Character in Everyday Ramblings
- Jan. 25, 2021, 1:18 p.m.
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- Public
This is quite similar to a picture I put up about 15 posts ago, but you know, when you are confined to home territory there are somewhat limited options, and it is good practice to shoot the same thing repeatedly as one hones one’s eye and one’s skill.
Most Honorable came up yesterday with his big flash and SLR to take pictures of me for this website I am in the process of creating for my yoga business. It was lovely to see him in person as having actual breathing people nearby is so rare these days, especially at home.
Our long lockdown has been more extreme than I think in most places in the country and while we have had tragic loss of life and illness, we are towards the bottom of the list of all the states in terms of numbers.
I haven’t had my hair cut in a year. I was looking at videos last night about how to trim it myself and I might try that, as the old lady ends are getting a bit raggedy. This is something you notice, as well as age spots, sagging skin and wrinkles when you are having pictures taken. I just kept repeating the word…character…to myself as we were looking at shots through the view finder.
It is an interesting thought experiment to think of transitioning out of the realm of possibility of feeling attractive in any sort of traditional sense, and into a realm of character and authenticity. My emotional life would be so much easier and less painful if I could let go of these outside stereotypes and external cultural norms.
If we are lucky enough to get a bit older, we all experience this transition in different ways. Mrs. Sherlock had been having some scalp issues lately that turn out to be a result of thinning hair and daily sun exposure (even in our usual damp glare) as she is usually walking or biking every day and of course she walks Frieda.
She bought a wig. It looks great, quite flattering. She has decided not to dye her white hair anymore. Her wig is this rich auburn and a good length for her. Charity keeps her hair very short and it is white as well. The three of us are on a spectrum about caring about our appearance with me in the middle.
Of course, I am the only one of us that has to look at herself teaching for hours each week both live and on recordings.
I have always been a mouth breather. I have a tiny mouth and tiny sinuses and in the 21 years I have been practicing yoga I have worked at building lung capacity and healthy breathing habits. The sports medicine doctors who I worked with a few years back said my breathing was fine, there was a wall monitor they used both times to show it was fine, but I have always been a bit skeptical about this.
Just like a less than ideal posture when I am tired or distracted my breathing returns to unhelpful when I sleep. Particularly in Spring and although it is technically still Winter here, the trees are pushing out their buds and…my cardiologist doesn’t want me taking regular antihistamines anymore.
I am reading the book Breath by James Nestor. I heard him interviewed last year and Kes bought the book in hardcover and has lent it to me. Last month I ordered a package of Somnifix mouth strips designed by a dentist who noticed that so many of his patients were having various breathing problems when they sleep. I finally got it together to try one last night.
You place the strip over your closed lips just as you are going to sleep and it forces you to do the natural thing that we are designed to do, which is breathe through our amazing noses when we sleep. I kept it on all night and woke up feeling great. My Fitbit keeps a lot of metrics on my sleep and they were all good last night. I even get a “sleep score”. And mine was excellent.
Deep restful sleep is one of the best things we can do for our immune system and I am most curious to see if I can keep this trend up. I am all for anything that brings more energy into my life from a natural source and there isn’t anything more natural than breathing.
In the meantime, I need to do class prep and chores.
All four of the taste testers of the Blueberry Cornmeal Buckle gave a thumbs up. Even Kes, who is not a fan of blueberries. She does like butter and there is plenty of butter in there. The combination of the lemon zest with the blueberries brightens the whole crumble up.
Charity rated is the highest of all the baked goods so far. :)
Last updated January 25, 2021
toddslife ⋅ January 25, 2021
we are in a lockdown to
noko toddslife ⋅ January 25, 2021
I am sorry. It is hard.
IpsoFacto ⋅ January 26, 2021
I grew up knowing that I was not pretty. My mother made sure of that. When I was young she would laugh and tell me that when I was born all I needed was a banana in my hand. I had a lot of hair and look just like a baby monkey. She also told me that her roommate in the hospital was a Portuguese woman. But when they brought me into my mother for the first time She whispered to the nurse, “ I think that’s her baby” (looking over at her bed mate). My mother added that she cried when assured that I was hers. She was expecting a blonde haired blue-eyed baby like herself. I had a ton of dark hair and dark eyes just like my dad. And I became an older teen/young woman my mother and I went out to dinner one night and a man was staring at me. My mother nonchalantly said, “ he’s not looking at you because you’re pretty. He’s looking at you because you are unusual and somewhat exotic looking.” As you can surmise, I grew up with a very poor self image. In time I came to realize that my mother was a very unhappy person who truly hated my father. She hated the fact that I looked just like my dad and that my brother, A year younger who died when he was 12, looked just like my mother with the lighter hair and green eyes. I spent many years feeling that I somehow had to make up to my mother for the fact that I was ugly and that I was alive. It took a whole lot of successes in my life to make me able to see the reality of who my mother was and what she had spent her life doing to me. I obviously have no love lost about my mother. It’s sad, but it’s true when she died, I felt that I could soar. And I have. The thing I love best about our writing on the Internet is that we learn to love each other from the inside out. I love you Noko.
Jinn ⋅ January 27, 2021 (edited January 27, 2021)
Edited
My Grandmother drilled into me ; “ Pretty is , as pretty does.” I do not think she ever meant to be unkind but she was not generous with compliments and she was quick to point out my baby fine hair ( “ We can’t do much with this .” ) my round face , and slightly slanted eyes ( way back in our family there is Asian ancestors from her side !). I also had amber eyes and the rest of the family had blue or green. She disliked my Mother immensely ( who could blame her ?) and she would say , “ At least your eyes are not brown like your Mother’s “ 😂 I do not ever remember being vain or overly confident of my looks. If I was clean , my hair combed and teeth brushed I was doing well. :-)
Age has not improved my looks ; that is for sure. I need a hair cut. My fifteen shades of blonde hair color is going white in places . I am grateful for that because I was so going to dye it if I went gray. Gray would be a disaster with my sallow skin tone . I am seeing the fine lines on my face and neck . Places are looking a little bit saggy. Most of the time lately I do not use make up and it’s not good . The real me on the outside ( and inside I guess ) is always a work in progress. The outside especially could use an overhaul . 😂 At any age I think character is most important :-)
Zipster ⋅ January 27, 2021
Gee, I always thought we were suppose to breathe thru our mouths when we sleep. I am gong to give that mouth strip a try. I'd give anything to have a good night's sleep.
noko Zipster ⋅ January 28, 2021
It is definitely worth exploring the strips. It is a boon to discover a small thing to empower oneself with that involves getting better sleep.
Marg ⋅ January 29, 2021
That’s really interesting about the mouth breathing - I had no idea at all that that affected energy. I found James Nestor on YouTube so I’ll stick that on when I’m out for my walk tomorrow and have a listen :)