Look up and see the wild world

There is something profound about witnessing hundreds of birds flying together in migration, each carrying on their wings the intention of coming home. Such a site fills my heart deep down with an odd combination of joy, longing and sadness. It makes me forget about any trivial to-dos or lingering regrets. A flock like that brings me right into the present.

At dusk tonight I pulled into my driveway, freshly defeated after a soccer loss and for various reasons, missing my dad. He’s been gone now for almost a year. I was wishing I could just have a conversation with him, like we typically did on weekends. I stopped daydreaming and stepped out of my truck, startled by the sounds of geese above my head. I looked up to see droves and droves of Canadians, on the final approach of another spring migration. They were making a bee-line for their summer stop at Creamer’s Field.

The graceful flapping of their wings coupled with their gawky voices made me stop for several minutes in awe. And they were so animated in their calls that I wondered what it was they were saying to each other. Or maybe they were simply calling out in pure unabashed glee, the way that any being would who’d just completed a nearly three thousand mile journey with just their body as the vehicle.

Dad once wrote in a bird book that he gave me for my birthday, “There is so much good in the wild world, I hope that you find it all.” I think of those words tonight and am reminded why it is such a gift to live in Alaska. The wild world’s goodness is easy to find. Sometimes it’s as simple as just standing in one place and looking up.

A lunch rush

Cross-country skiing is a popular pastime among many Fairbanks residents, and eleven inches of snow during the first half of April (local average is 1.7 inches) created a perfect white canvas for skiers. This post includes my first Soundslides presentation and features a spring skate skier who often spends his lunch break gliding around the University of Alaska Fairbanks’ West Ridge trail system.

Up a river with a paddle and some swans

For your information, interior Alaska’s Clearwater Lake is ready for paddlers. I know this because Saturday I was part of a friendly flotilla—four boats, eight humans and one dog—that put in at the Clearwater River just below the campground, then paddled approximately five hours down the meandering river and onto a small section of the Tanana, where we took a sharp turn at a sign with an arrow pointing left and the word “Lake.”

At this point we were forced to paddle like escapees from Alcatraz, working our way up through a rapid current, that eventually led us to Clearwater Lake. Here we used the bows of our canoes to crunch a jangled path through approximately 100 feet of relatively thin ice that sat between the middle of the lake and the far shoreline, where we would soon disembark.

And when we chanced upon the lake for the first time, we were greeted by two enormous swans, trumpeter or tundra varieties and certainly mates for life, who I swear cackled over and over again, “It’s spring! It’s spring! It’s spring!” And they were absolutely right.

About forty of their swan friends and double the number of Canadian goose socialites lingered atop the remaining ice shelf that lined the shore of the lake. A harlequin couple, overdressed as usual, were the wallflowers of the bunch, loitering along the edge of the affair. Regardless, it seemed we had caught them all in the middle of a somewhat segregated cocktail party, with swans on the left and Canadians on the right. All were reconnoitering, reflecting on this year’s long journey north. And behind this gaggle, two lackadaisical moose stood on the shore, silently munching on willows, and paying no attention to this energetic flock. Surely they’d seen this all before, spring after spring after spring.

If you’ve never heard a couple of swans on take-off, they’re the bird world’s version of a 747, and if they’re ascending from a lake, their gigantic wings beat against the water, the tips especially slapping against the surface, until just airborne enough to be free. Amidst the grace of their flight, a subtle downward motion juts down awkwardly from their lower neckline with each wing flap. This balances out the downward thrust of their giant wings, and makes it possible at the same time for their elegant heads to surge forward with each flap, as if they were each their own winged victory of Samothrace.

In addition to this live rendition of Winged Migration, one of the day’s highlights took place after we stopped along a bank on the Tanana and had lunch. Here we all fell asleep in the sun. It was a rare kind of warm, unbothered sleep where one immediately goes to a heavy, relaxing place of pure dreamy content. I could have happily stayed here for a few hours, but our crew’s squirrel hunter and canine alarm clock, woke us all up with a raucous in the woods, and as the squirrel chattered away for dear life and the bad dog was scolded, we all came to and knew that it was time to paddle along. This was okay though, because that cozy rest in the rays was just the glimpse I needed to know that summer’s incoming laze will surely usher in more of the same.

Ten reasons things are on the up

1. Unlike the highland to the right, I can see more clearly.
2. My stomach is full of the most delicious Thai seafood soup.
3. The world is finally waking up to the crisis in Zimbabwe.
4. Disco is not dead.
5. My Christmas cactus has begun blooming.
6. I work at a place where I can ski right out the door for my lunch break, wear jeans on Fridays, and, if I so choose, sit on a ball everyday.
7. My toes are warm and my heart is calm.
8. This extra snow will really help the grass along when it finally emerges again next September.
9. The skate skiing conditions are the best they’ve been all year.
10. My Toyota is no longer stuck in my friend’s driveway like it was approximately two hours ago.
11. It’s Friday!

A few yogic considerations

The notion of breathing, surviving and thriving should naturally include something about the practice of yoga. And since people of all ages, shapes and sizes do it, this post is meant for anyone considering taking part in a yoga class for the first time.

There are several different styles of yoga. Some use props to help people gradually work into poses. Other styles meet in a hot room. Restorative yoga is meant to promote healing and relaxation. Power yoga classes are more physically challenging to the body. Trying different styles can be useful in discovering which style fits your needs.

In Fairbanks, there are several places that offer yoga, including the University of Alaska (UAF) Fairbanks, the UAF yoga club, and Infinite Yoga. Infinite Yoga is currently my favorite place to do yoga because the space is just so beautiful, with lots of light, aesthetically pleasing architecture, and such welcoming teachers. To find a yoga class in your area, you might visit yogafinder.com or the Yoga Journal’s national directory of studios.

I have heard people say, “I don’t do yoga because I’m really not very flexible,” or “I think I would be embarrassed.” With that in mind, this post is meant to encourage anyone to try a yoga class. Here are a few things to keep in mind:

• When deciding what to wear, make sure that your clothes cover you in a way that you will be comfortable in a class of people with whom you could theoretically be stretching and bending together into the shapes of a human pretzels.
• Come to class a few minutes early, especially if you don’t want to be in the front row. Surprisingly, one unspoken rule of yoga is that class begins on time.
• Know that yoga is done with bare feet, but wearing socks and taking them off after a few minutes of warm-up stretches is normal.
• The teacher may make subtle adjustments to your body during class. This is meant to help students more accurately move into the poses and can often be the encouragement needed to move further into a pose.
• Typically yoga students are not encouraged to talk during practice, instead to take in what the teacher is saying and focus on their own individual movements and breath. Of course, questions are encouraged, but yoga classes typically are not heavy in the dialogue department. Before and after class are great times for talking.
• Remember that yoga is a personal experience and a process. Try to steer away from comparing yourself to others in the class. If you can only touch your knee, and the full pose asks that you touch your toes, accept where you are at this moment.
• Staying in the present moment is a large part of yoga. The mind will want to wander to the past and future. Focusing on the breath and the task at hand will help to stay put in the present.
• The basis of yoga is breathing, so during a class remember to always come back to breath—the simple act of pulling air in to the body, absorbing oxygen, and the pushing out what remains.
• If at any time a pose is too difficult or painful, with your mind visualize breathing into the challenging area and you may find that eases the pain. Feel free to modify the pose to fit the needs of your body at that moment. Remember that if a pose really hurts, you don’t have to do it.
• The last few minutes of class usually end with a pose called shavasana, a Sanskrit word meaning “the corpse pose”. During this time the body slows, so putting socks on and covering with a blanket or sweatshirt is encouraged, will help you to stay warm, while also promoting maximum relaxation and rejuvenation.
• After shavasana the teacher typically ends class with hands in prayer position at the heart, a bowing of the head with the spoken word “Namaste,” which means “I honor the spirit within you.” And students typically bow their heads and respond back to the teacher with the same word.
• Keep doing yoga and it is amazing to see how one’s body improves in flexibility and balance.

IKEA hits the Al-Can

My bedroom is about to undergo an extreme makeover. Before all of this spring sunlight, its cracking off-white walls, with strange patches of soot-looking gray lining the ceiling, blended right into the dark haze of winter. I chose to look past my century-spanning collection of furniture and threadbare bed linens (including two mismatched flower pillowcases that were my parents during the sixties) towards the hope of a brighter day. No longer can I ignore.

To clarify, this mix is not a hip fusion of shabby meets chic. Rather, it is a depressing cacophony of funky hand-me-downs meet beyond the bargain basement. And this season I would prefer that these so-called furnishings follow the ice flow of the Chena right out to the ocean, or at least to one of this town’s transfer stations. I have decided that since I spend more that 1/3 of my life in that room, it needs to sparkle with glee, sing out with soul, and simply be a welcome beacon for refuge and rejuvenation.

While an extreme makeover is in order, my tastes are much more grandiose than my bank account, and that’s why I’ve decided to spruce up with the affordable help of IKEA. A total face lift, including two bedside tables, two duvet covers (each with matching pillow shams), three throw pillows and a rug, will cost less than $250, including shipping, a fraction of what I would pay for the same stuff at any of the home furnishings stores here in Fairbanks. Plus, the clean lines and distinctive designs found in IKEA products, for me carry a more aesthetically pleasing style. So prepare for the purple cylindrical cushions, cerise quilt covers and Swedish fish, because IKEA is hitting the road.

Since online IKEA orders to Alaska only ship via UPS, calling IKEA’s phone order department and having them deliver the order to a freight forwarding company in Seattle is key. Here are some tips:

• To share delivery and shipping charges, combine IKEA orders with friends.
• Request or borrow a current IKEA catalog. Combined with the website, the catalog is very helpful for making decisions related to colors, size and style.
• Prior to placing the order, take time to make a list of items being purchased, including weight and dimensions. This information is found on the website for each item under a link called “package measurements & weight.” The freight forwarder will need to know the weights and dimensions of each pacakge being shipped.
• Lynden Transport (currently my favorite freight forwarder) ships out twice a week to Alaska. Place the order 2-3 days prior to the freight shipping date, so items can be gathered and delivered on time by IKEA.
• Call the Seattle IKEA phone orders department at 425-656-2980 or 1-800-570-IKEA, then press option 3. They’re open everyday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
• Know the exact local address of the freight company. From IKEA expect a handling fee of $15 and a delivery fee ($55 for orders with fewer than 30 items). At the end of the IKEA call, make sure to find out when the order is scheduled for delivery to the freight company.
• Then call the freight company and let them know that your order from IKEA will be arriving. Tell them how many packages it includes, and the dimensions and weight of each package. They will then give you an estimate for shipping. In exchange, you give them your credit card number.
• The order should arrive in seven days, and at that time you can either pick it up at the freight company or arrange for home delivery.

Dancing butterfly or a shriveled boot?

My birthday, typically an annual marker for self-reflection, is less than 24 hours away. This 30-something year is no exception, with my thoughts venturing towards the question of what keeps some people young, while others are old before their time?

By young, I’m not talking about the fountain of youth with a tuck here and a Viagra there. After all, the natural state of our human bodies is one of decay. Instead, I want to learn from those people whom I’ve observed have an ageless attitude towards life. Maybe they’ve inhabited this earth for eons, but their approach towards living is like a butterfly that just emerged from the chrysalis. They are held in deep contrast to those snapping turtle types, whose spirits seem to have shriveled like the brown leather of an old boot, some well before they’ve hit the age to legally vote for president.

Putting current politics aside, from what I can tell, the butterfly beauties are at peace with themselves. These young old people I’m referring to embraced their sagging buttocks and sprouting chin hairs long ago as simply part of their human experience. They appreciate that their bodies are meant to move, so they stay active. At the same time, they’ve forgiven themselves for past blunders and in doing so, become more forgiving of others. While they may make their opinions known, their ears, some with the help of a good aid, are open to hearing new ideas. And they regularly laugh, including at themselves. Their hearts, while surely having felt some loss, still manage to give and receive love. And having experienced the pain that undoubtedly is part of life, they carry an inherent gratitude for each day.

All things considered, could this possibly mean that—by virtue of experience and our attitudes—the longer we live, the younger we could become? If so, this is definitely hopeful.

Recently I read an anonymous quote that said, “Life may not be the party we hoped for, but while we’re here we should dance.” In addition to simply shaking my junk trunk on the oak parquet, I’ll take dancing to mean that we should approach life with enthusiasm and passion. So in the spirit of youthful living, in deep gratitude for my life thus far, tomorrow my celebratory two-step includes going sledding with friends, taking a mandolin lesson and savoring the fact that I’m free to live like a butterfly!

What does your dance look like these days?

Clutter weighing you down? Try FARTing

Vernal equinox is just a few weeks away and that means spring, a time for rebirth, burgeoning love and, yes, cleaning! This leads me to the question of what to do with those piles of papers that seem to have had babies and multiplied during the winter? Let me share a little spruce up secret. When I spy a disorganized pile (or room full) of papers wasting precious space and messing with my flowering ch’i, I immediately take the time to stop and FART.

In this particular case, FARTing (also known as RAFTing or TRAFing) is a system of paper management that simply requires a three tray organizer and a trash can (or paper shredder or recycling bin). The process guarantees that any piece of paper that flies through the door, easily lands in one of the following four categories, leaving any budding organizer with clearly defined trays of paper and some clarity. Here are the categories:

1. File This type of paper has been read, acted upon, and can be put in the tray of papers to be transferred later to an “underground” filing system, such as a filing cabinet.
2. Action This type of paper, such as a bill that needs to be paid on time, is put in a tray that you will take action on very soon.
3. Read This type of paper, such as a new magazine, can be put in one of the three trays and read at a later time.
4. Trash This type of paper is no longer needed, so can be thrown away, recycled or shredded. An example of this would be a magazine that’s already been read or junk mail.

May your springtime sails be set free and fueled and by the wind of FART…

Facelift or feng shui?

Take a breath of relief. February, along with this unending series of feng shui posts, is assuredly coming to an end! Turn off your happy light and grab a jade plant. Here’s where one’s innate desires are finally represented in the physical realm.

Step 3: Enhancements and Augmentation
No, this is not where we recover from a long winter by having some plastic surgery. Instead, step three focuses on enhancing spaces in our lives that may need a little lift. To explain what happens in step three, here is an example.

Imagine that after taking a few moments to reflect on the notion of wealth in your life (see yesterday’s post), you decide that your income, while enough, is inconsistent. Ideally, you would like a more regular income. You soon take a look at where the wealth corner of the bagua is located in your house and notice that in this space a fluorescent light flickers away and two plants are near death.

To augment this space, you change the light bulb so that it no longer flickers. The two dying plants are replaced with a flowering hibiscus that blooms throughout the year, symbolic of continuity and abundance. Additionally, you put a small painting of a flowing river, also symbolic of regular flow of income, on the wall above the plant. Now, whenever you walk into your kitchen and see the hibiscus along with the image of the river, you are subconsciously reminded of a consistent income that flowers and flows. You carry this reminder with you as you go about your day, taking actions and making decisions that affect your daily life and your income.

As you go through each area of your life and decide how you want to rearrange and enhance the physical space that is affiliated with each section of the bagua, below are a few feng shui tips to keep in mind:

• Clearing clutter is essential to enhancing any section of the bagua. Clutter is said to inhibit the flow of ch’i. Keep in mind that decluttering includes removing dead, broken or stagnant items from any space.
• A jade plant, with its curved leaves, is said to encourage the flow of ch’i. It is also a symbol of wealth and abundance, and said to be helpful for moving ch’i into any area of the bagua that needs revitalization. Plants with pointy leaves (i.e. a mother-in-law’s tongue) are said to inhibit the flow of ch’i, bringing the opposite of flow to a space.
• Mirrors are said to increase ch’i flow. This can either be good or bad, depending on where the mirror is placed. A mirror in a cramped confined space can reflect more ch’i into the space. A mirror in a place that is meant to be calm, can bring chaos.
• A piece of red cloth placed under one’s mattress is said to enliven one’s relationship in the bedroom.
• Is your toilet lid up or down? Toilets are said to be real ch’i suckers. If the wealth corner is in the bathroom, leaving the toilet seat up could create a sensation in one’s life that is similar to “throwing money down the toilet”.
• Placing a bed between a window and an open door is said to cause sleepless nights due to fact that ch’i flows more easily between open doors and clear glass windows.
• Facing a chair in a direction that places one’s back to the door when sitting, may make the inhabitant feel like they are being attacked or being backstabbed. A chair facing the door is said to alleviate such feelings of distrust.

For more ideas on feng shui there are many books on the subject, along with a plethora of web references.