Upside Down Kris

Newness, Week One Highlights from the first week of my newness challenge... Day 4 *      I took a different street home last night, riding through the heart of the city instead of on the "heartless" bike trail which trailed after cars. The "heart" was still throbbing with students drinking outside of a joint fused with an old city gate (what would the old architects think of that!), pedestrians walking home, people twisting their pasta on a restaurant plate... *     I ate at a student's house. It was nothing new (rice and vegetables), a part from the splash of white wine that I don't usually get to sip with lunch. It was my friend and her son's company that was extraordinary because I normally eat alone. Day 5 *     I made a new recipe. (I've been doing that a lot lately.) The aroma of coconut mixed with curry...out of this world is the only way I can describe it, totally filling my senses...The taste of slow cooked chicken with spices and zucchini w

The Newness Challenge This morning, I awoke with: what if I tried something new everyday? Would that help me to feel alive, to add spice to "normalcy"? New creates excitement and stimulates. I know routines are necessary–they help build good habits and align life–but novelty opens up new pathways in the brain. Challenges–as long as they're not too heavy–can cheer you on, help you to set new goals. So, then I thought: what if I dare myself to do something new everyday, like my challenge to find "magic moments" in my daily life? I immediately felt the idea prickle under my skin, but doubts also stung me: is it really possible to find something extraordinary in the commonplace? And will I be able to see it as I stumble upon it? What constitutes "new", anyway? Is it because you've never done something before or because you've never seen it in a certain way before that makes the difference? I think it was Jim Kwik who said "novelty helps neuron

The Boon of Recovery Everyone knows there is a great abyss between a cold and a heavy duty operation: the first is just plain annoying and the second can be edifying. I'm sure you've had head colds that cloud your brain and numb your taste, putting you into a general state of malaise. Maybe you've even groaned: "When is this going to end?!" The truth is you know it will last a week or two at most, but you crash onto the couch complaining: "This is the worst cold ever !" An important operation, on the other hand, is, well...important. I'm not talking about something like removing a mole, mind you, but one that throws you into a different ball park, one that launches you into the air only to leave you lying on the ground for an indefinite amount of time. It's the temporary loss of self and the not knowing how long it will last that rockets the experience into the realm of "life change." And change your life if does. It leaves you asking q

Resolutions Ding, Dong, Ding, Dong: the new year's bells are chiming, and the old year's bells are clanging, already dissonant with new resolutions. What do I hear? Well, last year's bells aren't tinkling and merry. I imagine them heavy and thick like those of many ancient church towers. They have booming voices and need a good push to start swinging. I am my own bell ringer, shoving off and riding the bells, not knowing when they will lose momentum and weigh too much to ring.  What if I switch up the bells this year? I imagine them much smaller and round; not bells at all, really. The fascinating vibrations of Tibetan bowls has always soothed me. Actually, I think they're called "singing" bowls because each one truly does have a unique voice. When I hear a bowl sing I stop, enraptured by the sound. Or, maybe it would be more accurate to say I become infused with the reverberations and can do nothing else but listen.      That's my resolution for the n