Treks, Star or Otherwise
I got the chance to see the Star Trek movie, and I really liked it. Sure there are spots where one can complain and criticize, but overall the film provides that careful combination of pure adventure, a new spin on familiar characters, and stays true to the persistent spirit of Trek.
Normally I’d be content with one viewing, but its popularity placed my viewing vantage a bit too close. I’m entertaining seeing it again, this time providing ample time to get more center seating. Movies aren’t cheap anymore, but 2 hours of entertainment seems a value.
We have just finished Mother’s Day, but its the father theme in the movie that chokes me up, as the line about ‘daring you to be more’ strikes my resonant tone fully. Who am I pleasing in that sense? My own image or imagination about what my father would find to be proud about me? That’s a question for the ages. Short circuiting that one, I ultimately will have to find some contentment for me first, then work out some other yardstick for Dad.
My 10 miles a day theme for the month of May, has given me ample time to contemplate many things, and some things seem more clear lately. I’m not at the top of my game, since I can’t quite recall that perfect word or phrase, maybe some standards are just too high… Still that hurdle isn’t beyond my ken. By chance I picked a book out of a dear friend’s shelf and one of the chapter titles that sprung out at me is “Lean just beyond your edge”.
She would likely laugh out loud and think that I often protrude just beyond the borders of our friendship- as I often reply ‘how else would I know where the edges are?’ Nonetheless I’d like to think that I embody a good combination of support and prickliness to enable my friends to achieve their potential. Or I come off like Greg House – minus the genius life saving skills.
About 120 miles into my journey so far this month, I’m hitting some milestones and noting what other refinements are necessary. That fartlek in the dark Central Park tonight made a dent in the legacy fat deposit. That is, legacy as in the fourth meaning, as in obsolete. Thanks ol’ ancestors but the next famine isn’t coming soon. We may have a plentitude of dearths, but calories aren’t one of them.
I’m enjoying the view as Manhattan in the springtime is a joy to the senses. Allergies aside it pleases me to see the activity and energy focus outside of the brick and glass towers. All the people with all their goals coalesce into a dance that is momentarily slowed or sped up by green and red lights at each corner. I see the individuals, and the whole – the entire system flowing into and out of buildings and subways and cars. I try to detect patterns- to find its essence, the beauty.
The trees have shed much of their early spring flowers, which means my allergies will subside. This too shall pass. But while its happening, it really seems a long time. The sneezing, the watery eyes, the malaise. While on the daily trek there are burdens that seem like they will never end. Then they do. There are pleasures that seem fleeting, then they reoccur. There is an ebb and flow, and if we stop to notice, we can ride them, without wasting our energy fighting them. That is blended living.
