IN THIS ISSUE: IS YOUR MICROWAVE TOO SLOW?
WISDOM: "Hurry is not of the devil; hurry is the devil." Carl Jung
COACHES CHALLENGE: Is the speed with which you live your life buying you more time or skimming away the quality of your life?"
SOUL TRAVEL: CYCLONE IN ANTARCTICA
BOOK REVIEW: BEACHCOMBING AT MIRAMAR, by Richard Bode
IS YOUR MICROWAVE TOO SLOW?
If you are tapping your feet waiting for the baked potato to finish cooking in the microwave, you are in big trouble! Most of us may not be quite that bad, but we're close - and that is bad enough. Swept along as though driven by a gigantic windmill, we rush to "get things done", most of which are not relevant to our wellness. This is a way of life for most people, not really chosen, for if you live your life like this, you have lost the ability to choose. You are in habit mode.
Two of the most important virtues of being a human being, patience and intuition, drop by the wayside with this Microwave Mentality. How can you be patient when your laundry list for the day is not completed? How can you tap into your intuitive wisdom when you have no time to contemplate, no time to feel? What often emerges instead is anger. The cryptic message from the crazy Red Queen in Alice in Wonderland was: "Now here, you see, it takes all of the running you can do to keep in the same place. If you want to get somewhere else, you must run at least twice as fast as that." As I recall, the Red Queen was a pretty angry lady.
This passion for hurry is toxic to our well being, our children, our relationships and the world. Perhaps it is not only the violent TV shows, games, songs, movies and headlines that are contributing to a more violent world; maybe it is the frantic way most of us live our lives. Just a thought!
If your microwave is too fast, you can choose the oven; if it is too slow, you have no alternative except to tap your feet.
SOUL TRAVEL: CYCLONE IN ANTARCTICA
January 9,1999 - Our scheduled zodiac landing in St. Andrews Bay, South Georgia, was canceled. The ship was really being kicked around by wind and waves starting at about 4:00 a.m. and landings here would be too risky. I overheard our fearless leader talking about having had to forego the landing on their last trip totally. This particular bay was difficult as it was not as sheltered and therefore subject to more violent weather.
1. Black-browed albatross
2. Falkland Islands - Albatross colony
3. Antarctic landscape with zodiacs
4. Our ship, the "Ioffe"
5. Storm
6. Zodiac to Gangplank
7. Rockhopper Penguins
8. Rockhopper Penguin Colony
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The next day we returned to St. Andrews Bay and, although a gray and drizzly day, the landings were on. A colony of one million penguins made this a special place and, stalwart photographers that we were, we all wanted to go ashore. Once on land, I headed for the top of a hill to survey the landscape. A beautiful "S" curve of water from a glacier led to the sea and hundreds of penguins milled about below. A perfect photo op!
It was now raining and the wind was picking up. Hunkering down against the wind and rain, I patiently waited for a break in the clouds that might give me the photo I was after. But the weather worsened. I began to focus on the words I had overheard about this particular bay. "Get back to the ship" my inner voice was saying. Smarter than I usually am, I decided to listen and abandoned my photo op.
As it was, I was on the last zodiac to reach the ship before the captain said, "we are heading out to sea; it is too dangerous to stay this close to shore." He advised those on shore via radio that it would be best to find shelter. Twenty-nine people remained behind.
Those of us on the last zodiac had several heart-stopping moments as, one by one, we leapt from the zodiac, timing our leap at the peak of ten foot swells, and landing in the iron grip of a burly Russian sailor who was strapped to the gangplank.
Of all the landings in South Georgia, this one, this one was one of the few that, had a survival hut. Maintained by the British, this hut was stocked with rations, albeit seven years old, some bunks and a heater that didn't work. All twenty-nine people squeezed inside out of the now driving rain and wind. First, however, they had to ferry by zodiac over a narrow stretch of water that had been easy to walk across earlier but had become a fast moving river. There was not enough room for all to sit and many had gotten drenched in the crossing of the river.
Cold, shivering and hungry, the wind rocking the hut, anxiety heightened as evening approached. Their spirits were buoyed by telling jokes, as they huddled together to stay warm, and taking bets on when they would be back on board the ship. Meanwhile, those of us on the ship were watching the meteorograph on the bridge record a wind velocity that seemed unrelenting.
At 7:30 that evening, after nine hours of waiting, the winds calmed enough to allow the captain to approach shore. The ship had been blown off course and he had to bring her through a kelp bed-- not an easy task-- in order to make the fastest approach to the beach. The winds that had been at times over 100 mph were now at 40 mph but no one knew for how long.
By 9:00 p.m.* everyone was finally on board before the wind picked up again and would have made rescue impossible. Thanks to a narrow window of time, a skillful captain and a survival hut, everyone was safe. Without that hut, many of those stranded would have been fighting hypothermia or worse.
As though heralding our success and wishing us well, a magnificent rainbow appeared, arching low over the horizon. Rejoicing in the benign conclusion of a great adventure, we looked forward to our next day's landings.
*Being that far South, it was only dark for a few hours during the night.
BOOK REVIEW: BEACHCOMING AT MIRAMAR - The Quest for an Authentic Life by Richard Bode Richard Bode was leading what most of us would call a very successful life. When he left his high-pressure job, some saw it as an act of courage. He says, "I can no more say I quit that job than I can say a man who is suffocating acts with courage when he tries to breathe." He became a free lance writer. This was his first transition on his way to a second when he opted for a beach house at Miramar -- alone. He unfolds wonderful insights as we accompany him on his search for himself, the tuning in to the beauty around him and within him.
He muses, "how many decades have gone by since I skipped a stone five times." ". . . I recall my former self, the child I pushed so far down into the base of my being when I became a man that I forgot he was there. Now, all these years later, I realize how much I miss him, how much I want him back again." "I came to Miramar seeking an end to my isolation and my loneliness."
He finds that end and discovers himself. He also finds a special person he never would have "seen" before.
"It is speed that takes us away from the journey to the center of ourselves."
Richard Bode
RECOMMENDATION: CHECK OUT www.WalkingConnection.com
Wonderful, top-drawer walking trips all over the world. All levels of hikers and walkers are accommodated. Gene and Jo Ann Taylor are congenial, enthusiastic hosts and will make all comers feel welcomed. Located in Phoenix, Arizona, Walking Connection also sponsors many local walks and hikes. They make it easy to join a lovely group of people and bask in our great outdoors. (By the end of April, Walking Connection will have redone their photo gallery and incorporated several of my photos from around the world.)
NEXT MONTH: ICE, PENGUINS AND WHALE BREATH
THOUGHT FOR THE MONTH: Wisdom comes only from a quiet mind!
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I WANT TO THANK THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVE TAKEN THE TIME TO LET ME KNOW HOW MUCH YOU ARE ENJOYING THE MUSELETTER AND THANKS ALSO TO THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVE GIVEN ME E MAILS OF OTHERS YOU THINK MIGHT ENJOY IT. IT GIVES ME GREAT PLEASURE TO HEAR FROM YOU. YOUR COMMENTS ARE WELCOMED!
I WOULD LIKE TO HAVE A MAILING LIST OF AT LEAST 1000 BY THE END OF THE YEAR SO PLEASE KEEP THE REFERRALS COMING.
EXPLORE MY WEBSITE AND PHOTO GALLERY AT WWW.DANCEWITHEAGLES.COM
EMAIL: allison@dancewitheagles.com
Feel free to forward this on to anyone you believe might enjoy it and encourage them to subscribe for themselves. Comments, submissions and suggestions are welcome. My email is allison@dancewitheagles.com Although this material is subject to copyright, you may reprint this publication in whole or in part or use it in any way you feel it might be of benefit. Please state the following: Reprinted with permission from Allison Quattrocchi of Dance with Eagles, www.dancewitheagles.com All past museletters are posted on my website.
Names of subscribers will never be shared or sold.
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WINGS Vol. II, No. 4, April, 2003
