Pruning

I need to prune the roses

Baring tender stems.

Crinkled buds protect from frost

Til washed by gentle rains.

I need to prune my chapters

Painful as it seems.

Spattered words undo the finish

By hanging in the sentence.

I hit delete to terminate

Useless tangled words.

Replaced “the it and there”

With descriptive names and places.

The practice of organizing words in the form of poetry is a good exercise for developing good writing skills. I wanted to write about my struggle with organizing and editing my writing. As I rewrote this poem several times I asked myself these questions:

What am I trying to say?

How do the words sound out loud?

Do I have unnecessary words?

Would another word better convey the meaning?

Do I want to keep making the poem better or finish?

Is it worth my time to write this?

I decided it was worth my time to practice exploring word choices. Then I needed to get it done and move on. Tomorrow is another day and another walk.

25 minutes walking

Take a Comma

"Writing clearly isn’t easy.
 Writing, clearly, isn’t easy."

While I agree with both of these statements, the commas give each a different meaning. In her article, "The Best Use of Commas," Mary Morel shares her advice on how to use, or not use, commas. Commas are like shadows giving pause before the next burst of sunlight. Sentences need commas to give a break, short release, or meaning, just as we need breaks in our energy/work cycles. Take a comma, I mean a break, and I'll try to avoid the run on sentences.

60 minutes

Green Bean

Today I feel like a green bean. My ideas are still immature and develop seemingly independently within an outer pod. I don't want to say much. I feel like being protective of my inner thoughts until they ripen further. I'm comfortable in my shell.

"Green beans are picked while still immature and the inner bean is just beginning to form. Green beans are in the same family as shell beans, such as pinto beans, black beans and kidney beans. Yet unlike their cousins, green beans' entire bean, pod and seed, can be eaten." The George Mateljan Foundation for the World's Healthiest Foods.

30 minutes walking

Calories

I was shocked and confused to see an additional pound for the last two days when I stepped on the scale. I walk therefore I lose, or so I thought. Standing on a digital scale makes it easy to forget that scales are a balancing act between weights. The numbers seem to magically get larger or smaller. But the image of the balancing of two scales reminds me that calories consumed on one side of the scale versus calories burned on the other determines the weight on the scale.

I resolved my dilemma when I realized I had been walking less than usual. I pulled something in my hip while bouncing my ever growing grandson. My pace slowed and my walking time was reduced. Burning calories is a balancing act between consumption and energy. I simply got out of balance by burning fewer calories than I was consuming.

 The Walking Site offers interesting information about walking and burning calories:

There are approximately 3500 calories to one pound of body fat.

For most people losing one to two pounds per week is a healthy weight loss goal (more than that can cause loss of bone and muscle mass.

In order to average one pound per week it would be necessary to burn an additional 500 calories per day. (7 days a week X 500 calories per day = 3500 calories.)

This will vary depending on the individual, speed walked, terrain, etc. An average person can lose approximately 100 calories per mile.

An average fitness walking pace is close to a 15 minute mile.

20 minutes walking

Education

“It has always seemed strange to me that in our endless discussions about education so little stress is laid on the pleasure of becoming an educated person.” Edith Hamilton

Walking outdoors, observing, counting, touching, smelling, and seeing the dynamic balance in nature is true education. It stimulates the mind and creativity. When teachers are allowed to inspire and stimulate the mind of a child it is the greatest gift they can give.

30 minutes walking

Harmony

“Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.” Mahatma Gandhi

30 minutes walking

Fire in the Sky

The blazing sun hovered over the horizon burning through the clouds. Soon it would slide over the earth and leave darkness in its path. The fiery sun is like the passion I have for my work. It seems to consume me, and then the evening comes, the fire cools, and it’s time to stop, breathe and see what has been accomplished. Sometimes I’m amazed and other times disappointed, but the sun rises again, the fire burns in the sky and I am at it again.

25 minutes walking