Meredith Kendall's Blog, page 3
May 19, 2020
Pandemic Time
I have my routines. I walk at sunrise and go to bed when it gets dark. I wash sheets and towels on Sundays. I do New York Times puzzles every morning before answering emails, grading papers, and doing my own schoolwork.
I listen to our state CDC report every afternoon at 2 pm. It's on the radio. Our Dr. Shah is magnificent: calm, compassionate, intelligent, and patient.
Mostly though, time is fluid. I lose track of the time of day, the day of the week, the month, and sometimes even the season. Easy to lose track of the season when it snows in May.
The days go by slow; the days go by fast.
I listen to our state CDC report every afternoon at 2 pm. It's on the radio. Our Dr. Shah is magnificent: calm, compassionate, intelligent, and patient.
Mostly though, time is fluid. I lose track of the time of day, the day of the week, the month, and sometimes even the season. Easy to lose track of the season when it snows in May.
The days go by slow; the days go by fast.
May 14, 2020
Balance
How are you? Are you going in to work? Did you lose your job and your health insurance? Live alone or have a houseful? Tough times for sure.
What are you doing to stay sane, balanced, and full of light?
Me, I walk every morning and then come home to a computer screen. I teach online, so online meetings, phone calls, and grading papers and essays electronically. I'm taking a class too. Face glued to screen all day, every day.
So I walk in the morning before work. Often I walk around a pond. It is still cold in the mornings, 30 degrees, sometimes snowing, sometimes raining. I wear my winter jacket, hat, and gloves. Sometimes mist rises from the surface of the pond.
I saw the ducks return in the early spring. One day there were tiny ducklings. One morning there was roiling at the edge of the pond; koi were bubbling up out of the cold mud. Twisting and flashing bright orange pisces. Twice I've seen a shy Great Blue Heron. It startles, and with a leap and unfolding of big blue-gray wings, is airborne. It sees or hears me before I see it, so it startles me too. The father and uncle ducks have gleaming green heads and huddle protectively around the ducklings. There are fragrant blooming trees around the pond, magnolia and cherry. Yellow daffodils, pink phlox.
My morning walks keep me balanced.
What are you doing to stay sane, balanced, and full of light?
Me, I walk every morning and then come home to a computer screen. I teach online, so online meetings, phone calls, and grading papers and essays electronically. I'm taking a class too. Face glued to screen all day, every day.
So I walk in the morning before work. Often I walk around a pond. It is still cold in the mornings, 30 degrees, sometimes snowing, sometimes raining. I wear my winter jacket, hat, and gloves. Sometimes mist rises from the surface of the pond.
I saw the ducks return in the early spring. One day there were tiny ducklings. One morning there was roiling at the edge of the pond; koi were bubbling up out of the cold mud. Twisting and flashing bright orange pisces. Twice I've seen a shy Great Blue Heron. It startles, and with a leap and unfolding of big blue-gray wings, is airborne. It sees or hears me before I see it, so it startles me too. The father and uncle ducks have gleaming green heads and huddle protectively around the ducklings. There are fragrant blooming trees around the pond, magnolia and cherry. Yellow daffodils, pink phlox.
My morning walks keep me balanced.
May 8, 2020
Take a deep breath
I just sent distance Reiki to a client. It was a brief session. I cleared and prepared, then fell into the Reiki flow. I felt the pulse of universal life force energy.
Then I saw dusty old black suitcases, like old baggage that needs to be cleared away. And I felt like I had to do a lot of deep breathing and clearing away of old energy. And my hands felt so heavy. Heavy and intense. My hands have never felt like that before. Like they were weighted down. I usually feel so light and full of love during a session. But this was dust and heaviness.
If you are feeling discouraged or anxious, I hope that you will center yourself, clear away old baggage, and do some deep breathing exercises. Take a deep breath and puff it all out. Remember that you walk in the light. You are surrounded by love.
Then I saw dusty old black suitcases, like old baggage that needs to be cleared away. And I felt like I had to do a lot of deep breathing and clearing away of old energy. And my hands felt so heavy. Heavy and intense. My hands have never felt like that before. Like they were weighted down. I usually feel so light and full of love during a session. But this was dust and heaviness.
If you are feeling discouraged or anxious, I hope that you will center yourself, clear away old baggage, and do some deep breathing exercises. Take a deep breath and puff it all out. Remember that you walk in the light. You are surrounded by love.
May 6, 2020
May 3, 2020
Digital Disruption
I wasn't sure that I could work from home. I felt like a student who wants to take an exam in the same chair in which they listened to lectures. I didn't know if my knowledge, skills, and practices were portable.
How could I accomplish the same work processes on a laptop, in my jammies, as I did on my work desktop, in my office, in my work clothes, surrounded by colleagues? Didn't I need things, people... those people and things I was used to? Could my mind make the switch? Could I work independently?
Turns out: I could, no, yes, and yes. Working at home is fine. I am able to access my files and documents from the work cloud. I have online and phone meetings with colleagues and students. I like working in yoga pants. I like the quiet of my house and neighborhood. My mind whirs away internally, dreaming, considering, thinking, and tuning out the external. Turns out, I like working from home just fine.
How could I accomplish the same work processes on a laptop, in my jammies, as I did on my work desktop, in my office, in my work clothes, surrounded by colleagues? Didn't I need things, people... those people and things I was used to? Could my mind make the switch? Could I work independently?
Turns out: I could, no, yes, and yes. Working at home is fine. I am able to access my files and documents from the work cloud. I have online and phone meetings with colleagues and students. I like working in yoga pants. I like the quiet of my house and neighborhood. My mind whirs away internally, dreaming, considering, thinking, and tuning out the external. Turns out, I like working from home just fine.
May 1, 2020
Morning Walk
I am working from home, on a computer or a phone all day. I have online meetings, papers to grade online, and lots of emails. Face in screen all day.
So before work, I go for a walk. I often walk around a pond at sunrise. There are new ducklings this week, little balls of fluff. I am surprised at how fast they can swim. Mom is protective and hissed at me once when I got too close, marveling at the small ones. The uncles are protective too; the males gather in a circle around the ducklings when people walk by. A magnolia tree is loaded with floppy white blossoms. One morning I saw a Great Blue Heron.
Walk, work, work.... the days blend. What day is it? What time? Pandemic distancing and grey spring days, I lose track of time. But I take that walk nearly every morning.
So before work, I go for a walk. I often walk around a pond at sunrise. There are new ducklings this week, little balls of fluff. I am surprised at how fast they can swim. Mom is protective and hissed at me once when I got too close, marveling at the small ones. The uncles are protective too; the males gather in a circle around the ducklings when people walk by. A magnolia tree is loaded with floppy white blossoms. One morning I saw a Great Blue Heron.
Walk, work, work.... the days blend. What day is it? What time? Pandemic distancing and grey spring days, I lose track of time. But I take that walk nearly every morning.
April 26, 2020
Walking during a Pandemic
Because we are practicing physical distancing I have been working from home for six weeks. I go to the grocery store about every two weeks, and to an outdoor farmer's market nearly every Saturday.
The farmer's market is in a park on a tidal river waterfront. It is pleasant to walk through the park, sit on a park bench in the spring sun, and look at the water. We all wear cloth face coverings or masks. Vendors are spread about 20 feet apart and most have installed Plexiglas shield protectors. We wait in line at least six feet apart and pay with cards or place cash into a bucket. Cash sits for two weeks, the vendors tell us, before they recycle it as change.
I walk nearly every morning, between 5 and 7 am. This morning I walked at 5:30. There was mist on the pond, the sun rose in a lemon sky, and there were ducks. Last week I saw a Great Blue Heron on the pond. It heard me before I saw it, and leapt into the air, flapping its wide wings.
The farmer's market is in a park on a tidal river waterfront. It is pleasant to walk through the park, sit on a park bench in the spring sun, and look at the water. We all wear cloth face coverings or masks. Vendors are spread about 20 feet apart and most have installed Plexiglas shield protectors. We wait in line at least six feet apart and pay with cards or place cash into a bucket. Cash sits for two weeks, the vendors tell us, before they recycle it as change.
I walk nearly every morning, between 5 and 7 am. This morning I walked at 5:30. There was mist on the pond, the sun rose in a lemon sky, and there were ducks. Last week I saw a Great Blue Heron on the pond. It heard me before I saw it, and leapt into the air, flapping its wide wings.
April 21, 2020
White Bird
I shared distance Reiki this morning and heard my neighborhood birds singing. I shared my silly, seemingly innocuous bird story with my Reiki client. I got a message back saying that during the time I was sharing Reiki with her, my client had a vision of holding a white bird in her hand.
Reiki is amazing.
Now you close your eyes. Imagine that a white bird is perched in your hand, singing. Just rest, breathe....
Reiki is amazing.
Now you close your eyes. Imagine that a white bird is perched in your hand, singing. Just rest, breathe....
