Set the time machine for back when.
Jump aboard to Yosemite Valley.

In the early days of big wall climbing. Vast territories of flat pristine granite. Looming walls that would glisten in the early morning light.
The chatter of climbers with ropes and hardware behaving like squirrels.
All is chatter below but when you begin the journey on the wall it is all about truth.
Concentration on the task at hand. A task that offers no second chances. There is truth in that fact. Truth becomes action.
And when high above the valley floor the intensity is so great, the fruit of truth is humor, it is also communion.

Every day each of us may face a big granite wall, find truth, and reap it's fruit of humor and.....communion.

I recently heard a sentence uttered that I think could be a rule of thumb.
"If offered a "deal" but the explanation is not simple enough to understand; stay away from it."

Well I don't understand bio-engineering but then again no one has offered me a deal.
I think of times I have had someone explain how something works, nod my head in agreement, say I understand, and then when asked by someone to explain what I agreed to, fail miserably and realize I hadn't a clue what I agreed to.

It is the razzle-dazzle, the snakeoil pitch, the salesman's word game that makes "yes"; "No" and vice versa. How many times does it take for us to watch someone dance on quicksand before we ask them to stop, explain it in a simple sentence, and then watch them slowly sink in their own goo.

Time to say; "Give it to me straight....I can understand it"

Makeing donuts from scratch is a process best skipped by us mortals.
During the process we become aware of fats, oils, butter, grease, sugar, and a cornacopia of fattening ingredients.
Some how the little or not so little mysteries in life allow us to indulge.
I had a guest instructor in nutrition come in to a class I was teaching in a community half way around the world. Little did I know I would lose the ability to eat one of my favorite foods..

I used to love SPAM. No longer. I was shown where it comes from..(don't ask) and how much fat was in it..again...don't ask.

Sometimes knowledge changes our world and we feel a loss. Almost a loss of innocence. But not really. Knowledge is empowering and helps us to make decisions and, sometimes, makes decisions more difficult.

The problem is if the information we get is false.
Information that is false is devastating, even if it is partially false.
Clarity is a rarity.
I still can't eat SPAM.

The first anxiety doesn't really count.
Over coffee. (angst juice) I heard this conversation.

"My inner child is anxious about not having enough money. I feel scarcity and my inner child is frightened." The man spoke thoughtfully
"I can relate" Says the young mother bouncing a dark haired boy infant on her leg.

There was a guy, I think his name was Bradshaw. He was on PBS and would talk about the inner child. He would relate it to adult behavior. He tried to explain adult behavior through the child inside of the adult.

Listening to another's conversation is not something I do unless the person is loud; then it can't be helped. And, I was hooked.
What did strike me was here were two people working on a deeper issue; talking, sharing feelings, and being supportive. Human interaction.
Try to get that from a TV.

We are living history. We look on our hands,our arms, or legs and there is a scar from when we were a kid.
I still have a chunk of pencil lead in hand. I see
it now. grammar school. It is part of me like memories. Some good; some filled with angst/anxiety.
Where the pencil went in my hand healed up in grammar school. The lead is like a memory.
A memory is not the event.
The event is not happening now..memory lives in the mind beside dreams and musings, of which some latter are clearer.

When we judge our life now by a memory we may be creating angst. Angst coming from the fear of a past event being real now. That is null.

A memory is not the event.

There has not been a High School course in the application of Foo Foo water or as others may call it Perfume and/or cologne.

Passing by someone who has, for what ever reason, drenched themselves in the fluids of aromatic essences can be a staggering experience.
Some of the colognes for men are overpowering to the point of curling eyebrows, wincing, gasps, and a number of other reactions spanning the range of human shock or repulsion.

Perfume is one of the most culturally popular adornments. It is poor as a disguise or as a attempt to confound or confuse. It is not a mandate or automatic behavior. Or at least one would hope not.

Cologne, in a sauna, could be a catastrophe. Massive amounts of aromas could be a hazard to thought and function much the same way a pepper spray would on a group of people.

There are times aromatic stimulation becomes part of the charm of a social occasion be it an intimate evening, a dance, a party or gala event.
When on a special evening, stratigicly placed perfumes maybe akin to candlelight with dinner.
Being overwhelmed is not enticing.
If we must adorn ourselves with fragrance then let it be with a gentle application that turns the head of man or woman to look for the source of a fleeting yet taunting hint of essence.

Now I will get of my rant.
Bon Chance.