A Cause for Celebration

October 28, 2018October 28, 2018 ~ chungwipff ~ 6 Comments

I just turned 50 and everyone is asking me how it feels

“amazing, wonderful and miraculous!”

At 27, I got in a horrible car accident (I was on a scooter)

Had I entered the intersection seconds sooner, I would have died

At 34, I gave birth and almost died from blood clotting

I had breast cancer 8 years ago

now I’m cancer-free with a beautiful family and a job I love

My new (and just fired) financial advisor said,

“I won’t say your age out loud”

as if growing older is shameful

as if getting older is bad

Last night, a friend of mine told me

she has a friend who has three months to live (cancer spread)

that woman is a mother and in her thirties

to her, turning 50 would be a miracle

Turning 40…50…60…(70…and on) is a miracle

It should be embraced (!)

Fearing aging is fearing life

Our culture is kind of sick in that way

The good news is,

we don’t have to buy into it

Interval

September 23, 2018 ~ chungwipff ~ Leave a comment

I sit with a few girls during lunch recess

we all like to doodle

Tomorrow (September 22) is the first day of autumn (!)

But it’s Arizona – 96 degrees and humid from a recent storm

Laura’s drawing pretty ladies shopping

Julia is sketching fashion (dresses, skirts, shirts)

and I draw ferns, acorns and other accoutrements of Nature

kids are shouting and running around us – we remain composed

Frivolity

September 17, 2018September 16, 2018 ~ chungwipff ~ 3 Comments

We have a natural tendency to be preoccupied with things and competition (Mine is better than yours, I make more than you, I’m good at this, what are you good at?)

But there comes a time when this comes to a natural conclusion (perhaps a little after adulthood), and can be replaced by something deeper: Finding your essence identity (spiritual dimension).

The material and form identities still exist, but they should no longer give you a sense of who you are.

Lighten up. It’s just form. You never cease being you and there’s no need to get excited or stressed about the forms that happen in your life.

(Eckhart Tolle)

Seppuku

September 7, 2018 ~ chungwipff ~ 3 Comments

We’ve had a lot of moths dying in the pool.

They drown in the dogs’ water dish.

And I felt inspired to draw them.

Sunday Suggestion

September 2, 2018 ~ chungwipff ~ 1 Comment

Host a Sunday Jam Session

Happening now: six teenagers in our dining room, jamming on violins, viola, and cellos. They love playing together so much, that they arrange to meet weekly…driving almost one hour one way to each other’s houses. Proactive and unpaid.

Here they are during a concert in July:

Who says kids these days are just on their phones?