A Star Off Point is a Square

Hello Faithful Friends...

I have been disappearing into different worlds and this traveller is on hyperspeed.

I go between feeling the adrenaline rush and feeling absolutely tired or frustrated and that seems to be the theme in all parts of my life right now.

"Is my star balanced? Is my star balanced?".... Is a question I ask of myself to give myself a reality check. Imagine a star with five points... The five points are:

Intellectual
Emotional
Spiritual
Social
Physical

AND...None of the points are more important than the others...

Many moons ago during a camp retreat, I was given this star to help gauge the status of how I was handling life... Right now I can see right away where I am off balance: the physical point. I am not challenging myself and training to master my body in a way that is engaging me fully...

I've been living like a walking brain or computer these past few months and I'm started to have interesting moments that I can only explain as a manifestation of being a bit out of alignment.

Intellectually, I am happy with my current pursuits and the conversations I have with people that I see results across my "star." (minus the physical field) I become emotionally and spiritually satisfied within the social buzz that is my life... but without that one point in balance, I experience moments of feeling SQUARE. arrrggghhh

I need a massage. I need to take more hikes and walks... and thank God... dance rehearsal resumes a schedule... Being on a thinking run, I've neglected that I exist on other levels...

Thank you for checking in, though. I noticed that people have been visiting despite my lazy fingers not kicking out as many entries...

I am now going to get ready to throw myself out onto a canyon trail for a hike and remedy myself....

How is YOUR star balanced?

MUSIC: A Wink and a Smile

I celebrated a special birthday this past Monday at Charlie-O's Jazz Club. The club was FULL and most of the people had gathered around the piano bar to celebrate the man of the evening, Page Cavanaugh.... 84 years young.

I was struck by many things about the evening... Where to begin? I adored his arrangement of Cabaret and the chemistry between him and his players; Jason Lingle on drums and Phil Mallory on upright bass....is like watching good friends out cruising in a fast car on a gorgeous day. Their groove and rapport playing with one another has a life of its own.... and that life seems to manifest into the audience... as well as friends that came along to PLAY... and join into the fun...

Plas Johnson joined on sax.... and Mark Miller came up to sing a song...

It was a pleasure to be present to the "Page Effect"... I can see why my friend Jason, enjoys being part of the trio who says there is never a dull moment not with . Page's great storytelling of life at the jazz royal courts gathers his friends around the campfire as he shares tales about Sinatras and Coles... memories and adventures told with a wink and a smile...

Between sets, I was able to meet with a couple of friends and fans who have enjoyed many seasons listening to Page play. I, myself, came out to see one of my best friends play, Jason Lingle. I now can't wait to see them again... perhaps at their upcoming CD release party.

I think next time I want to sit right up next to the camp fire...

JNET

The Weirdness of Me

I've been tagged by Aristrocat who wishes that I humor him in sharing the weirdness of me.

I don't know how to pursue the matter because from my vantage point, everything I do is how I've been for all my life.

A common thing I may hear from friends is that they are always interested in what I'm up to now. I get that they understand me as someone who is always building, creating or working on something. But then I wonder... isn't EVERYONE up to something??? When someone asks.. "what's up?" I think perhaps a lot of people don't do themselves justice in taking stock and qualifying their experience that I think it's always a crazy answer when someone says.. "not much" or "the same stuff."

I'm paradoxically not a patient person but I'm not impatient. I have a lot of stamina to wait out a tenuous battle... but "I don't know people" or people with a knack for carelessness and stupidity bulldozing their indulgent personalities will find me an ice queen if they skate on thin ice. I love people and their idiosyncracies but certain discrepencies bring people to a final wall where there is no patience to hear them out.

I am a thinker. I am not driven by emotion though I have them and choose from the buffet table. I am very deliberate in what I do and say and I don't define deliberate as slow or not spontaneous. Slow is a choice as well as being spontaneous.

But can I really say that this is weird at all? I was raised this way and my family thinks and speaks this way. Shall I say then that my family is weird? I was raised with freedom to have an opinion, to disagree, to express myself. I was raised to never belittle in jest in a home where "dumb" and "stupid" were bad words and R-rated movies were not viewed or valued. Some of my friends would say that is weird. I can't say that I missed the sarcasm nor have I ever felt constrained from lack of swearing and watching slasher movies.

I am struggling here wondering what else to share as my weirdness... Let's see... I don't watch television and have never felt compelled to purchase one... I also don't have the patience to habitually sit in front of one... I'd rather be at the piano, at the computer or DOING something that makes for a more rigorous brain workout.

Is that weird? I know quite a few people who don't watch television... many of them work in the industry... Is that weird???

A part of me insists to keep some of my particular idiosyncracies for myself and my friends to enjoy... and with that statement, I'll embrace a piece of my privacy and end this blog entry.