Two Eggs and A Fry Pan

Two Eggs and A Fry Pan

For those of you on Facebook, you may have read my post earlier in the week.  If not, here’s what I said:

“Hello Everybody! It has been almost 8 months since I stepped away from Facebook. It was an experiment to see if I could actually stop. I found it was consuming so much of my time that I was losing precious hours. And, I was! It was taking at least 2 to 3 hours every single day. But the downside is that without Facebook I was missing out on some of my connections with family and friends.

So, I’ve decided to start up again. This time, I have set a firm commitment to limit my browsing to a maximum of 1/2 an hour a day. Hmmmm! Let’s just see how that works out”

Sounds pretty simple, right? Of course, there were some who welcomed me back. Some who hadn’t noticed I was gone in the first place. And then there were a few who were skeptical that the 1/2 hour plan would work.

It was lunch time when I wrote that little message. I was so excited.  I scanned through ‘a few’ posts, catching up on what people had been doing over the past few months, enjoyed looking at some photos and THEN! I must have pitched two feet from the chair, tipped over my cup of coffee (yes, another one) and bolted up the stairs. Oh my goodness – two eggs and a fry pan later!

The rest of the week went slightly better though. The TV slipped from my grasp and went flying over the stairs. Later in the day, my phone quit. Well that’s not quite accurate. The touch screen stopped working. Naturally, I did what any sane person would do, I stuck a pin in the little hole on the side, thinking it just might be a reset button. Out popped the teeny wee SIM card and disappeared. Did I mention it was in the kitchen where there was a beautiful beige, slightly patterned, ceramic floor. An hour later, I was standing at Bell kiosk.

Good books are like good friends

For me, reading and writing are passions – as necessary as breathing. There’s something about the written word that is fascinating. It has the power to take us on travels to far off lands, to bring strangers into our lives and get to know them better, to evoke emotions, transform thoughts, challenge us to think differently, to quiet a troubled mind.  And then, there is the pure pleasure of reading a novel at bedtime or curled up in a chair with a cozy blanket and, perhaps, a glass of wine.

I also love listening to CBC radio in the morning. It is there that I hear about what’s happening, about new research, the latest issues and who is agreeing with whom and who’s not. I also hear about new books, old books, what’s hot and what’s not books.  This, of course, sends me off on a quest to find out more. And as often as not, I end up with yet another book.

Earlier this week, I was in the middle of making a new card and listening to the radio with my thoughts tuning in and out when I heard a young woman reference a quote:

“In the end, we are just walking each other home.”

I have no idea what topic was being discussed at that moment as my mind was blissfully coming up with a poem for the greeting card.  But that quote brought me to a standstill.  Only a few words, but powerful. Who first said it I wonder? Thankfully, Google (another good friend of mine) provided the answer. It was Ram Dass!

Now who in the blue blazes is Ram Dass? The name sounded vaguely familiar but I could not for the life of me remember any details. So I dug further.

What an interesting chap! Ram Dass (born Richard Alpert; April 6, 1931) is an American spiritual teacher, former academic and clinical psychologist, and author of many books, including Be Here Now. (source: Wikipedia) He is known for work with Timothy Leary at Harvard University in the early 1960s. They explored the therapeutic potential of psychedelic drugs under controlled conditions. He was kicked out of Harvard apparently and from there continued to explore. Ram Dass is also known for his travels to India and his relationship with the Hindu guru, Neem Karoli Baba. He has established a couple of charitable foundations and now, at the age of 88, continues to teach through his website, www.ramdass.org. Being curious, I zipped right on over there and listened to a couple of his podcasts. Yes, interesting.

And now to find that book!

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