Leave it to a dog to represent shibui

Written by Shelley Plett Tuesday, 12 March 2013 13:50

“Shibui is about balancing simplicity with complexity…being aware of subtle details. That way you don’t get tired of what you see…. The Japanese call it a beauty with inner implications. It’s not a show off kind of thing…. And here’s the most interesting thing: It relies on the ones looking…to make something for themselves out of what they see; in that way, it makes an artist out of the observer....” —Eliza­beth Berg, “Once Upon a Time, There Was You”

 

I have laid down a folded up sleeping bag on the living room floor for my dog. That’s something she really likes about me.

Right now, she’s across the room sleeping on it, which has become necessary on our hardwood floors in the last year or so. She is...

Read more: Leave it to a dog to represent shibui

Connections make ‘stars’ accessible

Written by Shelley Plett Tuesday, 26 February 2013 11:49

“Even if what you’re working on doesn’t go anywhere, it will help you with the next thing you’re doing. Make yourself available for something to happen. Give it a shot.” —Cormac McCarthy

 

When I was little, I wrote letters to celebrity fan clubs to collect the glossy 8x10 autographed photos they would send back out. I don’t remember all of them but one that stands out is Nancy McKeon. Remember “Jo” from the TV show “The Facts of Life”? Yeah, that one. Why does that one stick with me? I have no idea.

It was an exciting process though. Writing the perfect letter, addressing the envelopes to “Fan Club” with my name and address in the return spot. And then waiting, waiting, waiting…checking the mail every...

Read more: Connections make ‘stars’ accessible

Yoga comas are worth slipping into

Written by Shelley Plett Tuesday, 12 February 2013 11:52

“Stop torturing yourself, man! ...Live in the now!” —Garth from Wayne’s World

 

Risking ridicule and pointing fingers in my own household (kids can be cruel), I continue to slip into yoga comas regularly.

That may not be a welcome sales pitch for the practice, but trust me when I say I mean that in a good way.

I’m not certain what people envision when they hear the word yoga. Some might imagine a bald creature with big ears and a robe. That would be Yoda. Not the same.

Others might see a bald man with a balloon belly sitting cross-legged. That’s Buddha. Not relevant for my purposes.

Admitting upfront that I do it for fun, flexibility and health excuses me from backing up any kind of medical claims or warnings. But...

Read more: Yoga comas are worth slipping into

An ode in support of ink and paper

Written by Shelley Plett Tuesday, 22 January 2013 14:20

“We lay aside letters never to read them again, and at last we destroy them out of discretion, and so disappears the most beautiful, the most immediate breath of life, irrecoverable for ourselves and for others.” —John Wolfgang von Goethe

 

The call came 13 years ago, on a predawn Monday morning in April. I don’t remember exactly what my sister told me. She must have said heart attack, but I don’t remember that either. She may have told me if my dad was at the house, in the hospital, or otherwise. I didn’t ask or give her time to tell me if he was alive or dead.

I think my subconscious knew, taking away any reason to stay on the phone for an answer to that question. It must have, because I ended up at my parent’s...

Read more: An ode in support of ink and paper