“We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time.”
― T. S. Eliot,
Month: June 2025
i go to this window ~ A Poem by e e cummings
i go to this window
e e cummings
i go to this window
just as day dissolves
when it is twilight(and
looking up in fear
i see the new moon
thinner than a hair)
making me feel
how myself has been coarse and dull
compared with you, silently who are
and cling
to my mind always
But now she sharpens and becomes crisper
until i smile with knowing
-and all about
herself
the sprouting largest final air
plunges
inward with hurled
downward thousands of enormous dreams
Cool as a Cucumber, Hot as a Jalapeño: The Tex Mex Dinner That Chills You Out
It’s 97 degrees, your shirt’s clinging like a needy ex, and the last thing you want is a heavy dinner weighing you down. Lucky for you, amigo, this light-yet-filling Tex Mex feast brings together four body-cooling, heat-fighting foods that don’t skimp on flavor. Think hydration, digestion, and olé! all on one plate.
🌿 4 Healthy Cooling Foods
(and why your overheated body will thank you):
- Cucumber: Packed with water (over 95%!), cucumbers cool you from the inside out. They’re rich in antioxidants and keep you hydrated when the sun’s got your back sweating like a waterfall.
- Avocado: This creamy wonder is full of potassium, which helps regulate body temperature. Bonus: its healthy fats keep you full without the post-meal slump.
- Watermelon: Nature’s dessert disguised as a hydration bomb. Watermelon helps lower core body temperature and provides electrolytes you’ve been sweating out all day.
- Black Beans: These fiber-packed beauties provide slow-digesting protein without the meat sweats. They stabilize blood sugar, which helps regulate heat production from metabolism.
🌮
The Recipe: “Summer Breeze Tex Mex Bowl”
Ingredients:
- 1 cup diced seedless watermelon
- 1/2 large avocado, cubed
- 1/2 cup cucumber, chopped
- 3/4 cup black beans, cooked and rinsed
- 1 tbsp fresh lime juice
- 2 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
- 1/2 jalapeño, thinly sliced (optional—go easy, it’s hot out!)
- Pinch of sea salt
- Optional: a handful of arugula or shredded romaine
Instructions:
- In a large bowl, gently toss together watermelon, cucumber, avocado, and black beans.
- Add lime juice, salt, jalapeño, and cilantro.
- Serve over greens for extra crunch or eat as is.
- Chill in the fridge for 10 minutes before serving if you’re really trying to escape the heat.
Pro tip: Pair it with sparkling water and a slice of lime for the full “I’m-on-vacation-even-though-I’m-sitting-on-my-patio” effect.
Healthy Tips: Joy Is Not a Mood—It’s a Message
”Healthy Tip: Joy isn’t the loud cousin of happiness, throwing confetti around at every party. Joy is subtle, sacred, and often surprisingly quiet. It doesn’t require ideal conditions; it can show up in the middle of chaos.
Practical example: A friend told me once that after her father’s funeral, the family gathered in the kitchen. Someone cracked a joke. Everyone burst out laughing through tears. That, she said, was joy. It didn’t erase the grief. It accompanied it.
Joy isn’t a detour from reality — it’s a deep acknowledgment of it. When you sense joy, pay attention. Your emotional senses are telling you, “This moment matters.”
Teaser for Post 3: Why sorrow deserves a seat at the table—and how it makes us more human, not more broken.
Tariffs, Thrift Stores, and Turn-Ons: When Frugal Gets Freaky
Who knew skyrocketing prices and budget-conscious living would light such a romantic spark? Apparently, nothing says foreplay like coupons, McNuggets, and two-step dancing at Toby’s honky tonk.
I watched a brief news clip where the narrator said Americans were becoming more frugal due to the increase of prices caused by the tariffs.. A late night talk show host later said that a survey indicated that a growing percentage of Americans believe that frugality is sexy. Imagine a brief conversation between a couple might go like this:
Joan: “It’s Friday, Harry. Let’s go out for dinner and perhaps a few drinks after. I feel like dressing up.”
Harry, feeling a bit excited about the evening’s potential said, “Any thoughts on where you’d like to go?”
Joan: “With all the price increases caused by the tariffs, let’s dine at McDonald’s and then head to Toby’s honky tonk for a couple of beers. What do you think?”
Harry: “When you start talking frugal, it makes me horny.”
Joan gave Harry a flirtatious wink and said: “Tomorrow, let’s go to the thrift store.”
New Podcast: Walkers with the Morning: From Grief to Gratitude
Grief doesn’t always shout. Sometimes, it whispers through morning rituals, the smell of coffee, or a sliver of dawn. But there’s hope in these small sacred moments—and healing in remembering them with grace.
Writing Prompt: Mirror, Mirror, Why Are You Roasting Me Today?
We’ve all had those mornings. You glance in the mirror and your reflection looks like it just got off a 12-hour shift in a haunted corn maze. But what if your mirror could talk back?
✍️ Writing Prompt:
One morning, you’re brushing your teeth when your reflection blinks first. Then it crosses its arms and says, “Wow. This is the look you’re going with today?”
📝
Example Starter: I dropped my toothbrush and blinked at the mirror. My reflection didn’t blink back—it rolled its eyes.
“Let me guess,” it said. “Overslept, under-caffeinated, and pretending that bedhead is intentional?”
I stared. It smirked. Great, I thought. Even my own reflection is judging me now.
Today’s Quote: If You Can’t Change It, Adapt
“I have a long list of things I don’t like. But I adapt.” ~ Elvis Cole (Character in Robert Crais’s book Elvis Cole book series)
Accepted ~ A Poem by Elizabeth Jennings
Accepted
Elizabeth Jennings
You are no longer young,
Nor are you very old.
There are homes where those belong.
You know you do not fit
When you observe the cold
Stares of those who sit
In bath-chairs or the park
(A stick, then, at their side)
Or find yourself in the dark
And see the lovers who,
In love and in their stride,
Don’t even notice you.
This is a time to begin
Your life. It could be new.
The sheer not fitting in
With the old who envy you
And the young who want to win,
Not knowing false from true,
Means you have liberty
Denied to their extremes.
At last now you can be
What the old cannot recall
And the young long for in dreams,
Yet still include them all.
Healthy Tip: The Sixth Sense You Actually Use Every Day (And Didn’t Learn in Biology)”
For the next 5 posts beginning today I will focus on our emotional senses and how we can use our emotional senses to promote emotional health.
Healthy Tip: We all know the big five senses — sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch. They get all the attention, all the textbook love. But what about the senses that don’t show up in the anatomy charts? The ones that speak in whispers, not signals? I’m talking about your emotional senses.
Emotions like joy, sorrow, and happiness aren’t just moods that pass through like a summer breeze. They’re more like internal instruments — quiet sensors attuned to life’s deeper truths. When something is right, you feel joy. When something is missing, you feel sorrow. When you’re aligned with what matters most, you feel happiness.
Practical example: Ever meet someone and instantly feel at peace around them? You can’t explain it, but something inside says, “Yes. This feels right.” That’s not magic or mystery — it’s your emotional sense doing its job.
These emotional senses guide our choices, shape our relationships, and help us heal. They may not be visible, but they are very real.
Teaser for Post 2: Coming next: The quiet magic of joy—how to recognize it, nurture it, and let it surprise you.
