Category Archives: Life Lessons

July 21, 2017

Al Desko – Friday’s Word of the Day Haibun

By Kat Myrman

al desko

Today’s Dictionary.com word of the day…Al Desko…is patterned after al fresco and was first used in the 1980’s. Its facetious meaning alludes to eating a meal at one’s desk in an office: always snacking al desko; having an al desko lunch.

aldesko

Here’s a look at my al desko lunch today, as a matter of fact. It’s not much different any other week day, though the menu changes slightly. I get 30 minutes of unpaid time for lunch. But most days, the lunch hour is exactly the time when my boss needs me to write notes from the morning’s meetings or prepare presentations for the afternoon meetings. It is a rare thing for me to even leave me desk in the course of an 8-1/2 to 9 hour day; rarer still to actually finish my soup while it is still warm. But today is a good day. The boss is flying as I type somewhere over the Rockies, so I am enjoying an uninterrupted break.

We are work-a-holics here in the US. The sad truth is we are encouraged to work long hours, and do, with the hopes of gaining the boss’s attention. Positive notice is what it takes to ace an evaluation which translates into a favorable raise, not the minimum pittance required for breathing, and positions one for future opportunities as a person who “works hard and gets the job done”. Sadly, though loyalty is a thing oft cited in great reviews, companies are loath to return the favor.

I’m exhausted just thinking about it. And yet I acquiesce to”the man” hoping that I might one day be able to afford to retire. It is highly unlikely that I ever will, but I like saying the word retire and thinking that I might have a shot at it. Especially now that I’ve passed the 60’s mark.

I’m sorry. I’m afraid I have digressed a bit. The word of the day al desko has nothing to do with retiring. But here I sit, eating my healthy store-bought soup, heated in the office breakroom, with my little bag of goldfish and a cup of ice water. Dining al desko, catching up on Facebook and WordPress. Checking the news and the weather; glad that I brought my umbrella in from my car this morning. It’s going to rain this afternoon.

I’ll leave this desk around 5:30 or so, squinting as I emerge from the building at seeing the light of day outside for the first time in hours. A quick 15-20 minute trip in traffic will deposit me home where I will feed my pets, grab a bit of grub myself and then settle in for the night. All to start again at 6 am next morning when I will get up…feed the pets…and pack another al desko lunch to tide me over mid-day.

I’m shaking my head as I read this back to myself. I really do need to step away from my desk at least once during the day. It occurs to me…I need a life! 😉 At least I have words and writing to sooth the lunacy. Blogging has saved me. 🙂

Have a great week. Step away from the keyboard every now and again. You deserve it. (I say this, hoping that I’ll remember to take my own advice!)

work-a-holics dine
on bagged lunches and take-out
al desko gourmets

~kat

8 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , , , | posted in Digital Art & Photos, Essays, Haibun, Haiku, Life Lessons, Poetry, Random Thoughts and Musings, Social Issues, Word of the Day Haiku

July 15, 2017

Shi Sai Sunday’s Week in ReVerse – 16 July 2017

By Kat Myrman


I think of loss when I think of 2017. Loss of friends and family to the great chasm forged by the US election. Loss of safety in a land whose people feel emboldened to hate, discriminate and dismiss others not white, privileged or born here. Loss of the ideals that once bound us all; things like truth, honor, common decency, compassion, empathy and kindness. Loss of hope that I will have security in retirement…scratch that…I am resigned to the fact that I shall likely need to work for some company who cares only about profit margins and synergy savings and downsizing, until I die.

It all feels pretty grim. And yet I resist. I fight for what I believe is right and good and true. I extend a reed from the sharp edges of my bleeding heart, hoping to bridge the divide between me and those I never stopped loving. I dream of a day when religion is not used as a weapon and laws are not written to discriminate and exclude, but to serve all and protect. I tread lightly on the precious soil beneath my feet, leaving tiny footprints, though others may trample our mother’s green places, spewing poison in her waterways. I try to be good. To repay malice with kindness; avarice with generosity. To be a flicker of light in the growing darkness. To love and not hate.

I wonder how much more I can lose and still survive. And yet, I am still here living and breathing through things I was certain would break me.

But I am not broken. I have a heart that beats, and a conscience that sings me to sleep each night. I have an inner light that stirs me every day to press on. And so I do.

There is comfort in knowing that I am not alone. That there are others like me who wrestle with darkness. Who speak the truth. Who love unconditionally. Who care for the least of us. When I start to feel weary I remember the good and goodness that exists.

Sometimes losing everything helps us realize what is most important. It helps us let go of the things that were never ours to hold, bringing us to our truest self. It lightens our load for the long journey home.

While I’m not home yet, I think I know the way. Following the light is all it takes. Just follow the light. Just follow the light.

Shi Sai Sunday’s Week in ReVerse – 16 July 2017

remember the good
maybe
purr in rhapsody, the muse
filled to brim longing
most comes to mind, not amusing
when the tree bough breaks
dressed in eerie blue
welcome us in death
like diamonds
and dragons…
you are from eden
tiny gift
to the day

~kat

A shi sai or ReVerse poem is a summary poem with a single line lifted from each entry of a collection of work over a particular timeframe and re-penned in chronological order as a new poem. Unlike a collaborative poem, the shi sai features the words of one writer, providing a glimpse into their thoughts over time. I use it as a review of the previous week.

9 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , , , , , | posted in Digital Art & Photos, Essays, Life Lessons, nature, Poetry, Random Thoughts and Musings, Shi Sai, Social Issues, Spirituality, Week in Review

July 15, 2017

Fête -Friday’s Word of the Day

By Kat Myrman


I know it’s Saturday. It took sleeping on Friday’s Word of the Day to come up with a Haiku considering the bitter irony of its timing.

Fête is defined at dictionary.com as:
In noun form: a festive celebration or entertainment; a day of celebration; holiday; a religious feast or festival; a fete lasting several days in honor of a saint; and as a verb: to entertain at or honor with a fete: to fete a visiting celebrity.

It came to us from the French, according to The Online Etymology Dictionary, in 1754, from French fête “festival, feast,” from Old French feste “feast, celebration” (see feast (n.)). If the date is right, first used in English by Horace Walpole (1717-1797). fete (v.) 1819, from fete (n.). Related: Feted; fetes; feting.

So the timing of the word makes perfect sense! France? Bastille Day? Ah hah! I get it! Of course!

Except…on Thursday, in my world, I was graveside at the funeral of the beloved husband of a friend and Friday? Well, Friday found me at the veterinary office saying goodbye to my 17 and a half year old rescue dog, Lucy.

So you can imagine I was in no mood for fetes of any kind on Friday, or so I thought at first glance. But then I began to embrace the word and found comfort in it.


I thought about the happy reunions that happened in clusters at the graveside on Thursday as family members and friends, separated by distance and time, embraced. And there were sermons and songs that promised the joy to be found by the departed in the beyond; a Fete of heavenly proportions and happy reunions with those who had passed before and would be waiting to greet him. Whether one is a believer in heaven or not, the comfort it gives those who do believe is lovely to witness.


Then on Friday, I considered how the joyous memories of happier, healthier times held me as I helped my little dog take her final trip “across the rainbow”, as they say, in peace and dignity. A life well lived is much to be feted! And Lucy was a diva and a queen while she lived. I smile to think of her, a 10 pound shitzu bossing around her 180 pound mastiff brother! She was a force! Her life was a fête!

So, this is your Haiku, a day late, for Friday’s Word of the Day. Maybe not what you were expecting, given it’s definition, but every bit as relevant to me given the circumstances of my real life week, kissed by irony.

mourners imagine
joyous fêtes beyond the veil
welcome us in death

~kat

4 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , , , , , , | posted in Digital Art & Photos, Essays, Haibun, Haiku, Life Lessons, Poetry, Random Thoughts and Musings, Spirituality, Word of the Day Haiku

July 12, 2017

Cat Nipped

By Kat Myrman


when the tree bough breaks
fledglings from nestings tumble
fly or be cat nipped

~kat

For Haiku Horizons Challenge, prompt word, Tree.

12 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , | posted in Digital Art & Photos, Haiku, Life Lessons, nature, Poetry

July 9, 2017

Shi Sai Sunday’s Week in ReVerse – 9 July 2017

By Kat Myrman

There is a full moon outside my window. The sky is almost cloudless and the moonlight is washing everything in a pale frosted glow. 

During the day when the sun is bright and high in the sky we are told as children not to look directly at it for fear of damaging our eyes. But it is in the cool shadowy hours of the night when we can gaze directly at the sun’s reflection on the face of the moon. It is not in fact moonlight that we see, for the moon has no light of her own, but it is the sun’s reflection. 


Sometimes I feel like the moon. Face half hidden in cool gray matte while the other half brightly glows … or like the moon in its phases, in full face glow or completely hidden, shadowed in gray. 

I need to remind myself that I am not a moon. I am not meant to be a reflector of everything around me. But that can be a daunting task when faced with the troubles of our times. It seems so much easier to turn inward when the going gets rough. 

But the truth is I am much more like the sun. Reminds me of the little Sunday school song many of us happily sang as youngsters…”this little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine…let it shine…let it shine…let it shine. 

We can’t afford to brood; to become reflectors of light hoping to deflect the darkness, because we are suns. If we don’t let the little sparks within us shine the world will just get darker.  

Thank goodness for the dawn and its daily reminder that offers an example to each of us to rise anew, to be light and hope, warmth and healing from the inside out. 


“This little light of mine…I’m gonna let it shine…let it shine…let it shine…let it shine…Have a wonderful week. Your light gives me hope.

Shi Sai Sunday’s Week in ReVerse – 9 July 2017

nature’s song in green
got her
it was a good death, as deaths go
but it could be true
parched, we are drowning
those who dream dance on
their dreams frail as dust
to greening flush and browning
driving us mad
with longing
as though they are gods
out on digital screens

~kat

A shi sai or ReVerse poem is a summary poem with a single line lifted from each entry of a collection of work over a particular timeframe and re-penned in chronological order as a new poem. Unlike a collaborative poem, the shi sai features the words of one writer, providing a glimpse into their thoughts over time. I use it as a review of the previous week.

9 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , , | posted in Digital Art & Photos, Essays, Life Lessons, nature, Poetry, Random Thoughts and Musings, Shi Sai, Social Issues, Spirituality, Week in Review