Pondered Pondering

I was sitting at the breakfast table sipping on some coffee. It was not the best or worst coffee I have had.

Then I noticed myself pondering the challenges that have been put along my path. There are some important choices that must be made soon. I find myself at a critical crossroads. My thoughts were going over, under and around these matters. Sometimes new insights occurred but mostly it was a mental stroll around familiar landmarks.

Then I noticed myself pondering about the question, “What is happening as I am pondering?” Clever scientists say that thinking includes chemical interactions and electrical impulses in my brain. That is good to know. But for me pondering is words in English that I heard and sometimes felt. I do not ponder in French or another language. There is a way that the thoughts flowed like a stream in a downhill rush or other times rolled back and forth like waves on a beach. There are ways that thoughts perform like trained dogs or other times as actors following the guidance of a director.

So for a while I thought about my thinking and learned a little more about myself as well how I operate.

Then I made a choice to distill my thoughts about thinking into words to share with you. The very private matters have become public. The internal matters have become external. The vague and fuzzy signals in my mind have become concrete words that the spelling checker accepts. What had been biological became encoded into 1s and 0s and then sent at the speed of light to you. Then you decoded the words that had been 1s and 0s to form internal signals in your mind. So there was an imperfect transfer from inside of me to inside of you. That is something to ponder.

Wall Paint

I was noticing the cheerful colors of the walls in a very old building.

A nice bright white was accented with light blue.

The building is many decades old.

But the paint job distracts from that age.

As a former house painter I recall transforming rooms.

It is just a little amazing what happens when the liquid paint goes on a wall.

The clever chemists at the paint company did their work well.

The colors of the pigments spread evenly.

The paint dries without streaks or spots.

What had been dull and maybe ugly looks fresh and pretty.

So I found another silent servant called wall paint.

I see you there silent servant.

Extension Ladders

I noticed two extension ladders attached to the top of a white van going down a highway in the morning. So I expect the destination of the van is a job site.

This reminded me of many years ago when I was a house painter. My partner and I used such ladders often to paint under the eaves and on the sides of two story houses. They were the essential tools of our trade.

I left that trade due to the small but real risk of the danger of falling. And I disliked what the paint fumes did to me when working in a bathroom or a kitchen.

So for me, an extension ladder as well as all other kinds of ladders, are silent servants.

I see you there silent servants. 

Traffic signals

A large city bus passed right in front of me as I stood on the corner waiting for my signal to cross the busy downtown street.

I have been working on projects in this business district for a few weeks. It is unlike the quiet suburban setting where I had been for many years.

I had notice that all day and night there is continual movement of cars, trucks, busses and pedestrians. These come and go in orderly ways due to the traffic signals. Some clever traffic engineers designed and operate these integrated systems. We just stop and go as the lights inform us. We get from Point A to Point B safely.

If these lights did not exist or were out of order then there would need to be a police officer on every corner. There would be slow movements and upset people.

So those lights for the cars and for the pedestrians are silent servants.

I see you there silent servants. 

Red EXIT sign constantly shines over door. 7 word Sunday

Sprinkler Systems

I have never been in a public building that was on fire.

But all of them have had sprinkler systems.

Recently I noticed the sprinkler devices in ceiling again.

I saw the smoke detectors at strategic locations and fire alarm speakers.

My life has been safer.

Clever people designed, installed and maintained these devices.

I see you there silent servants.

Just a Chair

The first ten minutes were not so bad as I stood outside the office of the head of security. I watched as he came and went from his tiny office. He deftly dealt with many needs quickly. He knew I wanted to talk with him. But he knew my need was not as urgent as all the others.

Then after this waiting the plain plastic chair across the hallway seemed much more appealing. There was no way to know how long it might be before my question would be asked of him.

While I sat there I realized that plain Jane chair was yet another of the many silent servants scattered in my modern lifestyle. I could have continued to stand in the hallway but that would have led to fatigue. That functional combination of plastic and metal was exactly what I needed just then.

So I can say again, I see you there silent servant.

Footnote to this incident: The security chief answered my simple question in a way I could easily understand. He had the courtesy of asking me to close the door. That shut out the other noises.

I did take time to offer words of appreciation for the good service he and his staff provide. He seemed encouraged and noted that he rarely gets positive feedback.  

One might say security guards are nearly invisible and not always silent servants to our busy lives. 

Seeing a Monarch Butterfly

Seeing a Monarch butterfly in a downtown city park was a delightful interruption to my errand.

Such liveliness and vivid colors contrasted to the sterile steel, reflective glass windows and boring brick walls.

Some clever city planner had anticipated my need for relief. Somehow taxpayers money planted and then maintained lots of flowers in an otherwise dull urban landscape.

One could say that God used insect instincts and providence to intersect my path.

Wide and Flat Stones

The wide and flat stones were arranged and placed under the picnic table to make a barrier from the presence of pesky mud. And it worked well.

Paintings on the Wall.

As I waited on the 16 updates to my laptop computer I was forced to find something else to do. 

Then I noticed the nice paintings on the wall.

Familiar Huummmm

The grounds worker carried the wind making device on his back.

I could hear the familiar huummmm long before I saw him.

In front of his path were the fresh grass clippings and behind was a very neat sidewalk.

I am old enough to recall when such work was done by brooms.

I did it myself as a kid and so did my dad.

Hop hop hop

Hop hop hop

Hop

Hop hop

The small sparrow seeks the next seed or other scrap food on the sidewalk.

Dining Commons

The dining commons of the college was nice and quiet early in the morning.

But that peacefulness was interrupted by the high pitch whines when the bathroom doors opened then closed.

The lack of a little oil in the right spots can make a huge difference.  

Fading Roar

The fading roar of the far away passenger jet means that there are dozens of passive people getting much closer to their destination with each passing second.

Good Old Sand Bags

While walking through downtown I noticed bright orange sand bags.

These were used to secure temporary construction signs on the streets and sidewalks.

I was struck with the brutal simplicity of them.

Plain sand was neatly wrapped in plastic burlap like bags.

They had simple straps to hold the sand inside.

There in the midst of tall skyscrapers, honking taxis and convention goers were sand bags.

The ultimate low tech things were used to keep order in swirl of high tech currents.

I see you there silent servants.

Each Highway Overpass

While walking on the overpass I noticed the trucks and cars gliding toward their next destination.

The traffic beside me was also moving smoothly.

Thankfully smart city planners and engineers imagined this intersection interaction many years ago.

Thousands of vehicles passed this small parcel of real estate daily.

There is no stop sign, traffic signal or police officer to make the interactions safe.

This and hundreds of other well-crafted cross roads keep the people moving steadily.

There are times when I feel awe as I pass under the complex ways major highways intersect.

I admit that I have taken for granted the science and art of civil engineering.

My life is more pleasant and peaceful because they applied their talents behind the scenes.

Each highway overpass is yet another silent servant.

I see you there silent servant.

Sounds of Student’s Steps

College campus has a long narrow courtyard between the academic buildings.

Sounds of student’s steps sometimes punctuate the tranquility.

The air conditioning fan blows almost unnoticed. 7 word Sunday

Hot baths are simple pleasures aaaaaahhh 6 word Satrudays

Little Amazing Emails

In the morning I diligently tapped on the keys.
Then I sent the message to several people.
That afternoon some of them tapped on the keys.
I got replies to my email.
At some level this kind of communication is just a little amazing.
I reached across many hundreds of miles at the speed of light.
I caught the attention of several very busy people.
They communicated with me while I was busy with other projects.

There was zero postage, long distance charges or other money spent to do that.

Noticing the Air

I was doing some basic meditating again.

It was the simple kind of mediation where I just observed my breathing.

I was paying attention to my inhales and exhales.

That is a very centering and peaceful practice.

Then I noticed the air is invisible.

What is totally necessary for me to live is not visible.

I can survive without TV, pizza and even chocolate but not without air.

I was recalling when that was most dramatically demonstrated to me.

I recalled going swimming.

When I put my head under water the access to the air was ended.

When on a beach with my head just above the waves the access ended.

I can see across the room clearly yet there is air here.

I can see the skyscrapers in the downtown district from miles away.

There is air between me and those buildings.

All the nature videos I have enjoyed had air between the camera and the animal.

The scientists have clever names and explanations for air.

That is fine with me.

I just seek a little childlike wonder sometimes.

grist for future small stones

I was forced to take a break while waiting for a place to open for business.

My Higher Power caused me to pause after an 8 hour stretch of work.

Guard Makes Rounds

Security guard gradually makes the rounds in the golf cart again.

Spreadsheet Record

The spreadsheet with the journal of my expenditures gives a digital two dimensional record of my travels and experiences in this three dimensional world.

Of course that is what it is. But at some level is it not a little amazing that my real life can be summed up in such an abstract way? It has a specific slice of the money facts without the sights, sounds, tastes, smells or feelings. 

Pigeon Glided Down

Pigeon glided down ever so gracefully landing in the middle of fellow pigeons.

Small boy chases pigeons with glee. 6 word Saturdays

A Curious Fly

A curious fly landed very briefly on my laptop computer as I sat in the park writing.

It did not stay long as the plastic did not have an appealing taste.

Fresh Cut Grass

The fresh cut grass in the huge field is not just green.

There is much light yellow, pale tan, greyish white as well as light green.

It took a while to notice all the colors.

I expected green like the grass had been when it was tall.

But the greyish white is what caught my attention. 

Little Clover Blossoms

The little clover blossoms were right beside me.

But I had been sitting on the lawn for a long time before I noticed them.