staying in the present moment

days drift to second months. naming and living out these gifts and graces received makes me happy each day over here, in autumn melbourne...

we bless these days and hours,
find time to stay
in the present moment.

• sleeping & waking late
• knowing my family and loved ones home are well and safe
• receiving unexpected, cheeky and encouraging notes on my blog esp from former and present students.
• long streams of msn-ing with the same folks from 7000 miles away
• mental prepworks on my next meal
• cooking in my little hermitage; a newborn dish, spontaneous menus and self-made concoctions (bluecrab...butterfish, rockets, avocados, and the odd maggie mees)
• hunting for new fish and veggies at victoria market
• 30 laps at the glass-housed uni heated pool..woooo!
• flea market buys...(just yesterday, bought 15+ quicksilver, jeanwear and industrie tees and sleeves for less than $50!!!)
• speedy cycles down windy swanston street and beyond...night, day, morning and evening. the crisp cold air clicks inside me.
  
• stopping to see yellow leaves fall on the way to uni
• house-maintenance: having my own kitchen, room and toilet all in one and the self-discipline to clean & scent them when i feel like it! it's decent living.
  
• snuggling up to bed with 14 degrees in tow
• my green fingers: with daily sprigs of mint and thyme sprouting voraciously by the window.
• tuning in to behavioural norms of fellow aussies esp the ones (strangely, mostly asian gals) with their impossibly loud dressing (think poka-dot stockings, cleavage-huffing red tees and green minis!!!). they need to be tagged by fashion-police. mutants.
• intensive research-work at library. i'm smart. or try to be. shelves of books makes me feel so darn brainy. selective readings. eagle-eyed on fine concepts. chiselling argumentative bits. diluting a discourse. me- now, the master of speed-read.
• steely cold silence of 4am nights
• cycling to daily mass & sharing eucharist in lady chapel, newman college. kneeling on pews made from railway logs. earth, stillness of wood. the Lord's prayer.
  
• slow-sipps on a warm cup of harrods tea and watching sun sets from my 8th floor window
• morning perks with my fav mocha. thanks to generous discounts beck and emily at cafe downstairs
• inventing ingenious ways to save money and find time for the occasional spurging...(discovering unused rolls of toilet paper from &*%$%, collecting uncollected newspapers from basement, squeezing toothpastes till the last inches on tube, risk-skimming pages of journals to zap what is most essential (8 cents a piece...ouch!!!) , fine-tuning to perishable food and freshies and finding means to store them at optimal conditions, saving on laundry costs by rewearing odour-sweat free clothes!)
• brisk-cycles into town and other uni lanes , balancing another mocha in hand and muffin dangling from my haversack.
• spotting possums scavaging and mating while on trek on those nocturnal returns from work. feeding them breadcrumbs. spoiling their love rituals.
• giving in to moisturising creams and lotions (finally....but still, they yeeks!). if not i will probably scratch myself to skins and bits.
• daytrips to tarrawarra abbey, long walks and chats with oldtime bro-monks, samuel and joseph
• goodwill and love from people who stepped into my life and left trails of blessings: pat, wailin and ric, fr thinh, dennis, chris, missionaries of love, ordinary aussies and pockets of contacts who keep an eye out for u.

a leaf unlearns its solitude
on wet misty mornings
when aftershowers of cold
breathes baptismal tidings
to awaken mountains and sands of the soul