8.16.20 … “When I let go of who I am, I become who I might be.” – Lao Tzu

“Solvitur Ambulando” – It is solved by walking, 2020 Labyrinth Walks), Daoist Traditions College of Chinese Medical Arts–Asheville NC:

I saw a Facebook post yesterday by a Labyrinth creator who is local to the Asheville area. It was featuring a new Labyrinth not yet completed at the acupuncture college. Since I am in Asheville this weekend, I decided to try to find it. I am so excited to walk it before it’s completed. I can’t quite figure out why, but I just think it will give me energy that I need. So here I go… Chuck, don’t get mad at me.

I have never done this before but I counted my steps. Maybe because it is still in the planning stages… I have no idea. But I loved experiencing this. I paused every time I hit 100. And guess what… For me it was exactly 200 steps to the center. That could not have been planned.

Because I was so busy counting, I did not really pay attention to what I was seeing, hearing, or feeling. But at the center, I took notes. There was a light breeze which at times picked up to be a heavy breeze. The sky was without a cloud directly above me and the sun was very strong; I felt it’s warmth. In the distance, above the trees, I saw the mountains and there in the distance were some significant clouds.

Around me, there was an old stump with some stacked stones, a cairn, what appears to be an herb garden, another old stump with some roots coming out of it, several Asian statues, all painted alabaster white, and a pagoda that was about my height, right on the edge of the labyrinth.

Today’s noises were again the rustling of the wind in the top leaves of some very green trees. There were occasional cars on the street below, Montford Avenue, a few birds, but not many, chirping, and voices of people enjoying Highland Park across the street. While in the center, there was another gust of wind, I took a deep breath, and began my walk out. I did not count on the way out. A few more noises on the way out… cicadas possibly?

I decided that I wanted to feel one of the stones before it was placed in the ground to make the boundaries. It was a beautiful stone, striped and sun-baked warm to my touch. I don’t know if I will be able to find it once it’s in the ground.

So I finished my walk, and I walked around the grounds. The college is set at an old, very traditional, Asheville home. And the college has retained the original entranceways and staircases and left stumps of all the trees and incorporated them into the plan. I am definitely intrigued. But there are Chinese statues at two of the entrances: foo dogs at one and dragons on the other.

And for dinner I was joined by my sister, Gary and Gray at the Pisgah Inn.

All and all an energizing labyrinth experience and delightful family time.

“When I let go of who I am, I become who I might be.” – Lao Tzu

Love being who I might be at the happy place.

8.16.20

8.15.20 … “Be still and the Earth will speak to you.”

“Solvitur Ambulando” – It is solved by walking, 2020 Labyrinth Walks), Center for Spiritual Living-Asheville NC:

I’m in Asheville at the Westervelt Cabin and I’m by myself. So what did I do? I first went to the cabin and spent a few hours unwinding …reading. Then I went to First Step Farms and bought tomatoes, peaches, piclkling cucumbers and zucchini. I figure I need to learn to do a few things by myself. Really …

And then I went for a labyrinth walk at the Center for Spiritual Living.

As I once again parked in front of the “No Parking/No Trespassing” sign and trudged up the asphalt drive, I again noticed the absolutely gorgeous oak tree that sits at the top of the hill. I think I’m going to have to look at the book “Overstory” a little bit more tonight.

Everything was a bit overgrown right now. I wonder if it’s because of the pandemic and that people are not coming to church so that the campus is not being maintained.

Weeds were everywhere including coming out of the cracks in the asphalt in the area where the labyrinth has been created. This is a classical labyrinth, very simply created with blue paint on top of the asphalt parking lot.

Is that a walnut tree? A hickory tree? I really don’t know my trees. But there is an app for that. Black walnut.

The birds were having a song fest.

It’s a bit muggy outside. We have had intermittent showers all day long including on my ride up from Charlotte this morning.

The labyrinth is near the top of the hill with these two very very tall trees. As I stand in the center I watched the wind in the treetops of the two tallest trees. Although the wind was rapidly moving the top leaves of the two trees, it doesn’t make any movement in the clouds. There was a lot of traffic on the roads below. So between the birds, the wind rustling in the leaves, the cars, I was overwhelmed with sound.

When I was in the gift shop at the Pisgah Inn last week, they have a yard banner that said, “Be still and the Earth will speak to you.” That was my mantra …

And Happy birthday to the late Julia Child!

This is the woman who dropped a whole raw chicken on her show, picked it up and just kept going.

(Actually, this didn’t happen … Source: Remembering Julia Child on what would have been her 101st birthday – Los Angeles Times, https://www.latimes.com/food/dailydish/la-dd-remembering-julia-child-on-her-birthday-20130815-story.html

She had a sense of humor about herself — she appreciated Dan Aykroyd’s sendup on “Saturday Night Live.” But she found it infuriating when people repeated the familiar folk tale about her dropping food on the floor and putting it back on the platter (“Remember, you’re all alone in the kitchen and no one can see you,” she supposedly said). She insisted it had never happened and would challenge anyone to produce the tape. Fun was fun, but no professional would ever do such a thing.

Ahead of her time, she loved butter more than any other human and didn’t let anything or anyone stand in her way.

And I have to thank her for introducing me via my mom in the 60s to bone marrow… To this day, it sounds disgusting, but is absolutely divine.

Of course, when I visited the Smithsonian, on the top of my must see list was her kitchen.

And I laughed out loud when I was reading the book Julie &Julia. When Julie made the steak with bone marrow sauce recipe, it was priceless! My mother had many times made the recipe with hamburger patties, not steak, but hamburger as she had made them on her tv show. I still have mom’s cookbook with this recipe splattered with grease … https://www.rantsravesandrecipes.com/hamburgers-la-francaise-sauce-bordelaise/

And I found this JC quote: “The problem with the world right now is that we don’t have any politicians like Roosevelt or Churchill to give us meaning and depth. We don’t have anyone who’s speaking for the great and the true and the noble. What we need now is a heroic type, someone who could rally the people to higher deeds. I don’t know what’s to become of us.” – Julia Child Interview – Eating Healthy and Smart – Quotes about Diets – Esquire.

#JuliaForever #Butter #BonAppétit #TheArtofFrenchCooking

8.15.20