Two Words For Life

A word on stress relief, this fine cloudy day. Sometimes, particularly when it's about to rain, every one of my muscles tenses up. Even just lying in bed, the moment I wake up I feel the arches in my feet seeming to curl in like the backwards pointy shoes of the Wicked Witch of the East as she expired. My knees get knobby, and my fingers even give of the distinct impression that they're still gripping the handles of my walker, curling inward unless I flex them out as far as they'll go and hold them in that position. And my shoulders?! From my shoulders to my elbows the muscles feel like rubber bands just dying to be stretched out. So I lift weights. Fairly light free weights give all the release I need on days like this. And they make me feel stronger too, 'cause sometimes I lift them while doing squats, just to add my legs and balance to the stress-relieving equation. On moments like this, when I'm in front of the computer and decidedly NOT in exercise mode, I have what the Europeans call a "hand drum." You might remember it from The Karate Kid, the first one. There is something about focusing on that rhythm that is so soothing. Trying to move my hand and wrist in just the right way to make the two beaded "arms" come back and hit the drum rhythmically is better than a pharmaceutical drug for my concentration. And no side effects! It's so important to learn how to find way healthy way to relieve tension in this frustrating world. Binging on Netflix or even getting really into an exciting novel can only take me so far. I end up lounging or curling into the same position for hours on end, letting my brain just wander and not really settle on anything--like a butterfly that can't land. Actually, that's why this blog has become especially nice to have back in my life. I look forward to sitting and examining my life in this way, with the possible reflection of feedback--or at least a growing viewership. It helps me quiet my mind and think just about an arrangement of words on the computer screen. Even while venting about an inaccessible world that refuses to open up entirely to those of us who would love to see more of it--I find peace in blogging. Half the things I end up doing are just to have something to blog about! My life has become an endless quest for material:) And that's what a creative life is all about, isn't it? With that in mind, there's an art show on the East side of town I just might check out today. I'll have to check the forecast first, but it would be an interesting excursion. Plus I very seldom even make it to that side of town, and this would be a great excuse. It's my Saturday too, after all:) And Saturdays are not just for the workaday world to enjoy, despite what the culture of this society has bred into us from birth. I'll leave you with a final word, as I prepare to lower my shoulders back below my ears:) "Ableism". That unspoken understanding in the world of the perfectly able that those of us with challenges do not belong in it. Able children were once said to be "better seen than heard." The Disabled, my people, are often quietly shown that this world finds them "better NOT seen and NOT heard". And so I take my walker and go everywhere--for them.