Acquainted with the Night

Robert Frost is one of my favorite poets. He's the poet I wrote about when I first learned to write an academic paper, and I've loved his poetry ever since. This has always been one of my favorites, it's musicality haunts me.

A Tree

Today I wrote something. It's about a tree.


It stands about two and a half feet wide at the base, differentiating into roots just before they disappear into the ground. There it reaches out further and deeper every day to gather the energy that becomes the tree. About a foot above the turf it suddenly narrows to a mere two feet across. Standing nearly straight, it leans slightly to the left. The ridges in the bark here are large and deep, the wrinkles of a tree that has seen so much. The deepest ones cascade from a cluster of three knots. Those knots, the nearly healed scars of three branches cut long ago, call out man's history with this tree.

Just around the tree to the left of the knots is the lowest branch reaching out and away from the trunk. First it moves up, then bends and shifts its direction to be nearly parallel to the ground, finally three quarters of its way away from the tree, it explodes with leaves.

Above another knot - a much newer scar - the tree splits. Now it follows two paths, splitting again and again until it forms a canopy. The leaves are a rich, but surprisingly light green, interrupted here by yellow, there by brown. They form bunches near the end of each branch, clusters of color attached to a rich gray-brown.

As the wind moves, the tree comes to life. It whispers the sound of the rain that nourishes it and bends and flutters, keeping its balance.


-Kat

Orange Beef

Tonight I cooked again. The recipe for this week was orange beef, and it turned out fantastically. But the sauce doesn't really thicken up, so I might use some corn starch next time I make it. I also could not find snap peas at the store, so I had to substitute regular peas instead.

prep time:25 min

start to finish:25 min

makes:2 servings

1/2	lb beef boneless sirloin, cut into thin strips
1	cup reduced-sodium beef broth
2	tablespoons teriyaki stir-fry sauce
1	tablespoon orange marmalade
	Dash of ground red pepper (cayenne)
1	box (9 oz) Green Giant® frozen sugar snap peas
3/4	cup uncooked fine egg noodles (1 1/2 oz)

1.	Heat 10-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Cook beef in skillet 2 to 4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until no longer pink. Remove beef from skillet; keep warm.
2.	Add broth, stir-fry sauce, marmalade and red pepper to skillet. Heat to boiling. Stir in pea pods and noodles; reduce heat to medium. Cover; cook about 5 minutes or until noodles are tender.
3.	Stir in beef. Cook uncovered 2 to 3 minutes or until sauce is slightly thickened. -Kat

The Stars

Today I wrote a piece based off of three random pictures from google images, and three random names from a name generator. Here's what I ended up with.


As the wolf howled, each of the three women jumped in surprise. Night had just fallen, and the chill in the air had begun to sink into their skin. However, the fire was growing, and its crackling invited them closer to it as they settled in for awhile. The clean scent of dew falling outside their campfire circle muted their initial fears, and each began to be able to truly enjoy the sounds of unseen beings, large and small, carrying through the trees. They were silent a long while, just staring into the flames and being.

Then Teodora started humming. Judith and Jayne exchanged amused glances; Teodora often began humming without noticing that she was doing it. Jayne spoke up announcing, "you must be thinking of something good."

She slowly drew her gaze away from the fire and stopped humming before asking "What?" She hadn't really taken in anything Jayne had said.

Judith answered for Jayne, "You're humming again. You only do that when you're extremely happy. What's on your mind?"

Teodora uncrossed her legs and hugged her knees to her chest. As she looked behind her and ahead of her she responded by asking "Have you ever noticed how different the dark of the forest is from the dark of the ocean?" The other two shook their heads at first, then looked about them. Then they understood what Teodora meant. The dark of the ocean stretching away ahead of them was so much deeper than the darkness of the forest behind them, and suddenly their fire seemed very insignificant.

"But look up," Teodora said, reclining on her back. "The darkness of the sky is the same everywhere. Dark and light at the same time, because of all those stars. Have you ever seen something like that back at home?" Judith and Jayne reclined slowly to try to see what Teodora could. They lay there in silence for more than ten minutes.

"So that's what you're happy about? The stars?" Asked Jayne, breaking the stillness once again.

"Yes Jayne, Tonight I'm just happy about the stars," sighed Teodora before resuming her quiet humming.

The wolf had been quiet a long time, listening to the sounds of the humans nearby. Now he loped further into the woods, leaving the three women, their small sailboat, and their adventure around the world behind him with a flick of his bushy tail.


-Kat

Start and Finish

I only have a couple more sections of my yoga paper to write, and I need to get them done soon, so today I wrote another one.


Once I started calling myself a yogi, I started growing even more in my practice, and each time I got on my mat was a new, utterly enjoyable experience. My practice began with me standing, hands at heart center, feet together, and eyes closed. Breathing in and out through my nose and constricting my glottis, I emptied my mind and focused on how my body felt that day.

Opening my eyes, I began with a series of sun salutations. Arms overhead, palms together, I looked up and reached up. Then hinge at the hips, arms out, fall forward, forehead to knees. Next, back straight, fingertips resting on the mat. Then the hard part - lean into my hands and step back into plank. Elbows tight to my sides, I exhale and lower down slowly. I push my chest up and look up, feeling the deep back-bend. Lifting my hips and rolling my heels over my toes, I settled into downward facing dog. Resting and breathing, I remained for five deep breaths. Inhaling, I look forward and will my feet to follow, stopping in a forward bend before rising up again hinging at my hips and raising my arms. Exhaling I relaxed my arms back down to my sides, ready to repeat the process.

Then followed an  hour of stretching, breathing, lifting, twisting, balancing, and folding in every way imaginable. Finally the class ended with inversions. It was yogi's choice, and I almost always choose back-bends. Standing on my mat a couple of feet away from a wall, I'd look backward and reach behind me, placing my hands flat on the wall. Taking a couple of steps forward, I walked my hands closer to the floor. Once I was as low as I could be, I stretched out my arms and held my position for as long as I could before pushing back into my hands and standing up.

Being upside down and then standing back up does amazingly weird things to the body. The blood rushing through my head makes me light-headed as I rise up, and being upside down for a while makes me feel light all over makes me walk taller as I go through my day. Yoga became a part of me as I practiced and transformed the way I move through the world. And that transformation continues as I continue my practice.


-Kat

Morning Haiku

Catching up on Faust
My friends still sleeping soundly.
It's not that early.

Based on the very beginning of my day as I got a bit of homework done while my friends who are here for the weekend slept in late.

-Kat

Meditation

Today I realized how soon my paper on yoga is due, so I got down to writing more of it. I wrote two parts, one which is much more academic and less creative, and one which is more creative, though autobiographical. Here's that one.


I knew yoga was becoming a permanent part of my life when it had me waking up at six nearly every morning and adjusting my class schedule to make sure it would fit in. People had to hear me going on about the ways my body was beginning to open up. I knew yoga was a part of my life when I stopped noticing the looks I got every time I talked about my wishes to open my hips more.

I always arrived to my morning class extremely early. No one was around as I rolled out my mat and sat to wait. Day after day I'd have time alone on my mat. Sometimes that time would be filled with thought, sometimes with meditation, and sometimes with prayer. Sometimes it was filled with all three. That time on my mat became part of my practice as much as any pose I could try to bend myself into. Sitting cross-legged in front of a mirror I could see the physical effects of my practice while I felt the spiritual effects. My hips opened up and my knees fell to the floor as I learned to deal with crises and bad days and to put a little good into them.

As I learned asanas and let them begin to transform my body, I also learned meditation - the most difficult aspect of yoga. I practiced being still and mindful on and off my mat as yoga permeated my life. Meditation takes as much time as training and strengthening a muscle does. I practiced at first for just a minute or two at a time. Sitting cross-legged with my palms open and receptive on my knees. The light was dark and my eyes were closed as I practiced pranyama - control of my breath. Sitting in meditation, if I really let my thoughts go and just focused on my breath, something happened. I felt myself rise above my body, suspended with each breath. This was an amazing feeling - one of cleansing and centering. I would extend the time I was in meditation, and the time I felt like I was floating. Meditation means so much, freeing the worries of the day and connecting. For me connecting to God in a new and meaningful way.

I knew yoga was a part of my life when it became religious, like and unlike it was for the ancient Hindus who began the practice.



If that sounds fun, you should try out meditation.
-Kat