Calm

Often times I wonder what it is that makes some of us capable of keeping our wits in the most frightful of scenarios.  To what do I owe my capacity for calmness?  I see it in most facets of my life.  I prefer to drink tea because of the taste; this much is obvious.  However, there is also the joy of preparing it.  Opening the cupboard and smelling all of the teas I have in my collection.  Choosing the right teapot, not only for the tea I'm drinking, but also to fit my mood.  Heating the water, cutting off a sizable chunk of pu-erh.  It all takes time, and at no point do I ever wish there were an easier way about it.  Calming patience:  I have been told people flock towards me because of that quality.  

I need to remind myself that others don't posses such tranquility all of the time and last night I had a first hand lesson at that.  I have been meaning to make it out to the UofM Go Club in Ann Arbor for quite some time.  I've been looking for a group of individuals to play and grow with.  Yesterday, I finally had a night off of work and of daddy duties, so I decided to head out.  I walked in, bought a hot Chai, and made my way to the back of the coffeehouse.  Within three minutes, a guy walked up to me and having never met me before, asked if I wanted to play him.  Turns out he's a 1-dan player; leaps and bounds ahead of my 11-kyu rank.  To sit across from someone with a much firmer grasp of this game was amazing.  The fact that he wanted to play and help me out was even more incredible.  Soon into our first game, I found my hands fumbling; trembling even.  A feeling that is quite unfamiliar to me.  At one point, I almost dropped my stones, and had to pull a table over because I couldn't hold the bowl in my lap and focus on the game.  Yet throughout, he remained very calm.  It was quite an inspiring magneticism, and I often wonder if any of the worriers of the world view me in that same fashion as I saw him.  The firmness of stone to help others grow, yet light enough to never find itself getting dragged down by unnecessary worries and turbulence.  One can only hope.  It's time for another cup of tea.  Thank you Nada for your wonderful teas, and to anyone who hasn't had it yet, pick up a few of these before they're all gone.  This tea is carrying me tonight.  

Tornado

At approximately 9:22pm this past Saturday night, a tornado travelling at 130mph came ripping down my street. It knocked out the power, and immediately I ran to pick up Grace. We watched five or six transformers blow, each lighting the sky with this ridiculous shade of bright blue. We watched a couple of trees fall over and debris fly everywhere. This picture is of the sidewalk in front of my house. It's frightening to see such disorder in what was once a very calming patch of sidewalk. Fortunately, Grace and I are both safe, as well as all of my neighbours. A couple blocks over, an apartment complex had it's roof completely ripped off and there were cars on their side and stacked on top of eachother. Truly a frightening experience. Walking around the next morning felt very dreamlike. There are more pictures on my Flickr page if anyone cares to take a peek.