Rising up out of the mud

So I have found a way to insert photos onto my journal page. But it isn't the way the instructions tell me to.  When I follow the instructions from Joe's entry, I only get gigantic photos with no control over reducing them. I know, I'm doing something wrong, but I don't know what I'm doing wrong.

 However, I have found this other method, which took too long, but it got the results I wanted. I had to copy them into an email from my computer, then reduce the size of the pictures there by right clicking to get the little frame of boxes around it so I could resize it by moving the arrows in or out. From there, I could right click and copy on the picture, then come to this page, add entry, then right click and paste.

Next time I might try to go bigger on the size.

These shots of the Lotus flower in bloom were taken after I returned from my mountain trip. While I was away this week, the first lotus and the larger one of the two buds, bloomed and faded. My husband described it to me, and with chagrin, I accepted that I had missed the entire blooming life span of this beautiful flower.

However, the second bud waited for me, probably because it was in the shade more than the other one. Japanese beetles had begun to do their nasty work on the petals, but I managed to get one good shot of the flower opening. Still, the flower had already opened to its fullest earlier, and the above shot shows it on its way to closing again. Apparently they close with the heat of the day.

These were small blossoms compared to some lotus flowers, and we only had the two. But like I said in a previous entry, we have gone nearly seven years without seeing a single bloom. And now we have two. This gives me hope that despite the transplant they experienced this year (when we tore down the big pond), they are coming back healthier and happier than ever.

Might I draw a parallel conclusion as I face my own transplanting from one school to another this fall?

Looking atthe lotus flower as a sign, based on Denise Linn's book, The Secret Language of Signs, I find this explanation for the meaning of the lotus:

"This flower can be a sign of spiritual awakening. Just as the lotus rises out of the mud, you are coming up out of the darkness and into the light."

I feel like I am coming up out of the darkness and into the light. Which I find to be an odd feeling, because I'm pretty sure I came up out of the darkness back between 1995 and 1996. I suppose one could come out of darkness and return to it, only to emerge once more in another season. Yes, seven years of teaching might qualify as a season in one's professional lifespan.

Certainly backsliding, forgetfulness, and distractions all play a role in pulling us off the path we started on. I don't think that is as important as discovering the errors of one's ways, and getting back on track again.

That being said, I must face the difficult truth: that something has got to go, and it isn't just about sweeping, vacuuming, mopping, and dusting, nor about scrubbing the grime off the kitchen shelves and replacing the shelf and draw liners (although doing that certainly did free up some kitchen space).

I only just learned, as I found the website to link with her name in this entry, that Ms. Linn is a world acclaimed expert in feng shui and space clearing. 

Feng shui?  Space clearing? Wait a minute... I was only trying to clear my home of clutter because my life is feeling cluttered. I want to strip away the clutter from the house, to make a special place at least in one room where I can be still, away from the distractions of all technology, including the.... shhh!.... c-o-m-p-u-t-e-r!

Look, I'm not into this New Age ritual, and I'm sure that the indigenous cultures around the world have discovered great wisdom in performing their spiritual rites.... but.... cleaning out my house of clutter and space clearing seem to have very much in common. It will give me a sense of organization and order in my home and thereby, in my life... spiritual, professional, or personal.

There may be something to this Feng Shui... though I don't really have time right now to study it, and I'm not going to hire a Feng Shui consultant to clear my home space of negative energetic debris for me, "balancing and harmonizing the flow of natural energies in my home to create beneficial effects in my life."  (words from Karen Kingston's book, Clear Your Clutter with Feng Shui).

But there is no doubt... something is going to change around here. I'm not sure what that will look like, but I know it won't feel good.