Today, November 3, 2020, is election day in the United States. As of right now, none of us knows what the outcome will be.
In 2016, the polls said that Hillary Clinton had an 85-percent chance of winning. As we know, it didn’t turn out that way.
Various news sites indicate that the 2020 election outcome could take days, or even weeks, for the final determination.
Regardless of your political affiliation, I hope you voted.
Note: I turned comments off for this post.
We see it so often that sometimes we no longer pay attention to the warning: “Objects in the mirror are closer than they appear.”
Curious, I did a little research and discovered that the safety warning is required on passenger side mirrors of vehicles in the US, Canada, Nepal, India, and Saudi Arabia.
But why? Inquiring minds want to know.
“It’s present because while these mirrors’ convexity gives them a useful field of view, it also makes objects appear smaller.”
For me, something that’s closer than it appears is filing for medicare. Len turned 65 this year and jumped through those interesting hoops. I have a few years before it’s my turn, but I’m glad he’ll be able to show me the ropes when the time comes.
What’s closer than it appears in your mirror?
Stones can take us the distance, especially when they keep us out of the current in a running stream as we try to cross it. I live next to the Boise River. I know this to be true!
A boulder on our path can either be an inconvenience or a platform. Stepping on a boulder allows us to get a better perspective of what’s ahead.
Interestingly, what some people see as stumbling blocks are perceived as “normal occurrences” by others. Our attitude can either be a stumbling block or a stepping stone.
When you encounter boulders, do you see stumbling blocks or stepping stones?
It’s rare for me to despise something. That’s a strong word, a strong feeling—contempt, deep repugnance. But it bubbles to the surface when I encounter indifference, a complete lack of interest, concern, or sympathy for anyone or anything.
In researching why I feel this way when I encounter it, I came across many quotes, one of which I share here. No wonder it raises my hackles.
“The opposite of love is not hate, it’s indifference. The opposite of art is not ugliness, it’s indifference. The opposite of faith is not heresy, it’s indifference. And the opposite of life is not death, it’s indifference. ” —Elie Wiesel
Does anything raise your hackles to the point of contempt or deep repugnance?
© lauriebuchanan.com
I enjoy writing and photography (and of course, I love red licorice).
My next book, Indelible: A Sean McPherson Novel, Book One, takes place in the Zen-like wooded acres surrounding Pines & Quill, a writing retreat in the Pacific Northwest. And while Pines & Quill is fictitious, the historic Fairhaven district of Bellingham, WA, where the story takes place is very real. In fact, we took a trip there to take photographs for book promotion purposes. If you follow me on Instagram, you’ve seen some of them.
While watching a video of Zen Master John Daido Loori, an incredible photographer and author of Hearing with the Eye: Photographs from Point Lobos, he said:
“The moment is where our life takes place.
We miss the moment—we miss life.”
I realize that the “big picture” is important too, but in my experience, the moment is essential.
Are you more of an “in the moment” or “big picture” person?
© lauriebuchanan.com
Walking out the door one morning, I heard a chorus of cooing. Looking around, I located the source of the birdsong on the roof of the neighboring house. A trio of birds was amicably roosting. One of them was clearly the king—or queen, as the case may be.
It brought to mind playing “King of the Hill” when I was growing up. A group of neighborhood friends would find a mound or hill, and whoever got to the top first would try to maintain their position—unfortunately, by pushing opponents back down.
As an adult, my only “opponent” is me. I compete against myself. Sometimes I’m “queen of the hill,” other times I’m in a slipped-down position, waiting for the right moment to recapture the hill.
If you were playing king/queen of the hill, what’s your current position?
When I hopped out of the truck in Sisters, Oregon to take this photograph, my immediate thought was “line of sight.” I wanted to write about unobstructed vision, and how very few things we actually see that way. Easy peasy, right? Not!
I started my online research. As a suspense/thriller novelist (#seanmcphersonnovels), I already knew about line of sight as it relates to firearms.
I didn’t know about:
Line of sight in electromagnetic radiation
Line of sight between missile and target
Line of sight as it relates to mental illness, particularly schizophrenia
Line of sight in the world of gaming (who can see what)
Line of sight in mathematics (projective geometry)
Line of sight as it relates to the production of pipelines
Line of sight in art is when an artist uses a horizontal line that runs across the paper or canvas to represent the viewer’s eye level and delineate where the sky meets the ground
Who knew?! Clearly, line of sight is more than meets the eye.
What do you see clearly?
Fastidious by nature, I’m one of those people who thrives on lists—especially checking items off.
Humor, laughter, and having fun is of equal significance to me. When it comes to getting things done, I want it to be as much fun as possible.
Instead of a “to do” list, I have a Ta-Dah! list. This tiny shift in perspective makes me feel like I can take on anything.
How do you accomplish the must-dos on your list?
While walking Willa in the Laura Moore Cunningham Memorial Arboretum, I saw this small cairn.
Used by people around the globe, cairns—a human-made stack of stones—serve many different purposes:
Utilitarian: to mark a path, territory, or specific site
Spiritual: inviting passersby to stop and reflect
Ceremonial: when placed within a circle of enclosing stones
Memorial: when friends and family members voice a fond remembrance of a loved one while adding a stone
Symbolic: the uses are endless including love, prayer, and artistic expression
In Scotland, it’s traditional to carry a stone from the bottom of a hill to place on a cairn at its top. In such a fashion, cairns grow ever larger. An old Scottish Gaelic blessing is Cuiridh mi clach air do chàrn — “I’ll put a stone on your cairn.”
Have you ever built a cairn?
We’re fortunate to live in-between two Little Free Libraries. They’re situated about a half-mile apart.
All I have to do is walk a quarter-mile in either direction. It’s like having a blind date with a book—you never know what will turn up!
My favorite book find so far is The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin.
Do you live near a Little Free Library? If yes, what’s your favorite book find so far?
Tuesdays with Laurie 