8. Knowledge and Wisdom

Knowledge is what you learn from books and in school. Wisdom is developed by combining book knowledge with your own life's experience. 

For the longest time, I feel like a vacuum that "sucked up" with all kinds of knowledge: books, lectures, newspapers, TV, movies, and arts. Now I can let go of all of those, and what's left is what's assimilated within me, that's my Wisdom. I no longer need to be defined by famous authors and other luminaries that have influenced me. I can not labeled as this or that, because I am everything and ONE. 

That is joy.

7 - The tree pose

The tree pose in Yoga is the one in which you stand on one foot, and place the other foot on the inter-thigh of the other leg. It helps with the balance of your body and your mind. 

The lightbulb turned on when my Yoga teacher asked: "What will happen if you lost your balance?"

While I pondered the question, she said: "Nothing, it's OK to lost balance. Just put the other foot down, all will be fine."

It's good to remind ourselves once in a while that it's OK to lose balance, and that we don't have to be perfect all the time.

6, Be

 Recently I listened to a short podcast about Dao/Tao. 人法地，地法天，天法道，道法自然

quick translation of the above is: human imitates the earth, the earth imitates heaven, heaven imitates Dao (the way), Dao imitates being (自然 means nature, so one interpretation - which was my initial understanding - was Dao imitates nature, but a second interpretation is Dao is "being") 

It said Dao is "be" (who we are). The article explained: it's like a dog would not want to behave like a human, and a fish will not want to fly in the sky, the Dao is being who we are. 

Ha, this is like what I learned in Yoga. We just be who we are! Except that human also wants to swim in the ocean and fly in the sky and we created lots of technologies to achieve what we are not naturally able to achieve. 

-- Something to think about

5, Donuts

People who received one or both COVID-19 vaccine shots are entitled to a free Krispy Kreme donut! This is totally unique for 2021.

https://www.krispykreme.com/promos/vaccineoffer

Jack and I went out of our way to get our free donuts last Sunday. Of course, we also bought half a dozen donuts and a latte since we feel bad for getting free stuff. Then I was reminded how much I love donuts and that Krispy Kreme is definitely my favorite! It's soft, fine, sweet and fried, what's not to like? (OK, it's super unhealthy, I know)

Curious as I am, I can't stop wondering about the origin of donuts so my search begins. It turns out donut was first referenced in an 1809 book: "History of New York" as brought in by Dutch settlers to New York. There had been so many versions of doughnuts around the world it's funny! Check it out -

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doughnut

That can't be true, started around 1809? Perhaps I'm looking for the "Origin of fried dough" that was traced back to 8000 BC in China and Egypt "after the invention of pottery allowed for oil to be heated in pots." according to this article https://eatmagazine.ca/the-great-unifier-the-history-of-fried-dough/

Food can truly unite a family, a nation, and the world. Isn't this something for us to celebrate and embrace?

So thanks Krispy Kreme, and for that, I need to commit to exercising every day of this week.

4, Passion for national foods

I just saw this article on bbc.com: Pho, the humble food that caused outage

http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20210421-pho-the-humble-soup-that-caused-an-outrage

Another article posted earlier talked about the fight for Kim Chi.

http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20201217-how-kimchi-rekindled-a-decades-long-feud

I love it when people are passionate about their national foods and culture. However, I like to think about humanity as a whole, and that in our history, different cultures may cross paths and influence each other. Even when different nations develop their unique cultures, food, or technologies independently, and ended up being similar, it is something to celebrate.

3, Grey herons

 There is a grey heron that comes to the end of our street (actually there might be two of them). He or she would stand around the bluff, lonely, elegant, and perfectly camouflaged. If you pay attention, you can also see them showing up around surfer beach along Highway One. We were told that you are lucky if you can find the grey heron.

We are so busy and distracted, it's easy to miss the beautiful things in life, but don't let them pass you by.

Smell the roses and watch the grey herons.

2, Wildflowers

April wildflowers are inspiring. When you have a chance, look around for the colorful wildflowers. They are thriving this time of the year.

We were trying to grow poppies for years without success, but this year our neighbor has an overabundance of poppies in their unattended yard. Blooming poppies were even growing out of their concrete driveway. You can imagine how we feel. Nevertheless, we enjoy those poppies very much.