Susan Palmer's Exquisite Now

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  • Day of rest

    Blame the Romans — specifically Christian Emperor Constantine (321 common era) — for enshrining in civil law the concept of Sunday as a day of rest.

    Many faith traditions do this though not all have a weekly practice.

    I decided to take a day off from all of my computer devices, a day of no-laptop, no-iphone, no-ipad, and Sunday seemed like a good time to try it. I learned from this that I have trained my brain to use these devices as a kind of adult pacifier, going to them while waiting and then lingering when there’s no need to. Yesterday I lost track but estimate that six or seven times each hour (each hour!) I thought of reasons to grab one of my devices, to text someone, to look up “interesting” information, to send an email, to check my email, to occupy myself while waiting for the gas tank to be filled, etc.

    Mostly, I resisted. There were at least two things I asked my spouse to do for me: email a family member about an upcoming scheduled event and sign me up for a YMCA class that can only be signed up for online. I used my phone twice, once to call my mom and once to answer a text.

    Otherwise I stayed away from the Internet and its fascinating yet ensnaring rabbit holes. I existed in the real world.

    Among the things I got done yesterday: finished embroidering the dog rose (Trish Burr design), pictured above. I also took the time to block it, a finishing technique I often procrastinate.

    I organized a jumbled mess of dozens of recipes printed from online sources. I came up with a dinner plan for the week. Overall, some useful things got accomplished and I realized how I get sucked into hours of computer time by thinking that I’ll just jump on the Internet to “learn” one thing and then a couple of hours later, I’m still gawking mindlessly.

    I think I’ll make a practice of this fine tradition, brought to us by the world’s spiritual systems.

    Meanwhile, if you need a rabbit hole (it is Monday, after all), check out this explainer on the names of the week.

    https://www.britannica.com/topic/Sunday-day-of-week

  • Yes, you are

    Creative, I mean. Even if you think you aren’t.

    I love this book of poetry prompts by poet Joseph Fasano. In my book club, (OK, truthfully, my mother and two sisters meeting weekly on Zoom; we talk books to maintain fresh discussion points), we enjoy using the prompts in Fasano’s book to write. His prompts have shown us unexpected, playful images and sometimes powerful connections among our inner selves and the natural world, another kind of alchemy. We can be silly. We can be serious and we catch ourselves and each other off-guard in interesting ways.

    Here’s an example of a poetry prompt from the “The Magic Words.” followed by what I wrote using the prompt. What a fine gift Fasano has given with this book. A skilled poet is crooking a finger in our direction, saying: “Come on in, the water’s fine.”

    Here’s what I wrote:

  • Be safe out there

    courtesy of Pixabay

    Please take a moment to read this story (linked below), published today in the Yachats News. Especially, read it if you visit beaches anywhere from from Northern California to southern Washington state.

    Sneaker waves are nothing like I thought they were, and much more dangerous than I understood.

    I’m so glad I got to write this story for the Yachats News. My respect for the power of the ocean grew tremendously.

    Eugene woman who survived sneaker wave with granddaughter last year in Yachats returns with warnings