The Shower Meme: ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
stealthpup interview
Jun. 5th, 2003 10:19 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
vaneramosAfter that incredibly difficult interview by anoisblue I decided to have some fun and step into the Shower Meme with the suave stealthpup.
By now everyone knows how this works. If you want me to do interview you post a comment saying, "Interview me."
stealthpup's questions:
1) What trait do you find in yourself that you most dislike finding in others?
2) What would you do to make yourself as aware of the physical world around you as possible?
3) What weather condition best mirrors your inner self?
4) Describe a wildly joyous event in your life.
5) What would you want as a final epitaph?
1) What trait do you find in yourself that you most dislike finding in others?
Someone once said that if you pick the one person in the world you dislike most and pick the trait that offends you, you would find your own shadow self. It's true, we often dislike people because we see ourselves reflected in them.
I used to have a clear answer for this question, but over the past few years I have become more patient with people, even myself.
I still dislike when someone speaks his mind without considering the impact it will have on his listeners. My mother does it to me. And while I'm too considerate to do it to most people, I am careless with my own daughters sometimes. One of the hardest things I find about being a parent is learning not to subject my children to the nasty behaviour I'm too cowardly to display in front of my friends. It's not so much the words I say as my condescending attitude. I'm getting better about it, and I hardly ever raise my voice the way I used to, but I still sometimes catch myself slipping into the Father Voice. But I'm not afraid to apologize to my kids if I realize I made a mistake.
2) What would you do to make yourself as aware of the physical world around you as possible?
Wow, that's a tough and important question for me. As a nature writer, observation is one of my most critical skills. But I'm such an introverted intuitive that I easily get absorbed in abstract thoughts, whether I'm walking outdoors, trying to work on a creative project, or spending time with my friends. I have developed a few exercises to help me concentrate on my surroundings.
Here is one of them. When I go for a walk I have one particular place on the river that I often set as my destination. It's about 15 minutes from my apartment. No matter how preoccupied I am while walking, when I get to that spot I stop myself and just look at the water flowing by. At that point the river has enough current that it remains open most of the winter. I might only stand there for 30 seconds, that is enough. It's soothing and helps me escape from my head for a moment. I start using my eyes, ears and nose. Usually, on the way home, I am much more aware of things around me than on the way out.
Doing this is easier when I'm alone. I have a harder time keeping my eyes and ears open when I'm around people. If someone is speaking, their words often spark a private, inner dialogue. Before I know it, I'm not paying attention to what is being said. Such is the life of an introvert. But I have several friends with whom I am so ccomfortable that I don't feel compelled to keep those thinking tangents to myself. When I talk more I stay present with my company. I suppose that to become more aware around people in general I should perhaps speak my mind more often. But here we run into conflict with my answer to question 1. There must be a balance somewhere.
3) What weather condition best mirrors your inner self?
This is interesting because the weather affects my moods profoundly. In particular, when a low pressure system moves through, other people may experience headaches or arthritis flare-ups. I'm not as susceptible to physical pain, but I tend to feel depressed. I used to experience some Seasonal Affective Disorder, but solved that pretty well the last couple winters by walking outside for 15 minutes every day.
On the other hand, when I'm sitting on the dock at my cottage on a clear summer day, I am never so much at peace. Then my inner world is bright and peaceful as the sky.
But most of the time I feel somewhat anxious and cluttered like an autumn day when the wind is blowing hard, scattering leaves all over. Ragged clouds tear across the sky. Patches of bright sunlight flash across the treetops. It is exciting and beautiful, but the sense of winter coming makes me nervous.
4) Describe a wildly joyous event in your life.
I'm going to cheat and describe two, because they're about my daughters, and I have two daughters.
This January when my daughters came down for the weekend we went to St. Jacob's Farmers Market on Saturday morning. When we came to the food vendors I told the girls they could get a doughnut or a pickle-on-a-stick if they wanted one. They both chose doughnuts. While we were waiting for the boy behind the counter to get the machine working, Brenna (who is 9 and loves dills) stood looking at the pickles in the next stall. They were massive, each one about six inches long.
A few minutes later we were walking away with our purchase and Brenna said, "I hope we can come back here sometime so I can get a pickle." I turned to her and said, "I didn't mean you couldn't have both. If you want a pickle we can go back and get one."
I'm glad I was looking at her because the instantaneous look of delight on her face was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. It's wonderful when such a simple thing can give such happiness.
One of the happiest times I have had with Marian was last August when the two of us went on a two-night canoe trip in Algonquin Park. The second evening we were sitting on the big rock beside our campsite while dusk fell. I was writing in my notebook and Marian (10 at the time) was playing with a flashlight. Suddenly she looked up and gasped, "Dad, is that the aurora borealis?" She had never seen it before and was thrilled. We paddled to the middle of the lake as the last blush of daylight fell from the West, and sat in the eerie half dark mixed with silver light from the full moon. Pink and green waves of Northern Lights shimmered across the sky. Their pale radiance reflected in the lake beneath.
I don't know anything happier than sharing simple pleasures with my children. They can be difficult to please at times, but then something like a pickle or the night sky will cause delight and wonder.
5) What would you want as a final epitaph?
"I have gone to swim in the lake,
to play in the sunlight,
to sing on the wind
to dance with the trees
to rest in the warm embrace
of the earth I have always loved."
Thank you, Clay, for inspiring me to write that.
anoisblue I decided to have some fun and step into the Shower Meme with the suave stealthpup.By now everyone knows how this works. If you want me to do interview you post a comment saying, "Interview me."
stealthpup's questions:1) What trait do you find in yourself that you most dislike finding in others?
2) What would you do to make yourself as aware of the physical world around you as possible?
3) What weather condition best mirrors your inner self?
4) Describe a wildly joyous event in your life.
5) What would you want as a final epitaph?
1) What trait do you find in yourself that you most dislike finding in others?
Someone once said that if you pick the one person in the world you dislike most and pick the trait that offends you, you would find your own shadow self. It's true, we often dislike people because we see ourselves reflected in them.
I used to have a clear answer for this question, but over the past few years I have become more patient with people, even myself.
I still dislike when someone speaks his mind without considering the impact it will have on his listeners. My mother does it to me. And while I'm too considerate to do it to most people, I am careless with my own daughters sometimes. One of the hardest things I find about being a parent is learning not to subject my children to the nasty behaviour I'm too cowardly to display in front of my friends. It's not so much the words I say as my condescending attitude. I'm getting better about it, and I hardly ever raise my voice the way I used to, but I still sometimes catch myself slipping into the Father Voice. But I'm not afraid to apologize to my kids if I realize I made a mistake.
2) What would you do to make yourself as aware of the physical world around you as possible?
Wow, that's a tough and important question for me. As a nature writer, observation is one of my most critical skills. But I'm such an introverted intuitive that I easily get absorbed in abstract thoughts, whether I'm walking outdoors, trying to work on a creative project, or spending time with my friends. I have developed a few exercises to help me concentrate on my surroundings.
Here is one of them. When I go for a walk I have one particular place on the river that I often set as my destination. It's about 15 minutes from my apartment. No matter how preoccupied I am while walking, when I get to that spot I stop myself and just look at the water flowing by. At that point the river has enough current that it remains open most of the winter. I might only stand there for 30 seconds, that is enough. It's soothing and helps me escape from my head for a moment. I start using my eyes, ears and nose. Usually, on the way home, I am much more aware of things around me than on the way out.
Doing this is easier when I'm alone. I have a harder time keeping my eyes and ears open when I'm around people. If someone is speaking, their words often spark a private, inner dialogue. Before I know it, I'm not paying attention to what is being said. Such is the life of an introvert. But I have several friends with whom I am so ccomfortable that I don't feel compelled to keep those thinking tangents to myself. When I talk more I stay present with my company. I suppose that to become more aware around people in general I should perhaps speak my mind more often. But here we run into conflict with my answer to question 1. There must be a balance somewhere.
3) What weather condition best mirrors your inner self?
This is interesting because the weather affects my moods profoundly. In particular, when a low pressure system moves through, other people may experience headaches or arthritis flare-ups. I'm not as susceptible to physical pain, but I tend to feel depressed. I used to experience some Seasonal Affective Disorder, but solved that pretty well the last couple winters by walking outside for 15 minutes every day.
On the other hand, when I'm sitting on the dock at my cottage on a clear summer day, I am never so much at peace. Then my inner world is bright and peaceful as the sky.
But most of the time I feel somewhat anxious and cluttered like an autumn day when the wind is blowing hard, scattering leaves all over. Ragged clouds tear across the sky. Patches of bright sunlight flash across the treetops. It is exciting and beautiful, but the sense of winter coming makes me nervous.
4) Describe a wildly joyous event in your life.
I'm going to cheat and describe two, because they're about my daughters, and I have two daughters.
This January when my daughters came down for the weekend we went to St. Jacob's Farmers Market on Saturday morning. When we came to the food vendors I told the girls they could get a doughnut or a pickle-on-a-stick if they wanted one. They both chose doughnuts. While we were waiting for the boy behind the counter to get the machine working, Brenna (who is 9 and loves dills) stood looking at the pickles in the next stall. They were massive, each one about six inches long.
A few minutes later we were walking away with our purchase and Brenna said, "I hope we can come back here sometime so I can get a pickle." I turned to her and said, "I didn't mean you couldn't have both. If you want a pickle we can go back and get one."
I'm glad I was looking at her because the instantaneous look of delight on her face was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. It's wonderful when such a simple thing can give such happiness.
One of the happiest times I have had with Marian was last August when the two of us went on a two-night canoe trip in Algonquin Park. The second evening we were sitting on the big rock beside our campsite while dusk fell. I was writing in my notebook and Marian (10 at the time) was playing with a flashlight. Suddenly she looked up and gasped, "Dad, is that the aurora borealis?" She had never seen it before and was thrilled. We paddled to the middle of the lake as the last blush of daylight fell from the West, and sat in the eerie half dark mixed with silver light from the full moon. Pink and green waves of Northern Lights shimmered across the sky. Their pale radiance reflected in the lake beneath.
I don't know anything happier than sharing simple pleasures with my children. They can be difficult to please at times, but then something like a pickle or the night sky will cause delight and wonder.
5) What would you want as a final epitaph?
"I have gone to swim in the lake,
to play in the sunlight,
to sing on the wind
to dance with the trees
to rest in the warm embrace
of the earth I have always loved."
Thank you, Clay, for inspiring me to write that.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2003-06-06 12:10 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-06-06 04:57 am (UTC)Wish me fun. I'm going to take a few spare hours today to hang out in that favourite place of yours, which is my favourite also.
no subject
Date: 2003-06-09 01:15 pm (UTC)1. You seem to like children, but don't want kids of your own. Why?
2. You started writing a book. What is it about?
3. What's one thing you don't think you will accomplish in your life but would like to do? What would have to change to make it happen?
4. Describe a place and time in which you felt totally peaceful.
5. Describe one unfulfilled sexual fantasy.
no subject
Date: 2003-06-06 04:53 am (UTC)