The mind expands, or contracts, proportionately to the space it is allowed to reside.

   There is an awful lot of clutter in our heads most days; the day-in, day-out diplomacy, distractions, and dogma that disrupt free-thinking and constrict common sense and worthy thought.

   Think about it. We all need to think outside the time we allow ourselves.

   We need more space to care for our self. Art, by nature, allows you that indulgence. It is not competitive, hardly even quantitative, fully meditative, and true relief from many of the soul-sucking situations we find ourselves in.

   The method or medium is up to you. It is not important when, or how, you do it. It hardly matters how much you do (although once you get started it can be difficult to stop); it matters only that you do. Really, what matters is that you make a greater attempt to use that portion of the brain that demands so little of you, but wholly appreciates the activity.

   Don’t even think about it (contrary as it seems).

   Engage the mind. Sit, sing and strum your guitar (or that damn dulcimer, an impulse purchase, that sits silently in the corner).  Dust off your camera, audition for the next community play or student film project; act as if nobody is watching. Craft a poem; then craft another (it’s fine if they don’t rhyme). Take a dance class: tap, jazz, or ballet. Sketch a self-portrait, or one of your cat. Use any pencil and paper that is handy (or your niece’s crayons).

   Don’t worry whether your talent is good enough — we already have too many worries — simply create. Do not even think so much about doing it; just do it; now or this evening (tomorrow too). The possibilities are endless, and we all need more possibilities.

   Update your imagination.

   Our minds, analytical by nature, much like our personal computers need a software upgrade every now and then. Both it and us function better when everything is up to date.

08/30/2024                                                                                            j.g.l.

             Does the night have 

fewer questions, or are you naturally 

allowed more substantive time 

       for thought?

Our daylight hours require agility 

to navigate ever-present issues

which matter more to others 

than to your self. Anxiety overwhelms, 

even on good days.    Never are you

       of the mind to deal with it.

   There is always something else.

           Always, all ways, always.

     Nighttime is more 

than a reprieve. Darkness allows you 

to breathe easier, it seems. Mind 

always active, in a certain sort of way, 

     even in sleep you seem 

           to find your way.

08/37/2024                                                                                        j.g.l.

Last Friday I took the time to donate blood. It is something I usually do every couple of months.

   I do it because I can. I donate because blood is always needed.

   I missed my prescheduled appointment back in the spring. Circumstances were such that I couldn’t go when I was supposed to go, then I got busy doing other things and simply forgot to reschedule a time to get back.

   This past couple of months I haven’t been doing all I usually do. Instead, I was doing other things I felt I needed to do and let a few other regular things slip. As it turns out, it became a summer of self-discovery in many ways. During the process a few of my now-habitual practices were allowed to go undone (even ignored).

   It might have been selfish of me, but maybe that was a good thing? Maybe we all need a break from the routines and regularities that usually fill our time here on earth?

   As this month (and summer itself) draws to a close, and a “project” I sort of fell into has reached the point where it has become a habit, I began feeling that it was time to go back to my regular duties. We need to do the regular things that we do; they are what makes up who we are. 

   We need routine.

   So, I got back into my routine of donating blood, I even booked my next appointment for October. You can make a blood donation every couple of months (technically, I can donate up to six times a year) and I know I should.

   So, I did.

   It is one of those things I feel I need to do. Donating blood is a selfless act. One blood donation can help save lines. Blood donations are used to treat a variety of medical conditions — cancer comes to mind quickly — and the valuable resource is used to replace blood lost in accidents, surgeries, and childbirth.

   Blood is vital, it carries oxygen and nutrients from head to toe, and without blood humans simply wouldn’t survive.

   It’s pretty important.

   Blood is in you to give. It costs you nothing but an hour or so of your time and the results are priceless: lifesaving in fact.

   The need for blood is rising. At certain times of the year the blood inventory in this country dwindles. It is important not only to give, but to give regularly.

   I just did, and I will again and again.

08/26/2024                                                                                                          j.g.l.