Category Archives: meditation

Apr 25 2024
fun, meditation, photos

Bonsai gang survived the winter

It’s Springtime-y as hell here. There was a frost warning three days ago and it’s going to be 80 this weekend. That was the last of the cold-cold, though, so I took these bonsai bros out from their winter cover and I’m going to set them up in their homes for the season. The azalea needs some partial shade and the fir gets full-blast sunshine. I was able to rely on rain/snow for winter watering, but I’m going to have to get back on my daily check-ins as things warm up.

I’m not even worried that the azalea didn’t bloom. It feels sturdy as hell and the leaves are strong and a great green. Maybe I’ll get a bloom or two? If I do, I’ll def. post them here.

This little fir, which was already trimmed up bonsai-style, got nice and wooly. I’m inclined to give it a year of regular growing and I’ll take a look at some pruning later this year.

Oct 19 2022
meditation, photos

On last commute

Ended a long and winding chapter in my professional life today. I’ll miss this drive across the river but I’m excited about the next thing.

May 31 2020
bicycles, fun, meditation

This weekend was set up for some good stuff.

We watched one of my all-time favorite movies, Out Of Sight, with the kids. We broke with recent tradition and watched it on Friday night (as opposed to Saturday morning) and it was a hit. It’s an impossibly good-looking movie with two legit Movie Stars who movie-star all over the place. I was tickled that they enjoyed it and I was appreciative of the brief respite from the COVID-cloud that has been hanging over everything for the last few months. As a family, I think we’ve really enjoyed these movie sessions for the escapist break they give us.

dominion demo

Early Saturday morning the old Dominion Power building was imploded. I didn’t get up and go watch it live, figuring the internet would provide, and boy did they ever.

I got up early on Saturday morning and caught a mountain bike ride with my younger daughter out at Pocahontas State Park and we ripped some trails for the first time in over a year. The weather was wonderful and I wouldn’t have spent it with anyone else. It was also the first time I’ve used both bike racks on my car since I installed them. It was more than a minor victory to get to the park and see that both bikes were still there!

All of those good-times-as-distraction are null because while the world may still be upside-down with the COVID, now it’s on literal fire with protests. My home of Richmond, Va. suffered last night. People are justifiably angry and they took it out, correctly in my opinion, on the symbols of institutional racism that stand in our town.

I don’t understand the destruction and looting of local businesses, though. We have an incredible community of business owners in this city and it’s fucking absurd that some shitbags will use the protest of police killing black folks as an opportunity to burn and destroy good places. I also don’t subscribe to the All Cops Are Bastards mentality. It’s ignorant and counterproductive.

My disappointments are small potatoes compared to the real suffering going on in my city and my country. Please stay safe.

Jan 11 2013
meditation

Should Buddhist Meditation Make You Happy?

I’ve added meditation to my Things I Do list this year so this is the kind of thing I’m reading up on. It’s a very interesting question because, as he talks about in the article, the goal of this kind of meditation isn’t to “get happy”, but rather to become more observant. This can, I’ve read, lead to happiness if the result is letting go of counterproductive action (for example).

I’ve really just started to maybe scratch the surface of what meditation can show. I don’t have a well-formed perspective to build an opinion on so I’ll reserve comment for now. The article is something good for me to mull on.

[via Later On]