Tags
dVerse Poets Pub, Haibun Monday, haiku, poetry, relax, Summer!, vacation
Hello everyone! Welcome to Haibun Monday. I hope you all are well and enjoying early Summer weather. In my neck of the woods, it is more like April – cold, rainy, more rain. But next Monday in the US is Memorial Day and is the official kickoff to Summer. Many have their summer vacations planned. Spontaneous day trips on weekends will be taken, festivals attended, farmers markets enjoyed. The mood seems to lighten – picnics, cook outs (barbecues), sports events, enjoying the sun and warmth…even clothing is lighter and more colorful. Shoes and boots morph into sandals and flipflops.
Rest, relaxation, recycle, refresh, regroup. Many of us get so busy doing these things, we forget to r-e-l-a-x. In one of my favorite movies, The Last Samurai, the main protagonist of the movie is being taught the Japanese form of fencing. He keeps getting beaten in the spars, can’t get it together. The son of the leader of this group of Samurai tells him and not being proficient with English and unable to verbalize, you are thinking too much. You aren’t concentrated, you are being distracted. Instead he says, too many mind….no mind.
When you try to relax, do you have too many mind? What do you do to relax? Do you really relax or while walking on the beach or biking a scenic trail, are the thoughts of work, soccer schedules, grocery lists, drafts of poems crowding in? Or, do you truly rest and relax?
What do you do to relax? What do you do to clear the stress out? Do you do different forms of meditation? Tai chi? Swim laps, crochet, do crossword, jigsaw, or rebus puzzles? Run several miles, read, write, listen to music, play an instrument? Travel to another city and visit a museum and indulge in a luxurious meal? Camp out under the stars, take photographs? Garden, cook, play wiith your kids, sit on your balcony in the early morning and read the paper while drinking several cups of coffee? Retreat to the mountains in winter and totally unplug?
I like to clear out my mind practicing boketto, a hard to translate Japanese concept. Basically, one stares at the horizon and thinks of…nothing. Blank, empty mind – no mind. I also like to take walks in the woods what the Japanese call shinrin yoku – literally tree bathing. Many believe it has actual health benefits. I use it as a focused meditation focusing on the smells of the trees, the sound of leaves rustling, songs of various birds. Again, empty mind. But that is just me.
Again, what do you do to truly rest and relax? Write a one to two paragraph compact haibun describing your activity – how you enjoy it, how it soothes, refreshes you, the sights, sounds, smells of it. Relax! Take us with you. Use the haiku at the end to lull us, gently set us in nature and share your rest with us. You may give us some new ideas!
If new to dVerse, please do the following:
– write a haibun related to the prompt and post it to your blog.
– click on Mr. Linky below to add your name and enter the direct URL to your poem.
– You will find links to other poems and poets. Please read and comment on other poets’work. The prompt link is good for a week. Some poets will post later in the week so please check back to read.
– Provide a link on your blog back to dVerse.
– if you are promoting your poem on social media, use the tag #dverse poets
– Relax! Have fun.
Toni Spencer (hayesspencer, Kanzen Sakura) has a deep love and respect for the Japanese culture and classic Japanese poetic forms. She strives constantly to improve and perfect her writing.
Victoria C. Slotto said:
Such a good prompt, an invitation for this monkey mind. Thank you, Toni. I look forward to reading.
kanzensakura said:
Monkey mind….I love it. Sometimes I think my monkey mind has chugged a gallon of Red Bull because it just revs so….
Victoria C. Slotto said:
I use the excuse that it’s part of the creative process…but would so love to be able to still it more easily.
hayesspencer said:
It can be so hard at times. Still working on the process myself. Some times are harder than others.
kanzensakura said:
Hello! Welcome to Haibun Monday. today we are all about how we relax, how we chill, how we cool down.
Björn Rudberg (brudberg) said:
I did love this Toni… actually I had a wonderful relaxing weekend so I just retold our visit into beautiful May…
kanzensakura said:
And it was a beautiful telling. I sighed at the end of it and so enjoyed.
kanzensakura said:
It is so interesting to read the ways we all relax, how we all seem to seek our peace and resolution in this world. Most seemed to be found in nature – photography, painting, walking, meditating, driving….Sometimes the world is just so frenetic and it inspires me how so many seek out peace and relaxation.
Björn Rudberg (brudberg) said:
With all the nature ones I had to write a second that talks about another way to relax.
hayesspencer said:
Yes indeed. I often work myself into exhaustion by making udon noodles or ballroom dancing. Sometimes exhaustion is good for us.
Mish said:
Udon noodles? Wow…they must be tedious and time consuming?
hayesspencer said:
Udon are tedious. The dough is tough and is usually kneaded using your feet….put into large plastic bags and I place that on several clean tea towels and do the chacha on. They have to rest for about 30 minutes, knead several times before being rolled out and cut then cooked. The flour for them is udonko meaning, duh, udon flour. But oh so worth it. One can get into a meditative state doing it.
Mish said:
Wowsers…this is more than a recipe. It is a dance in the kitchen! Thanks for sharing.
hayesspencer said:
I’ll have to send you the recipe. If you can’t get the Japanese, you need a high gluten flour. Those noodles will snap like rubber bands until you get the dough beaten into submission. Regular flour is usually too soft. There is a wonderful video on YouTube, For Udon and Country….wonderful. i actalky visited and ate at the restaurant in the video. The video will make you smile.
Mish said:
I will have to look up the YouTube for sure. Yes, maybe you could send me the recipe via gmail.
How did we get from relaxation to beating up noodles?! haha! 😉 Do I sense another haibun brewing….re: udon noodles?
Walt Wojtanik said:
I’m finding Haibun to be a favorite form, and am enjoying these Mondays! I’m glad you mentioned boketto. I was introduced to the concept by a poet friend. I have developed a poetic form named after the discipline.
hayesspencer said:
The classic Japanese forms are my specialty and have been writing them forever, trying to perfect. Boketto as meditation for years. Glad you are enjoying the haibun Mondays. I always try to come up with haibun prompts that lead to classic themes but universal experiences. I enjoy boketto because it truly is an empty mind…no thoughts running around. Every morning when going through my Kendo and fencing forms, I keep my mind empty, otherwise, I cut myself! I’ve learned to stop doing that, after several years. Oops!
Grace said:
Enchanting prompt ~ I am back after our walk and trail from Hamilton Waterfalls ~
Thank you for introducing me to the concept of relaxation Toni ~ I am hitting the poetry trail now ~
hayesspencer said:
It is a trail with many wonders along the way. I’m hitting it again soon.
Adriana Citlali Ramírez said:
Great prompt! IT allow me to relate my experiences today with human rights advocates and heroes at the Oslo Freedom Forum to my own experience writing poetry. It is passed sleeping time in my town and I have to get up for another day full of inspiration at the forum. I will make the rounds tomorrow. Happy writing!
Adriana Citlali Ramírez said:
Just read all the typos in my post. Apologies!
I guess I really need some sleep.
smiles
hayesspencer said:
Don’t worry about the typos.relax! Smiles….
Bodhirose said:
Hello everyone and thanks to Toni for a relaxing topic today. :~)
Mish said:
Hi everyone!
A beautiful haibun prompt, Toni. I was so intrigued by boketto and tree bathing that I needed to research them further. Thank you for sharing. I am the type that stops on a walk to really focus on a tiny part of nature….like the veins in a leaf. My husband is usually many steps ahead of me.
Home today for Canada’s Victoria Day! I would have linked up much earlier but I was stumped on the title. Still not happy with that but very excited to join in and hit the trail! 🙂
whimsygizmo said:
I can feel my heartbeat slowing…
“too many minds” describes the past few weeks, perfectly. Much needed, this. Thank you, Toni!
hayesspencer said:
Thank you De!
Arcadia Maria said:
This is a good prompt idea. It caused me to write my first halibun. Hopefully I didn’t mess it too much. 🙂
hayesspencer said:
I’ll be back soon to start reading submissions. I have not yet read yours but I have a feeling, you didn’t mess it up.
kim881 said:
I was prepared to write a haibun this morning but I can’t – I’m too numb. My husband was on his way to work early this morning when he found our beautiful cat, Tosca, dead in the road. I can’t write today or tomorrow. I’ll see how I feel after my daughter’s wedding.
kanzensakura said:
oh Kim, I am so very sorry about this. I know how much I have loved my cats and to have one dear to you found in such a fashion….my heart goes out to you. Please take care of you and don’t worry about writing. Again, my deepest sympathies to you.
kim881 said:
Thank you so much.
whimsygizmo said:
Oh, Kim. I am so, so sorry for your loss. 😥
kim881 said:
Thank you, De.
Rosemary Nissen-Wade said:
I feel your grief. May your dear cat be happy in the Summerlands and visit you sometimes in spirit.
Kathleen Reed said:
I, too, enjoyed reading about the tree bathing. Sorry to hear about your cat, Kim. Thanks, Toni, for the prompt. It has been awhile since I have written anything; maybe this will get me going again.
hayesspencer said:
I am glad you like. Sometimes, if it were not for others prompting me, there are many times I would not write.
Rosemary Nissen-Wade said:
How lovely it is to have a whole week to write our haibun. It allows an idea to percolate slowly. Sometimes I think, ‘Oh I won’t write one this time. Busy week … I don’t need a huge collection of haibun….’ etc. But then the idea starts developing in my mind of its own accord. (Smile.) Thanks for a great prompt.
hayesspencer said:
I’m doing the prompts for haibun the next few times. We always have a week to write them, thank goodness. And it is amazing how the idea gets to going. Thinking of your water dragon, I am considering “rain” and the more than 50 Japanese words for rain coming up in the next few weeks. So we shall see.
Hannah Gosselin said:
Thank you, for the excellent inspiration…I jotted it in the journal for later…I hope to return with something… Warm smiles to all. 🙂
hayesspencer said:
Thank you Hannah….it is always such a pleasure to see you.