andrea@hp-sdd.hp.com (Andrea K. Frankel) (01/17/90)
(Susan S.: previous mail path to you no longer works! Do you know
what's happening?)
I had a pretty out-of-control stretch there for a while - but I'm starting
to pull out of it. It will take a while to reverse the damage from all
that uncontrolled eating (chocolate is my substance of choice ;@); I've
rejoined Weight Watchers, and have started calling around to find an OA
meeting nearby. Oh, yes, and trying to find time to relax ;@)
I am reading an incredible little book, Gift from the Sea by Anne Morrow
Lindberg. A real classic. You can read it either as a feminine
mid-life crisis being creatively resolved, or as spiritual growth
happening consciously to a woman involved in normal living and
relationships. Her description of the hurried, harried life and the
need to spend time alone for recentering goes deep.
Then (by one of those coincidences that isn't) I was in a local Jewish
gift shop which was having a going-out-of-business sale, and picked up a
"Shabbat Manual", designed to re-introduce those who have been
nonreligious to the meaning and observance of the sabbath. They
included some exerpts from modern writers on the sabbath, and some of
them hit me right between the eyes. Suddenly, it seems quite wonderful
to carve out an evening and a day (sundown Friday to sundown Saturday)
and preserve it as a sacred time for rest, study, worship, renewal, and
joy. No 3-foot-long lists of errands to be done, no working from home,
no shopping. My reading of it is that hobbies which are truly nurturing
and renewing to the spirit are OK (painting, watering plants), but
hobbies that feel like work (pruning fruit trees, sewing clothes) are
not OK during the sabbath. I'm going to start observing Shabbat in a
small way this weekend, and see how it goes. I can still remember how
my mom used to do it, before she got too emotionally ill to hold it
together.
Best wishes for a sane, sober, and healthy new year!
Andrea Frankel, Hewlett-Packard (San Diego Division) (619) 592-4664
"wake now! Discover that you are the song that the morning brings..."
______________________________________________________________________________
UUCP : {hplabs|nosc|hpfcla|ucsd}!hp-sdd!andrea
Internet : andrea@sdd.hp.com (or andrea%hp-sdd@nosc.mil or @ucsd.edu)
CSNET : andrea%hp-sdd@hplabs.csnet
USnail : 16399 W. Bernardo Drive, San Diego CA 92127-1899 USAsusans@cfi.COM (susans) (01/17/90)
In article <3126@hp-sdd.hp.com> andrea@hp-sdd.UUCP (Andrea K. Frankel) writes: >(Susan S.: previous mail path to you no longer works! Do you know >what's happening?) Hello Everyone! Our Sun went down for about a week and a half and I couldn't send or receive off-site mail. I think it should be o.k. now. My mailpath should be susans@cfi.com. My new years was great! I went skiing for the first time in about 11 years. My new beau took me to Killington--his personal obsession--and I strapped on the old boards and much to both our suprise, I remember how to ski! New Years eve we went to a meeting and then to a dance--a contra dance where no alcohol is allowed. At midnight we sang Auld Lang Syne and some other songs I've never heard before. All in all, very mellow and nice. This talk about the winter blues--well, I have one little thing to say. Live each day. Don't try to live out the winter. Just wake up, ask for help, and see what happens! Today it is supposed to be in the 50 degree range here in Boston. How can I have winter doldrums with spring temps? If I allow myself, EASILY! My emotional state doesn't often make sense. I choose today to accept what comes, weatherwise, without a fuss. After all, it is Wednesday, I have to work for 8 hours regardless, and then I have some nice things planned for the evening. I try to stay grateful in the really cold weather that I have a roof over my head. Think of those folks who are living in dumpsters and alleys. We have computer access--I assume we all have coats and shoes and food. Ask for help, ask for help, ask for help! And keep dreaming of May flowers if it helps! Carpe diem Tom M! And thanks for looking out for me. (You too Andrea!) -- Susan S. (susans@cfi.com) Another Friend of Bill's