Fa – the Green Dragon

A Place for the Odd Musings of an Expat Bristolian

Author Archives: Cethru Cellophane


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Staying in the present … Continued.

In 1985 -86, technology had developed to the point where we could program our wrist watches to emit a beeping sound, on the hour every hour. This turned out to be one of Mr. gibbons’ pet peeves. During his lecture one day, he questioned the necessity for this audible interruption.

From that time forward, we never heard this  sound again.

As I wrote earlier, removing distractions allowed for awareness. Mr. Gibbons explained at about this time that one of his mantras for living in the present was to consider the next two minutes as the most important moments of your life.

Staying in the present, being aware increases one’s ability to anticipate. Anticipation is simply a matter of being prepared. This can be most important when executing daily tasks. Driving your car for example is one of the most important places to be focused, aware and in an anticipatory mode. Paying bills on time is another which can save you money by avoiding late fees. And what about places of potential danger.

Taking notice of your surroundings when you enter a business or your bank can help  to keep you safe. Noting fire exits is something very few people do. Complacency rears it’s head with the thinking that it won’t happen to me.

I’ll leave you with these thoughts for the time being. I will write more in due course.


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Staying in the Present

Some years ago, when my work took me to return to the U.K., I was fortunate to have attended a series of lectures delivered by James Gibbons at the London School of Economic Science. I did this over a period two years. His course of lectures involved being and staying in the present. His lectures were well prepared and delivered. They required active participation by all attendees, There were about 30 of us.

There were many parts to being and staying in the present. The first part being the elimination of all distractions. This required actively disregarding anything, taking one away from active listening. Such things as traffic noise coming from outside on the street, or doors opening and closing in adjacent rooms etc.

Have you ever noticed yourself during a conversation, drifting away from fully listening to thinking about what you are going to say next? I think it happens to all of us. Sadly, we have become a nation of people waiting  to speak instead of listeners.

What I found and my take-away from these lectures, was that I had a better understanding of what had been said. And this led to a better long-term memory of the event.

We can all train ourselves to be and remain in the present. However, it is up to the individual to make a conscious decision to be be more aware of events as they happen.

Personally, I found that this practice left me better prepared with fewer surprises. This has reduced what I call catastrophic events in my day-to-day life. Of course, there is a lot to write about this, but I don’t want to be long winded. Perhaps more to follow at a time in the near future


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Is it a question of Time?

Yesterday I was having a discussion with a friend about the situation Fotus Trump has created not only in the US but also around the world. My friend remarked, “yes I wish he would go away or just pass away”. I responded that passing away while still in office would not solve our problem. I went on to offer this opinion: It would be far better to wait for the mid-term elections and the next general election. If we do that, I believe that Trump, Musk and others of the GOP will have caused enough damage and disruptions to our country, that finally we will be able to vote them out of office, the congress and senate to reclaim a path of honesty, competence and sanity. On the other hand, if Trump should pass away while still in office the frightening reality will be the elevation of the rabid doglike JD Vance, who has already displayed his loathing for our friends and allies. Let us continue the fight with this in mind.


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SHUFFLE and PUTZ

I Have long been in what is sometimes referred to as My Autumn Years. And I have no problem with that terminology at this stage in my life.  However, as I have now grown older, and looking back on my thoughts and feelings as I aged, I thought it might be fun just too share some of them with you.

One of the things I noticed about older people is the way in which they walk. From my observations I saw that invariably they took shorter steps i.e. they did not seem to take a full stride. This was more pronounced when the person in question was using a cane or a walker. So, their gait could best be described more as a shuffle than a walk.

About fifteen years ago, I was admitted to hospital due to severe dehydration. I was in bed for about four days with round the clock IV’s replenishing fluids to my system. On the fifth day I was allowed out of bed. To my surprise, I found I could not stand or walk without support. This state did not pass quickly and with the help of therapists I had to learn how to walk again.

Since I am retired, I have quite a bit of time on my hands. Therefore, I spend my time doing what is sometimes termed putzing.  I like to putz in my garage and even in my home office. If in the garage, it comes down to cleaning, maintaining reorganizing tools, oils, grease, paints, etc.   And, in my home office, it is curating the thousands of

 photographs I have accumulated, cataloguing CDs and DVDs.

In more recent times I was taking shorter steps, and my own gait had turned into a shuffle. I noticed this first walking backwards and forwards in my garage when putting a tool away or moving a can of paint to a different shelf, all the while navigating boxes of who knows what on my garage floor.

To remedy this, I enrolled in a Sliver Sneakers program at my local community center. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, I go there to walk and indoor track for about an hour. I follow this with an hour session of group led chair yoga. So far, it’s working well for me.

I wonder if this experience resonates with you.