pay attention

in which our plucky heroine had visual proof that she has not lost her marbles...

Actually a family tradition - my mother keeps a bowl of marbles on a table in their entryway, for just such confirmation, and here at Acorn Cottage, my marbles live in a wooden box at the back of one of the nightstands. (as young M once said: "there is silly, and then there is seriously silly")

Why is this relevant? Well, today was my first visit to occupational therapy, to help lefthand become stronger and more functional. I was sent home with a tub of alarmingly pink putty to use for strengthening exercises, and with several new modes of focused massage to be used on my lower palm, to soften and continue to flatten the scar. The most unusual involves a good sized handful of marbles, and a towel. By putting the marbles on a towel, they stay on the table, and the scarred area can be rolled about on top of them, varying the pressure as needed. It feels weird, but good.

~ ~ ~≈:::≈~ ~ ~

While out and about in the world, I pay attention to my surroundings, partially as a matter of safe travel*, and partially since the world is full of beauty, if only you look for it. Mostly I look around, and have often made a specific point of looking up, since even in the most dismal surroundings the sky is always there, and often lovely.

But I also look down, and at the world of the small, and the very small.
As a child, I loved creating miniature worlds, dioramas, and dollhouses. Some of that fascination with the small still remains, after all these years - my enamel and metalworking is, well, very small indeed, making good use of my short and clever fingers. And surely I am not the only one who looks at the tiny landscapes of moss and imagines what it would be like to walk there...

. .
a multiplicity of texture and color, greenlife finds a home along the edges
there are the pathways that we travel on, and the ones we never see...
~ ~ ~≈:::≈~ ~ ~


/^-.-^\___}}
dog is resting now

* Situational awareness, sometimes described as the "Cooper Color Codes" is something that I've been practicing, in a rudimentary form, for many many years. It has seemed to me indispensable to pay attention to my surroundings as I travel about in the world. There is no way to know what dire consequences have been avoided by this attitude, for I've lived in, visited, and travelled through various less-than-savory neighborhoods in different cities for most of my adult life. While I never discount The Luck, alert attention is surely her most boon companion.

Today, while on the way to OT, the bus had just turned the corner into one of the transit centers when someone stepped out in front, off the walkway and into the lane, obviously listening to something other than the approaching bus, and watching a handheld screen instead of where they were going. I commended the driver on making a very short stop safely. Some of the other passengers actually applauded. The distracted pedestrian never noticed that they had narrowly escaped being flattened.

Do not be that pedestrian. The world is full of danger, and it is also full of beauty. Walk through it oblivious and you miss the beauty and increase your vulnerability. There are great benefits to remaining aware...