Simply Norma

The weatherman last evening made an interesting statement: “The dew point is 2 degrees more than in the Amazon jungle.” In other words — it’s more humid here than it is in the jungle right now.

Who needs moisturizer? Walk outside and your body absorbs the humidity in the air. When we woke up this morning, our windows were all “weepy.”

I’m missing Seattle weather right now.

Lake Elmo had 6 inches of rain Friday night. There was quite a commotion outside with thunder that shook the house and rain that pummeled it.

Interestingly, on the way back from the store this afternoon, people were speed walking and riding their bicycles. I guess they didn’t see the warning at weather.com that said “Dangerous heat index. Outdoor exposure should be limited.” And they are expecting this to continue for the next 4-5 days.

My outdoor plants have received so much rain that they are just about dead now. If the rain doesn’t kill them, the heat will. And nary a bee has graced our yard to pollinate the tomato plant. Sigh …

Yesterday there were quite a few cars driving around our neighborhood and we walked outside to find out what all the commotion was about. A garden tour was in progress and one of our neighbors was part of the tour. She has a very nice landscaped garden — similar to the one I’d like to have on our one acre.

But — that will have to wait for next year. Heat indexes will keep me inside for a few days taking my focus from the outside back to the inside.

This is a weird commercial. I don’t understand why they have to have a commercial for the Minnesota Zoo where people are waddling — yes, I know it relates to the penguins.  But still … it’s just weird.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwRhqfRdWBY

I’ve been reading a book on my Apple iPad called “When the Body Says No: Understanding the Stress-Disease Connection” by Gabor Matte, M.D.  It’s really quite interesting. The book defines what emotional competence is. The author’s definition is as follows:

Emotional competence requires:

• the capacity to feel our emotions, so that we are aware when we are experiencing stress;
• the ability to express our emotions effectively and thereby to assert our needs and to maintain the integrity of our emotional boundaries;
• the facility to distinguish between psychological reactions that are pertinent to the present situation and those that represent issues from the past. What we want and demand from the world needs to conform to our present needs, not to unconscious, unsatisfied needs from childhood.  If distinctions between past and present blur, we will perceive loss or the threat of loss where none exists and
• the awareness of those genuine needs that do require satisfaction, rather than their repression for the sake of gaining the acceptance or approval of others.

When I read the phrase “the facility to distinguish between psychological reactions that are pertinent to the present situation and those that represent issues from the past” a bulb lit up in my brain.

One of the struggles I’m having living in our current house is the idea of having bugs around me since our property has many trees. Never mind that there aren’t that many. Somehow, in my mind, the thought of “them” being out “there” causes anxiety for me — stress.

I remember as a young teenager when I was in the Camp Fire Girls, I would go camping yearly in Wisconsin. One summer I went out for a walk by myself which was unusual since usually we were in groups. The day was warm and I remember putting deodorant on. As I continued my walk, I heard a buzzing sound. I shooed the intruder away but the buzzing continued. I walked faster and the bee continued following me. I started speed walking. Still the bee continued to follow. I was getting quite frantic now. I started to jog away from the camp onto the country road. The bee was still behind me buzzing away. After awhile, my face beet red and my whole body sweating, the bee decided to go away and I slowly walked back to camp.

The walk was a long one. I looked to my left, my right and behind me to make sure the bee did not return.

This memory, on occasion, continues with me to this day. It’s funny though because I wasn’t bitten — just “followed” and probably because of the smell of the deodorant I had on.

I believe part of the stress I feel today with bugs has to do with that one encounter with a bee so long ago.

How do I separate this one past experience with the realities of today?

The author continues to say that “Stress occurs in the absence of these criteria …” and that “emotional competence is compromised usually in ways entirely unknown to the person involved.”  Indeed — I hadn’t thought about this bee incident for awhile now.

Suggestions on how to “forget” it or “manage” it?

[amazon_link id=”B004IO1166″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ][/amazon_link]

I recently read an article about the TSA body scanners that raised questions about the safety of the amount of radiation used. Click here to read it.

I don’t know about this country of ours. Is it really in the citizens best interest to keep information from them for the “security” of our country?

Life has a way of giving you surprises. Some good – some bad – take some, leave some.

Today while sitting in my living room, I looked to my left out the window and noticed a visitor on our deck.

He was having such a good time eating the seeds that fell in between the boards of the deck. One time I caught him scooting along the deck, then he lay there and enjoyed himself for a bit.

If only people could enjoy their lives as simply.

I wonder what it would take for us to do that?