Friday, January 30, 2009

Y not?


Judith of Vicarious Rising gave me the letter Y. When I think of this letter, there are a lot of words that come to mind. But symbolically, the letter itself is like a fork in the road or path that I need to choose. So here are my 10 Y things:

1. You--That's who I spent most of my life thinking about. Someone other than myself. I still find that you are an important part of my thoughts, just not the entire focus anymore. You has been replaced with more "I". That's part of my recovery.

2. Youth--Ah, youth. Who doesn't wish for that some days? I still feel young most of the time but without the angst of youth. Being young is a state of mind when you age. I don't have any desire to be the youth of my past, unless I could have the wisdom of today.

3. Yearning--This is a poignant one for me. I've yearned for something most of my life: acceptance and love primarily. Yearning for these things set me up for a lot of disappointments. And the things that I yearned for were right within my grasp, within myself. Yearning for the future was also futile when I know that I can just live in this day.

4. Yacht--this isn't a motor yacht but a sailing yacht. Specifically a Tayana, a Shannon, a Cabo Rico, or something like that. I love the lines of these traditional sailing vessels. There's something really appealing to me about a beautiful sailing yacht of the old school design.

5. Yogurt--I like mine with the plain vanilla flavor. It's one of my favorite snacks.

6. Yeti--I've always been fascinated by this hairy mythical beast. I remember seeing the blurry photograph of a yeti and thinking, "Wow, what if this is true?" It was probably a drunk guy in a gorilla suit but still the idea of an unknown species of man fascinates me.

7. Yellow--the color of brightness: sunflowers, yellow submarines, the sun, leaves in fall. And the ground breaking movie, I Am Curious--Yellow. I never saw a yellow streak down anyone's back, but I know that cowardice exists in other forms.

8. Yule--I'm not nordic but like the Yule traditions in Sweden. I have a couple of Julstackes that I bought and have up at Christmas. I have always burned a yule log at Christmas--it's really just a huge piece of oak that burns most of the day.

9. Yin Yang--I like this Chinese concept of opposites within a greater whole. I seem to be involved in love with the Yin to my Yang. I find the following fascinating (from Wikipedia):

"The relationship between yin and yang is often described in terms of sunlight playing over a mountain and in the valley. Yin (literally the 'shady place' or 'north slope') is the dark area occluded by the mountain's bulk, while yang (literally the 'sunny place' or 'south slope') is the brightly lit portion. As the sun moves across the sky, yin and yang gradually trade places with each other, revealing what was obscured and obscuring what was revealed. Yin is usually characterized as slow, soft, insubstantial, diffuse, cold, wet, and tranquil. It is generally associated with the feminine, birth and generation, and with the night. Yang, by contrast, is characterized as hard, fast, solid, dry, focused, hot, and aggressive. It is associated with masculinity and daytime."

I like the picture of sunlight playing over a mountain and in the valley. And the symbol for yin-yang has always intrigued me.

10. Yield--This is something that I don't do well. I would think of a rebuttal, a "yes, but" response. I don't like being controlled and yielding smacks of that. I'm learning that boundaries are important in deciding when to yield or not.


There you have it. The Y words that came to mind for me. Let me know if you want a letter. I'll be glad to toss one your way.

16 comments:

  1. how i love your y's.... especially the fork in the road and 'you' which is turned more to 'me'... you are a wise one indeed!!!

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  2. This was spectacular.

    I'm going to reread it again before I begin my work day.

    Please select a letter for me. I might not do it justice but it still will be fun..!!!!

    hee-hee that say at this time of our life to exercise our MINDS..to not get Alzheimer.. (so I do take on new things sometime grudgingly.. even with new type of work... that do not pay well; but requires me to learn a new skill; read 32 pages and do a phone briefing etc. ). I do it because it is good to get out of the same thing and sometimes because there are not enough other freelance assignment. But yes, a Yin for every YANG. (good to do new things).

    Thanks for this post.. I'm very impresssed.

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  3. Nice work - you are fast! I am still working on mine!

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  4. Very good! I enjoy your posts. Sometimes it seems like a long time between meetings. Interim, I'm getting a lot of inspiration from your blog. Thank you. GG

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  5. Great post!

    As I was plunging (or just about to plunge) into the depths of heroin addiction I had a literal crossroads dream... ah! If only I'd kept it in mind and listened... now I've lost a decade and what have I learned..??

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  6. I would like to have a letter, Syd. I was wondering how one obtains a letter. LOL Thanks for the offer, toss one my way.....

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  7. Wow, you really rose to the challenge. I like what you said about the fork in the road.

    Hey, I think yetis are cool too!

    I enjoyed your list a lot. I'm glad you played.

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  8. ha.I felt like we were on Sesame Street for a second there..but this was a great read Syd :)

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  9. hey good ys, I guess its by keeping asking y i ended up doing physics but I still cant help asking it.
    my y word is youth, i wish i had socialised more instead of hiding away in my head.
    im not giving up blogging its just i am miles busier where i work now theres no chance for blogging.
    when uve been on a computer all day last thing u feel like on a night is going on one.
    But I love the feeling that writing my stuff gives me so i will never give up

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  10. I like the one about YOU. Same for me. Isn't that strange, same thing yet alcohol the drink, played an active part in one YOU and not in the other You. I wonder if that confirms that the disease was takes many forms. Great post

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  11. great words...and reflections Syd.

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  12. Awesome, I agree with Shadow - I like the concept of the fork in the road. It's a symbolization of choices we've had to make. Great Y's! I just finished with the letter "I" that Judith assigned me. (Hugs)Indigo

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  13. "Y" would be a difficult letter to do I had a much easier letter, curious though I always thought yang was the dark side.

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Let me know what you think. I like reading what you have to say.