It’s a good thing that I noticed that this scheduled post i set up last night didn’t get posted right. I had mistakenly scheduled it for the PM. Nope, that wasn’t my preference. Did I drop the ball? LOL This year we are setting a “tone” for future traditions. It’s so much fun. Planning and dreaming together is working in my little mental “cave” of inspiration–we embark on the creativity train. There is some “choo-chooing” output for this Nanopoblano via my HOMAGE to Kauai and also my Homage to the Tao Te Ching, intertwining. Meanwhile, so much else going on behind the scenes. This is probably the best part of “social media;” that is, the real life. Social media backlights the “real life” and like Plato’s shadowy cave, social media only shows “some of it.”
How are you all doing? How is Nanopoblano going? I am visiting your blogs, best I can. I think i’m doing better than previous years, thanks to my partial scheduling strategy. Also trying to schedule ahead our family lives, 2024. There’s really just ONE more week of this NanoPoblano November Challenge! We can DO THIS! I’m gearing up for “December Delights.” I think I’m moreso just having fun with catch phrases and new potential blogging themes that inspire me.
For Each of the days of November, I will be posting from the Tao Te Ching, using Stephen Mitchell’s translation. Each title is one word in the overall passage. Each day will include a picture, and potentially some prose that begins with the same word from the Tao Te Ching. On the final day, all the titles will be joined together in one post to read it through as it is written in the Tao Te Ching.
This post and the whole shebang was created for Nano Poblano 2023.
Support the Cheer Pepper Team by visiting and leaving a comment, a like, or just reading and sending good vibes. I will be away but am trying to schedule posts ahead and visit as many blogs and bloggers as I can! My focus this year is on supporting!
This is my final blog post for the November Nano Poblano Challenge, and I’ve been blogging every day, all month! This was a challenge I didn’t think I’d take on with such a busy schedule, but alas, I did it! I’ll be linking all my blog posts here at the bottom. It’s also the day I’m going to be writing for Linda’s challenge, called, “Litebeing Chronicles Change Challenge,” which is going through to the end of the year. If you are interested in adding your blog to the challenge, go ahead and clink on the link above. She asked us to write about “our insights, ideas, and evolution.”
What I’ve noticed is I have a very hard time following prompts, be they writing prompts or any kind. I’m learning that prompts are big for bloggers and creative people; but, I’ve just never been really good at them. When I attempt one, I find my mind goes blank. Some would call this writer’s block, but I never considered myself a writer. I do enjoy writing poetry, but I prefer to write it without rhyme more often than not. This style is called free verse, and it’s completely legitimate poetry. Well, maybe one day I’ll try my hand at ever newer things. I know would love to, in a way, when the time is right. Especially when it seems like it will be fun!
My evolution: Since the pandemic, being in graduate school full time (and finishing up this term) and also taking care of my now-toddler at home full-time, I found that I can still meditate, stretch, exercise, and basically work on things like alleviating my chronic pain. I have solid knowledge about what is helpful for me to keep myself afloat during these days where we wonder what’s next. I’ve become comfortable with where I am in life, exactly as it is. My ambitions are pretty relaxed right now. I’ve lost the pregnancy weight; I’ve kept myself afloat, mostly positive, and hopeful when I needed it the most. I have a very small support network, but I am grateful for the few people I have in my life.
I have less resistance to the present moment.
I find life incredibly exciting, delicious, and full of opportunity. I also love blogging with all of you! I wish I had something deep to say, but I really don’t. I’m immersed in the ordinariness of life right now, of time management, of trying to squeeze out creativity where I can. I’m still in the middle of the pandemic, in my world. It’s still happening. The most important thing I do these days is keep my mind on the present moment. That said, I’m pleased with how the month went with Nano Poblano.
Here’s an easy to use guide/summation of my posts for this month:
This month I decided to review my images from my time in Cambodia. You can see those images here. The intention for my posts this time was to be random. As it turns out there were a few themes, travel:
*All throughout my posts are a lot of my photography. It’s not something I’m doing right now, but I have enjoyed sharing these images.
In the beginning of 2017, I published my first book of poetry. It’s available to purchase if you click on the link to your right of this text. I hope to publish another book someday. Although, I have no plans right now to do one.
“Never travel alone” Ka Malana Photography
I’ve also been listening to jazz a lot. I mean, a lot. Here’s an upbeat favorite of mine. I read that Lee Morgan did the trumpet on this one. Benny Golson does the tenor sax. That trumpet and sax really have “voice.” What I love about jazz is how the music it builds and flows. I love the personality of the instruments. Then the piano, Bobby Timmons, just makes me smile. How could I not smile when listening to this track? That’s just me. Art Blakey on the drums, and Jymie Merritt on the bass, and the deal is sealed.
We’ve got a full moon upon us, as an eclipse, this lunation joins the a wide 11 degree angle to the North Node in Gemini. Tis the season for communicatin’ while the Sun anchors in the sign of Sagittarius (tropical zodiac). While we are all in our local neighborhoods (Gemini) for the most part, due to the pandemic, the travel desire of the Sun is strong. So we can use a few “mental vacations” or some light-hearted fun! How about a card game with your housemates? No, I’m not talking about “online.” Take some time to unplug from your tech, even if it’s only 10 min you wouldn’t have otherwise, unless you set the intention.
An eclipse in the mutable signs lends for more changeability and reorientation. Maybe you’ve thought of moving your furniture into a different configuration, or maybe you want to give your sister or brother a call and see what changes they are up to, maybe their relationships are changing, breakups and back-together-agains and they’d like to chat in your ear? What new ways have you found to navigate in your living spaces during this pandemic? You might want to embrace those Sagittarian ambitions but have to look at what’s right in front of you (Gemini). What can you communicate that is ordinary (something you thought was matter of fact) but hasn’t been said? Maybe it will help others get through the day with a little more smoothness? How can that ready sense of adventure be translated into your next foray into the walls within your local community? The past couple of days I was out at the park and laced up my roller skates for the first time in 2 years. Getting around on skates is a good match for this full moon. Be safe, be well, and have fun navigating these times!
Bloggers might remember when the desert opened: the first visit and poem, here. In January of 2017, the poems from Fiestaestrellas were revised, compiled and given energy. The finished book, Art for Art, can be purchased here, which includes previously unpublished content. Below is my offering to you. May your deserts blossom.
Fiesta Estrellas 
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