Korean Food

The Won Buddhism Temple where I attend Saturday group mediation sessions is largely Korean. When I volunteered for a work session this past Saturday, I was treated to an authentic Korean lunch! Evidently Koreans typically serve a lot of side dishes with their meals and ours was no exception; it included cucumbers, pears, radish, onion/garlic relish, boiled egg, rice rolls, and Korean pancakes. The entree was cold noodle soup to which we added a little bit of each of the side dishes (except the pancakes); the pancakes kind of serve the same purpose as bread to us westerners, at least that's the way I interpret it. There were leftovers when finished and the cook was nice enough to give me some of the pancakes and rice rolls - delicious!

Mindful Work

Volunteered for a work session at the Buddhist Meditation Center where I attend Saturday group mediation sessions. After sessions we typically chat over tea; I’ve been bringing bread for tea time and today I brought breakfast cookies - they were a hit:). 

Following tea they served a Korean lunch for me and other volunteers; the food was great (see post on Korean food). Work consisted of helping to clean the temple; we were supposed to practice mindfulness working and blog about our experience on their website. In addition to cleaning, I had the task of filling quart containers with malt syrup from a 5 gallon bucket of syrup; the temple sells this and other food items as part of fund raising. It was a challenge to scoop the malt syrup (has the consistency of honey) into the small (about a quart each) containers without spilling but I found myself drifting back and forth between being present and not when watching this viscous liquid pour out of the dipper into the container. Later, I tried to be mindful while dusting and did for awhile but it was hard to remain present; may have had a lot to do with the newness of the task and location. After our work session was over (about 3 hours), we had watermelon; a perfect treat for this warm Maryland day:)

New FINIS Swimming Snorkel

Previous posts mention lower back pain and my speculation that it is due to turning my head too much and/or too far when turning my head to breathe while swimming freestyle.  The pain seems to happen when my technique is sloppy - typically towards the end of long distance (e.g., a mile for me) swims. So I've cut back my swimming distance (today swam 1200m) and I purchased a snorkel.

Internet research revealed that I'm not alone in suffering lower back pain from swimming; the recommended solution is to use a snorkel to avoid having to turn the head to breathe. Apparently several atheletes (e.g., Michael Phelps) use snorkels for training. This is a center snorkel so it aligns with the center of your face (unlike a scuba snorkel). After swimming 1200m today, I gave the snorkel a try; it worked fine but I suspect will take awhile to get used to. I normally exhale through my nose and mouth under water and take air in the same way. Not sure if I should continue to exhale through both and try inhaling just through the mouth (obviously) with he snorkel on. FINIS literatures says they provide nose plugs for junior swimmers; I guess us adults are supposed to be able to figure out how to cope without plugs:) I also bought a cardio cap that goes on top of the snorkel to make it harder to get air. Supposedly this builds cardio and is used by athletes to simulate high altitude. Who knew:) Glad I bought the cardio cap because it was much easier swimming with the snorkel than without so need something to make it more difficult. The best part is that the snorkel allows one to focus on stroke technique rather than breathing.

Side view

Front view.

One month in MD

Today is one month since moving to Maryland and all is well:) Although a few boxes remain partially unpacked, for the most part, I've settled into the house and my routines. Daily meditation and exercise    keep me centered and healthy. Work responsibilities (in exchange for rent) keep me busy; maintaining both homes (the owner's and the one I live in) includes mowing the lawns, some cleaning, maintaining the in-ground pool, and basic home maintenance (I don't do electrical or major repairs like maintaining the AC/furnace). As any homeowner knows, maintaining a home can be a lot of work, especially older homes; multiply by two:) It is nice to have a home where I can cook/bake and be close to a pool/gym, and Buddhist meditation center. Also, the owners are nice and we seem to get along. Taking it day-by-day:)

Tabouleh (tabouli)

I love tabouleh in the summer (especially with fresh tomatoes); this middle-eastern, vegetarian salad is fairly common in restaurants today, as are the ingredients:

• Bulgur
• Tomatoes
• Garlic
• Onion
• Parsley
• Mint
• Olive oil
• Lemon juice
• Salt

Found all ingredients except mint in my pantry. The best part of this recipe is that it doesn't require any cooking so can be made on hot days without heating up the kitchen. Just pour boiling water (I use my electric tea kettle) over the bulgur and let it sit for 20 minutes until it absorbs all the water; let it cool and then mix in the ingredients. Cool in the fridge for several hours; better the next day.

With all the garlic and onion, be sure to share with someone you love:)

Life and Death

Today's online headlines reported a lot of death around the world (e.g., Texas, Iraq, Mexico, Nepal, India, etc.) The heat wave in India http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-32880180, where over 1000 people have died to date, caused me to think about my New Year's resolution - to live this year as if it is my last. The deaths in India and elsewhere in the world are of course very sad and my heart goes out to the friends and families; however, these tragic deaths are also a reminder to me to live my life as if it were to soon be over.

When I made this resolution, I didn't think it would be too difficult; however, it has been challenging just to remember to think about it every day. When I do think about it, the question becomes - is there something else I should be doing? When I'm stuck in traffic, the answer is often "yes":) but often, nothing comes to mind that makes me want to drastically change where I'm living or what I'm doing.

Sure, if I really was going to die in a year, I've thought about moving back to Denver to be close to my daughter and while that might make me feel good, I doubt she would feel the same way - she has her own life now. I've also thought about going to some third world country to do good (e.g., "help the poor") but that also seems selfish. So, I go round and round in my mind thinking this through and always come back to the same conclusion - keep meditating to increase my awareness and focus on loving kindness and compassion.

Pope Francis

Saw a brief online article from the Washington Post today that said Pope Francis doesn't watch TV. Evidently he hasn't watched TV since 1990; I gave it up in 2005. Just goes to show - while we may think we are worlds apart (e.g., political or religous views/beliefs) from someone, we may share common interests (or in this case disinterest:)

The media seems to often focus on differences (e.g., skin color, sex, age, sexual orientation, etc.) between people. In reality, I think humans are much more similar than different; after all, we are all animals with, supposedly, advanced brains which allow us to think for ourselves:).

May all living beings be well.