2019
June 2019
May 2019
April 2019
March 2019
February 2019
January 2019
December 2018
November 2018
October 2018
September 2018
August 2018
July 2018
June 2018
May 2018
April 2018
March 2018
February 2018
January 2018
December 2017
November 2017
October 2017
September 2017
August 2017
July 2017
June 2017

Available on Amazon