Finding Flow:
Athletes refer to it as "being in the zone" and artists and musicians as "aesthetic rapture.” For decades now, a remarkable researcher from the University of Chicago -– and author of President Clinton's favorite book -– has studied exactly this. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi started with art students, then chess players, musicians, inner-city basketball players, and eventually Bornean weavers and European monks, asking them to describe their experience in moments that stood out as the best in their lives. Across the board, they reported feeling a sense of effortless action, and something in the actual process of getting involved with an activity left the person feeling that s/he were a part of something greater, just moving along with the logic of the activity. He calls this state Flow, and describes how it is accessible to anyone doing any activity. [ more ]

Take up an activity today in which you find Flow. Take a look at Csikszentmihalyi's eight components of an experience of Flow. [ more ]

Inspiration of the Day:
"The bravest of the brave," "The greatest man I have ever known." These are the words of those who knew Capt. Mbaye Diagne, a young Senegalese army officer who served in Rwanda as an unarmed U.N. military observer. He was a hero, in the spirit of Oskar Schindler in the 1940's. From literally the first hours of the Rwandan genocide in 1994, Capt. Mbaye simply ignored the U.N.'s standing orders not to intervene, and single-handedly began saving lives. In the days and weeks that followed, Capt. Mbaye became a legend among U.N. forces in Kigali, by continuing his solo rescue missions with an uncanny ability to charm his way past dangerous checkpoints. [ more ]

Challenging the Cult of Speed:
He had a major Aha Moment when he caught himself trying to save time by looking up one-minute bedtime stories to read to his son. Carl Honore began a deeper inquiry into the �cult of speed� that informs life in the 21st century; the result was � In Praise of Slowness,� a book that explains how our world got so fast, the dangerous implications of this, and why conscious slowing down just might be the only way back to a more balanced existence. Honore follows the worldwide Slow movements making their way into the mainstream -- from meditation sessions in Tokyo, Chi Kung squash classes in Edinburgh, to a TV-free household in Toronto and to Italy, home of the slow food revolution. Growing groups of people are quietly beginning to rethink their relationship with time. [ more ]

Be The Change:
Incorporate one or more of the five tips for deceleration in daily living that Honore provides at the bottom of this page. [ more ]

Rwanda survivors say Hollywood has got 
it wrong - Yahoo! News

Culture wars: Beware of presuming 
sameness - Yahoo! News

Passenger Detained Over Song Choice 
- Yahoo! News

Infant Snoring Tied to Parental 
Snoring - Yahoo! News

Disney to Make 4 ABC Shows Free 
Online - Yahoo! News

Workers Have Retirement 
'Overconfidence' - Yahoo! News

"Loyal" donkeys better than wives, 
says textbook - Yahoo! News

Go to bed married, wake up divorced 
- Yahoo! News

Company to Synchronize Smells to 
Movie - Yahoo! News

Pilot caught trying to fly plane 
while drunk - Yahoo! News

I think I pretty much got all of them. Keep up the 
facinating niblets of information flowing, 
its so much better than the boring headline news on 
CNN, NYT and Post that come in my inbox. 

Sitting in this boring office in this deserted land in northern nevada where 
I am only 2 hours away from beautiful napa valley and San Francisco. 
I am dreaming of being on a beach, palm trees and wild swans...

"Wild Swans"
 by Edna St. Vincent Millay (1892-1950)


I looked in my heart while the wild swans went over.
And what did I see I had not seen before?
Only a question less or a question more;
Nothing to match the flight of wild birds flying.
Tiresome heart, forever living and dying,
House without air, I leave you and lock your door.
Wild swans, come over the town, come over
The town again, trailing your legs and crying!


*Allison Funk comments:

I am writing this on the Gulf shore of Florida, 
where I've been staying for a week. Every day I 
have walked a path along shallow estuarine 
lagoons bordering a forest of mangroves. I've 
seen ibises and herons - the yellow-crowned 
night heron, the green backed, the little blue 
and even the shy great blue heron. I've watched 
a snowy egret feeding and the anhinga drying its 
silvery wings, but most thrilling of all has been 
the experience of being suddenly passed by a great 
egret, that elegant long-necked white bird flying 
above me, its huge wings, its legs trailing - so 
much like what Edna St. Vincent Millay describes 
in the final line of her poem, "Wild Swans."

I'm drawn to Millay's poem for the many ways in 
which I can relate to it: how well I know that 
"house without air," which is her heart and, I'm 
sure, a real house too. It's that house/heart 
containing "only a question less or a question 
more" that Millay's speaker longs to "leave," 
whose door she'd like to "lock" behind her. 
She contrasts the airless place she inhabits to 
the space the birds cross: "nothing to match 
the flight of wild birds flying." 
It almost seems possible if the birds return when 
she implores them ("Wild swans, come over the 
town, come over / The town again") that she 
could trade her domestic life for one the wild 
creatures of the air represent. This is why the 
poem, for me, is exhilarating at first. It 
provides me with the sense that I could "fly 
away" with the large birds and leave my heart, 
my house, my town behind.

But Millay's poem is more complicated than that, 
and alas, so are our lives. The poem's music 
argues against the simple fantasy I've described. 
The feeling of release, the exaltation of being 
freed from whatever binds us, should be written, 
as it were, in a major key. But the music of 
this poem sounds "minor" to me. Its tone derives 
primarily from its sad music. The word I hear 
above all others in the poem is "crying" - not 
only because it's the last word in the poem, but 
because of the ways it is reinforced by the words 
that rhyme with it, especially "trailing" and "dying."

In many other ways, the poem's music contributes to the 
sense I have of melancholy being the dominant emotion 
in the poem. But I'll mention just one more aspect here: 
five out of the poem's eight lines end in an unstressed 
syllable. "Crying," "dying," even, paradoxically, 
"flying" give the impression of falling, as do the two 
lines ending in the word "over." The narrator's spirits, 
likewise, don't "lift" in these lines.

Today, far from my usual post in the Midwest, I'm 
watching Gulf pelicans, gulls, terns, egrets, and 
herons in flight. Rereading Millay's poem has 
reinforced this pleasure, but reminded me too of 
the questions that await me when I return to my house.


ALLISON FUNK is the author of three books of poems: 
*The Knot Garden* (The Sheep Meadow Press); *Living 
at the Epicenter*, which won the Samuel French Morse 
Prize (Northeastern University Press); and *Forms of 
Conversion* (Alice James Books). She is a professor 
in the creative writing program at Southern Illinois 
University Edwardsville, where she edits the national 
literary journal, Sou'wester.

Fact 1 (I have not been here): Reno will really bowl you over with its National Bowling Stadium. This $50 million project is the only one of its kind anywhere in the world. Used strictly for the major national tournaments, this stadium draws as many as 100,000 bowlers to Reno in a 6-month period.

Fact 2 (I saw this last night, its huge): When it comes to arches, Reno has one of its own. Reno’s arch spans Virginia Street at 3rd Street and has welcomed visitors to Reno since 1926. Originally, the arch was erected in celebration of the completion of the transcontinental Victory and Lincoln highways. Eventually, it was decided the arch would remain a permanent fixture and the slogan from a 1910 prizefight was added – “The Biggest Little City in the World.” The arch, as it stands today, was unveiled in 1987.

Fact 3 (not very impressive): Now that’s some kind of bug! It would be almost impossible not to notice the large spider that hovers above Reno. David Farmbrough created the 18 foot tall and 30 foot wide spider, made of irrigation pipe and the body of a Volkswagen, in 1978. It has dotted numerous Reno sites since.

Fact 4 (dont really need to go to a museum, slot machines are everywhere including the airport): Other than Las Vegas, no other city than Reno would be more suitable to house a museum dedicated to the slot machine. Charlie Fey redesigned the gambling machine and more than a million comparable slots have been reproduced since his prototype. Original reel strips are on display along with the explanation of how the cherries, lemons and strawberries were significant to the players’ winnings – flavored bubble gum was given as prizes!

Fact 5 (I agree, we were going to stay at the Hilton but ended up in a courtyard): Vacancy! You can bet you won’t be hard pressed to find an available room in the Reno area. There are approximately 22,000 rooms to choose from. One hint, though – weekends and holidays may make finding a room just a little bit tougher.

Fact 6 (have not seen this): The Joy of … Baldini’s? Since Baldini’s Sports Casino started awarding a 6-pack of Pepsi each time a video poker player hit a natural 4-of-a-kind, the casino has been Pepsi’s largest account in the state of Nevada. Along with being of favorite among visitors, you can bet the casino is the joy of Pepsi.

Fact 7 (cheaper yes, fine dining no): Just like Las Vegas, restaurants in the Reno area have great prices - due in part to the earnings of the casinos that greatly subsidize the prices. Many people travel to Reno just for the food – a fine dining experience at drive through prices!

Fact 8 (no time for bowling): With over seventy championship lanes and the latest technology available; Reno is considered the bowling capital of the world.

Fact 9 (I spread this knowledge): Known for its lenient criteria in granting divorces, Reno is a hot spot for quick divorces. Once you’ve proved a 6-week residency, your divorce can be processed in as little as 2 weeks.

Fact 10 (will look out for this tonight): Send in the Clown – one clown only, this one is big enough! Topsy the Clown adorns the sign outside of Circus Circus, and boy, is he hard to miss! Topsy is 148 feet tall and weighs in at a mere 90,000 pounds.

Toni Morrison

Go out and save the world. That is to suggest to you that with energy and right thinking you can certainly improve, certainly you might even rescue it. Now that's a heavy burden to be placed on one generation by a member of another generation because it's a responsibility we ought to share, not save the world, but simply to love it, meaning don't hurt it. [�]

Of course, you're general, but you're also specific. A citizen and a person, and the person you are is like nobody else on the planet. Nobody has the exact memory that you have. What is now known is not all what you are capable of knowing. You are your own stories and therefore free to imagine and experience what it means to be human without wealth. What it feels like to be human without domination over others, without reckless arrogance, without fear of others unlike you, without rotating, rehearsing and reinventing the hatreds you learned in the sandbox. And although you don't have complete control over the narrative (no author does, I can tell you), you could nevertheless create it.

Although you will never fully know or successfully manipulate the characters who surface or disrupt your plot, you can respect the ones who do by paying them close attention and doing them justice. The theme you choose may change or simply elude you, but being your own story means you can always choose the tone. It also means that you can invent the language to say who you are and what you mean. But then, I am a teller of stories and therefore an optimist, a believer in the ethical bend of the human heart, a believer in the mind's disgust with fraud and its appetite for truth, a believer in the ferocity of beauty. So, from my point of view, which is that of a storyteller, I see your life as already artful, waiting, just waiting and ready for you to make it art.

Bridging Art & Spirituality:
Meet Sister Wendy Beckett, Britain�s self-taught art nun turned international celebrity -- who never watched TV before she was on it. A nun in the contemplative tradition, she lived most of her life in silence and seclusion before a chance encounter led to her becoming the unlikely presenter for a series of highly acclaimed art documentaries. Today she is one of the world�s best known and best-loved art critics, familiar to millions from her hugely successful series on PBS. Sister Wendy believes that each work of great art has a fascinating story to tell about what it means to be human. Her quick wit, gentle demeanor and deep involvement in art and spirituality has opened up the bridge between both worlds for millions across the globe. [ more ]

This may be a joke but this is the reality that needs to change in the 
healthcare world: 

*A woman called a local hospital. "Hello. Could you connect me to the 
person who gives information about patients. I'd like to find out if a 
patient is getting better, doing as expected, or getting worse."

The voice on the other end said, "What is the patient's name and room
number?"

"Sarah Finkel, room 302."

"I'll connect you with the nursing station."

"3-A Nursing Station. How can I help You?"

"I'd like to know the condition of Sarah Finkel in room 302."

"Just a moment. Let me look at her records. Mrs. Finkel is doing very 
well. In fact, she's had two full meals, her blood pressure is fine. She 
is to be taken off the heart monitor in a couple of hours and, if she 
continues this improvement, Dr. Cohen is going to send her home 
Tuesday at noon."

The woman said, "What a relief! Oh, that's fantastic... that's wonderful
news!"

The nurse said, "From your enthusiasm, I take it you are a close family
member or a very close friend!"

"Neither I'm Sarah Finkel in 302! Nobody here tells me anything!."*

Inspiration of the Day:
A dangerously obese man has captured the heart of America by walking alone across the country to lose weight and find his soul. Steve Vaught was in a car accident in which two people died, sending him into years of depression and comfort eating. Hitting 400+ pounds, he realized that he would die if he carried on. After a year and more than 2300 miles on the road, his journey has become a symbolic quest for a better way of living. In response to a $5m commercial offer, he says, 'But how much does my integrity cost? I have done this walk to get my integrity back. I am not going to sell it.' [ more ]

Be The Change (something I need to work on):
The next time something is within walking distance put away your car keys, get your sneakers out, and see if it changes the way in which you experience your environment. Also, drop Steve a note of encouragement! [ more ]

Inspiration of the Day:
Hundreds of millions around the world recognize his face, yet he bought clothes from a thrift store, drove a humble car and lived in a simple home. In 1984, he even issued a statement to the Supreme Court to say that he had "absolutely no objections" if consumers taped his telecast, violating the copyright rule. In 1999, when inducted into the TV Hall of Fame, he used his moments of glory to bring silence in the world; he brought the entire audience to tears as he accepted his Emmy Award by asking people to spend a moment in silence thinking about someone who touched their lives and made them better people. His name was Fred Rogers, better known as Mister Rogers. [ more ]