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October 24, 2024: Joy

Today a friend told me that she is not voting for Trump. But she’s also not voting for Harris. I showed her my Joy button and said that many years back, I voted for Obama, but didn’t buy into the hope message.

I added that I am all about joy, and I seek it out wherever I can. Some days I don’t do as well with this as others. But I always remember that joy is an immediate feeling, one that has its roots in the present tense.

Today started out (I pause here, in an attempt to figure out how to talk about this) rather oddly. I had this dream last night that I needed an assist with some aspect of the book project, and went to Pete. Pete said yes, he’d give me an assist but had other things to do first. I waited and waited, and when he did not come through, mentioned this to him. He got defensive and we came to blows.


Shadow


Just another instance here, in which I was very glad that dreams aren’t real. But real or not, I think that it behooves us to pay attention to our dreams, because they provide us with much-needed insights.

This dream, easy to figure, the BLBP is too much work for both Pete and me. But what followed was much like the dream. Pete was hurried, had to get ready for school. My requests were acknowledged but not acted upon, immediately. I found myself wondering if I was actually living the dream. I also wondered if there was any time when I could ask him for assistance.

I didn’t have time to give this matter much thought because we had a Zoom meeting with a representative from the Mat-Su Health Foundation who is representing a team that will provide our consultant (present, duly noted) with funding. At the time the meeting was starting, I got a phone call from a fellow who is wanting to write an article for the Frontiersman Newspaper on the BLBP. This article is to be sponsored by the Mat-Su Health Foundation.

He said he had four questions for me to answer. Fair enough. I said that I’d get him the copy in the next few days. Now I don’t have the time to do this, but I will find the time to do this.

After the consultant meeting, one in which it was decided to do a feasibility study, I headed to the pool. I didn’t have a lot of time, but I did tread/swim (this is my name for it) and also alternated doing the crawl and backstroke.

I did my abbreviated workout and then climbed into the hot tub. One of the fellows said to me that he could do one lap, climb into the hot tub, and say that he went swimming, to which I agreed.

Joy, back to the subject of joy. Spent the afternoon at the hotel, in the company of Cathy Stone, our artist in residence, and Becky Myrold, the head gardener at the Alaska State Fair. I so enjoy listening to artists, and their account of their process. This, to me, embodies joy.

Next: 290. 10/25/24: Deadlines

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