Grace Has Friends Over

Yes, it was Grace’s turn to see her friends (and as a bonus I got to see mine too!). Carm got me all set up at Riverside and then headed to so that I could entertain friends. Ruth came over in the afternoon for an evening of visiting and laughs. It was so nice to see her and really get to gab. I think the birds had fun too although they were all yawning this morning – maybe nobody got a good sleep.

Ruth is one of my bird friends. I met her when she came to buy a baby timneh from our very first clutch – they were very special to us – she played with the babies for a bit but they were still too young to go home. Finally the day came for her to pick up her new baby. I was at work so Carm was handling the transaction. It was a clutch of three and of course she chose the oldest one which was my favourite. Carm called me at work to let me know and I cried at my desk. Letting go of babies, whether birds or horses was always worth a few tears. I got so attached to them. But at the same time it was so rewarding to see them go to new, excited homes. Anyway, long story made even longer – we ended up keeping in touch and when the time came for me to find a hand-feeder for the next clutch Ruth was the one.

She was an excellent feeder and care-giver, giving the little bappies all the love and care that I would have. It wasn’t long before we were really good friends too, so that now even though there are no more babies, we remain friends. Some people are just special like that.

 

There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a
miracle. The other is as if everything is.
Albert Einstein

Baby parrots (bappies) are one of those miracles!

Inner Smile

"In ancient China, the Taoists taught that a constant inner smile, a smile to oneself, insured health, happiness and longevity. Why? Smiling to yourself is like basking in love: you become your own best friend. Living with an inner smile is to live in harmony with yourself." -Mantak Chia

The last few years of work were difficult for me. I found it hard to keep from descending into a deep depression. I would sit at my desk thinking all sorts of terrible dark thoughts. Finally I realized I had to do something. The first thing I tried was a service dog. I took Spike to school and through some hard work he graduated a Service Dog. The paper work was all done so he started accompanying me to work. He was a very good boy and helped me get through one winter. Unfortunately the stress was too much for him, he had some issues with wearing his vest - it was pinching him and I didn’t realize it – and by the time I did figure out what the problem was he was just spooked. To this day if I put the vest on he flinches and cowers. We couldn’t seem to really get past that and since I couldn’t bear to see him that way so he retired. (someday I’ll do a whole post about him as a Service Dog – it was an interesting experience).

In his little bed by my desk

Coffee break time

Spikes retirement left me with a big question, “now what could I do to get myself through the last few months before retirement?”. After reading “Eat, Pray, Love” I found myself investigating Buddhism and stumbled across Smile Meditation. Well, it wasn’t as good as Spike (he really was fantastic) but I could “carry it with me” so to speak. It helped… along with the knowledge that retirement was on the horizon.

The Inner Smile mediations are simple exercises that you can use any time of the day to help calm and refocus your energies (see the link for details). Once you have mastered it, or at least gotten comfortable you can start to include a half-smile as you go about your day. Believe it or not this can actually change your outlook and how you feel about the events of the day.  I have gotten out of the habit, but after watching a program about India last night I was reminded of this healthy way of being and will try to remember to re-incorporate it into my daily life.

'Half smiling' mindfulness exercises by Thich Nhat Hahn

Half-smile when you first wake up in the morning

Hang a branch, any other sign, or even the word "smile" on the ceiling or wall so that you see it right away when you open your eyes. This sign will serve as your reminder. Use these seconds before you get out of bed to take hold of your breath. Inhale and exhale three breaths gently while maintaining the half smile. Follow your breaths.

Half-smile during your free moments

Anywhere you find yourself sitting or standing, half-smile. Look at a child, a leaf, a painting on the wall, anything which is relatively still, and smile. Inhale and exhale quietly three times. Maintain the half smile and consider the spot of your attention as your own true nature.

Half-smile while listening to music

Listen to a piece of music for two or three minutes. Pay attention to the words, music, rhythm, and sentiments. Smile while watching your inhalations and exhalations.

Half-smile when irritated

When you realize you're irritated, half-smile at once. Inhale and exhale quietly, maintaining the half smile for three breaths.

extracted from http://chippit.tripod.com/inner_smile.html

“Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy.” ~Thich Nhat Hanh

Time We Have Rushed Through

One of the big things I’m learning in retirement is to slow down. For years I was so time challenged that everything was rushed through in the most efficient manner possible. No time was taken to enjoy the doing – the time just wasn’t there. Even things like doing crafts – the end result was the goal, not the doing of it. Working full time and having a room full of parrots and a barn full of horses just didn’t leave much time. Now though, I have none of those demands – no horses, no parrots except Grace, and no full time job. So now that I have all this time on my hands I am finally learning to enjoy the process – it doesn’t come naturally and I have to remind myself all the time but I’m getting there. It makes me sad to realize how much time was lost in the race…

I finally know what retired people mean when they say they don’t know how they worked full time – they’ve slowed down their efforts to a more human speed and can’t imagine speeding it up again.

I think I’ll make this my new anthem.

Slow down, you move too fast.
You got to make the morning last.
Just kicking down the cobble stones.
Looking for fun and feelin' groovy.
Hello lamppost,
What cha knowing?
I've come to watch your flowers growing.
Ain't cha got no rhymes for me?
Doot-in' doo-doo,
Feelin' groovy.
Got no deeds to do,
No promises to keep.
I'm dappled and drowsy and ready to sleep.
Let the morning time drop all its petals on me.
Life, I love you,
All is groovy

 

Today I spent more time in the camper rearranging the furniture. As anyone with a camper knows, there isn’t much you can do to change things around… however, since we have a week coming up where Grace’s big cage will be inside I wanted to make it seem more spacious – ha. I played around with different chairs, but since Spike’s bed fits under the chair I didn’t have any luck with smaller ones. So I ended up just removing the big black chair and sticking his bed behind the comfy chair. I guess it works – Spike was a good helper, checking out the fit of each new configuration (for treats of course).

The pictures in the first row are before, the second row after. Can you even tell the difference? There feel’s like there is a bit more room… Here’s Spike’s bed tucked behind the comfy chair.

“Half our life is spent trying to find something to do with the time we have rushed through life trying to save.”

Will Rogers